Chief Executive of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Ho Iat Seng delivered his policy address at the Macao SAR Legislative Assembly for fiscal year 2020 on Monday afternoon, focusing on social welfare, job creation and institutional reform.

Ho, who took office on Dec. 20, 2019, gave his first policy address titled "Forging Ahead Towards New Horizons".

He said year 2020 saw the start of the fifth-term Macao SAR government, and the country and Macao residents have new expectations and requirements for the SAR government.

The chief executive vowed to firmly implement the policy of "one country, two systems" and "Macao people governing Macao" with a high degree of autonomy, safeguard the authority of the country's Constitution and the Basic Law of the Macao SAR as well as the central government's overall jurisdiction over the Macao SAR.

Ho said the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought severe challenges to the Macao SAR government and society, and the SAR government has given top priority to the safety and health of Macao residents and taken a series of measures to prevent and control the spread of the disease.

He called on the SAR government and all sectors of the society to have stronger confidence and maintain strategic focus so as to cope with the existing difficulties and challenges.

This year would see a deficit in the public budget, the first such occasion since the establishment of the Macao SAR, because the SAR government will spend over 50 billion patacas (about 6.26 billion U.S. dollars) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

He said the SAR government will put forward a series of measures, such as reducing taxes and fees, implementing public and infrastructure programs, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, to ensure sufficient supply for people's livelihood and employment, and stabilize the economy.

The public and infrastructure programs include the fourth Macao-Taipa cross-sea route, the expansion of light rail transit system, public housing projects, and the integration of Taipa ferry terminal into the second passenger terminal of Macao International Airport.

The chief executive said Macao would launch tourism incentives and organize festive events once the COVID-19 pandemic was under control. The Macao Government Tourism Office would report to the Secretary for Economy and Finance to create synergy between tourism and other economic activities.

He said the SAR government would provide greater support to investors such as enterprises from the mainland aiming to explore international markets, and help them establish headquarters in Macao.

Ho noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had posed great challenges to local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the government would launch a number of relief measures to help them overcome the challenges.

He said this year would witness institutional reforms to establish a service-orientated modern government with integrity and efficiency, improve the cooperation between public departments and optimize their structure.

Ho said the SAR government would push forward measures related to housing, transportation, healthcare, social security and other social welfare issues.

A press conference was held at the SAR government headquarters after the policy address, when Ho answered questions from the media.

The chief executive will also attend a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday to explain the policy address and answer questions from members of the Legislative Assembly.

The five secretaries of the SAR government will present their 2020 policy guidelines to the Legislative Assembly in the following weeks.

Economic stability tops the agenda in Macao leader's first policy address

Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region Ho Iat-seng on Monday made his first policy address since taking office in December, pledging to utilize the fiscal reserve to maintain economic stability and people's livelihoods as he forecast the region's first budget deficit since its return to the motherland in 1999.

Addressing the Legislative Assembly, Ho also stressed that the SAR will safeguard the "one country, two systems" principle, utilizing the central government's favoring policies to drive the city's recovery from the epidemic and ensure stable development.

With a decline in financial revenue caused by the fallout from the pandemic, the SAR government will have a budget deficit in the 2020 fiscal year, the first time since 1999, Ho said.

Macao has a total fiscal reserve of over 627 billion patacas ($79 billion), Ho said. The government will implement a proactive fiscal policy, by increasing expenditure and cutting taxes and fees, to ensure economic stability, Ho said.

Expenditure will be increased in public investment on transport, public housing and government facilities to stimulate employment, Ho added.

Measures will also be implemented to maintain employment and relieve residents' financial burden, he said.

To stimulate the tourism and gaming sectors, which are Macao's pillar industries, the SAR will ask the central government to extend the individual travel visa scheme to more mainland cities.

It will also talk with the Guangdong provincial government, to further relax visa restrictions for Guangdong residents visiting Macao.

As of Monday, Macao had a total of 45 cases of coronavirus infection. It has not reported new cases for 12 consecutive days. To contain the virus, the government shut down all casinos for 15 days in late February.

Ho stressed that the government will continue its efforts to diversify Macao's economic structure, such as the development of innovation and technology.

It will also strengthen cooperation with neighboring cities under the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area outline, especially with Zhuhai in the Hengqin free trade zone.

Ho also pledged reform of the city's governing system, improving the structure of the government, to ensure a more effective administrative team.

(Source: Xinhua, China Daily)