Leong: ‘Prudent’ management of MSAR’s investment portfolio

Lionel Leong

The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, said that the government would continue to adopt safe, effective and prudent strategies in managing its investments.

The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMM) revealed last week that Macau’s fiscal reserve in 2016 recorded a total investment income of MOP3.31 billion, representing an annual return of 0.8 percent. Allocated assets contributing to the generation of last year’s investment income included global bonds; while the reserve’s investments in foreign exchange and equity markets recorded deficits due to market volatilities experienced worldwide.

Speaking this week on the sidelines of a banquet to mark the 9th anniversary of the People’s Alliance of Macau, Lionel Leong said he had directed the Monetary Authority of Macau to monitor closely developments in the global economy in 2017, and to diversify the investment profile, based on a full and balanced assessment of risk factors.

The secretary added that the government’s investment in the equity market – an investment overseen externally by asset managers – had an allocation of 11 percent of its fiscal reserve. The government is studying the possibility of increasing the proportion of investment in the equity market in order to allow the participation of more investment professionals.

Regarding an interest rate increase in the United States, Leong said that the MSAR authorities are closely monitoring how to ensure maintenance of the region’s economic growth. Leong is looking in particular at how the city might be affected by possible changes in the purchasing power available to some of its visitors, due to the move by the U.S.