Macau’s secretary for economy and finance said on Wednesday that he wanted to explore the possibility of using the digital pataca in trade between China and Portuguese Language Countries.
During the presentation of the new Macau government’s policy programme for 2025 in the area of economy and finance, Anton Tai Kin Ip said that he had discussed the idea with Portugal’s central bank during a recent visit to the country.
A delegation led by Tai Kin Ip was in Lisbon between 4th and 6th March and met with leaders of the Bank of Portugal, including director Luís Morais Sarmento.
At the end of March, the secretary’s office said in a statement that the various meetings served to “negotiate the consolidation and deepening of cooperation between Macau and Portugal in the areas of science, technology, economy and trade”.
Tai Kin Ip told MPs on Wednesday that he would continue to visit more Portuguese Language Countries in the future to seek support for the use of the digital pataca.
The secretary promised to capitalise on the advantages of the digital pataca as a currency whose circulation will be free across the borders of Macau, an economy open to the flow of capital.
In contrast, the Chinese currency, the renmimbi, is not fully convertible into other currencies and the Beijing authorities impose strict controls on the flow of capital, especially out of the country.
Trade between Portuguese Language Countries and China reached US$225.2 billion (€216.6 billion) last year, up by 2% on 2023, according to data from the China Customs Service.
The prototype of Macau’s digital pataca (e-Mop) system was launched on 12 December, eight days before the end of the term of the previous government leader, Ho Iat Seng.
In September, the region’s financial regulator said that the digital pataca could “serve as an example for Portuguese Language Countries”.
The president of the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM), Benjamin Chan Sau San, was speaking during the second Conference of Central Bank Governors and Financial Area Managers between China and Portuguese Language Countries, which took place in Macau.
At the opening of the event, Ho Iat Seng said that the development of e-Mop had the support of the government and central bank of China, which was the first major economy in the world to launch a digital currency, the digital renmimbi or e-CNY, in August 2020.
In September, the Monetary Authority of Macau explained that, before the official launch of the digital pataca, it would carry out tests to identify risks and “establish laws and regulations”.
The regulator emphasised that, unlike private cryptocurrencies (the best known of which is Bitcoin), e-Mop will be “a currency with legal tender status”, with the same legal status and monetary value as physical pataca coins and notes.
Lusa
