AL Plenary | Public financial disclosure guidelines completion expected this year

Lionel Leong (center) at the AL

The local government hopes to finish the guidelines for public financial disclosure within this year, as revealed by Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong during Friday’s plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly (AL).

The Secretary started by expressing his “understanding that the AL pays attention to public money’s usage and to the public’s request to increase transparency” in regards to this matter.

The aim of completing the guidelines within this year is to allow society to become aware of which companies have Macau’s public money invested in them.

Leong also hopes that, within this year, the government can launch a consultation work on the legislation of such an instruction regime.

According to the former Deputy Director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Chan Pou Ha, government-owned company Lei Pou Fat (Sociedade de Fomento Predial, Limitada) was a wholly government-owned company that has always been responsible for the airport land management.

Lei Pou Fat suspended its operations in April 2017.

Tai Lei Loi (Sociedade de Fomento Predial, Limitada), the offspring company of Lei Pou Fat, was also dissolved in October 2018 because its land lease had expired. When the company was dissolved, Tai Lei Loi had, at the time of dissolution, MOP217.78 million in capital.

After questioning Leong, lawmakers voted and passed the bill for the government budget for 2017.

The general revenue of the government in 2017 was MOP126.37 billion, representing an increase of 14.4 percent over the previous year. The government’s general expenditure was MOP81.3 billion, a decrease of 1.6 percent.

The surplus in 2017 was MOP45.6 billion, an increase of 61.7 percent.

The revenue from specific institutions amounted to MOP23.64 billion, while expenditures amounted to MOP9.47 billion.

Paid PIDDA expenses were MOP12.92 billion, corresponding to an implementation rate of 84.7 percent.

Regarding public expenditures, the non-autonomous sector’s implementation rate was 90 percent, while the self-governing sector was at 94.8 percent, and finally, the autonomous agencies’ implementation rate was only 79.3 percent.