The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government's economic blueprint should give more emphasis on diversifying the economic structure, said a senior councilor in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Councilor Stanley Au emerged in Macao's political arena as a popular chief executive candidate in the first election ever held in Macao upon the city's return to the motherland in 1999.

Although being excluded from the running by Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Au has never deemed himself a political rival, but rather a somber-minded "outsider" observing policies laid out by Ho's administration.

He is now an outspoken councilor in the Macao's Legislative Council, chairman of his Delta Asia Financial Group by profession, and the last but not the least, president of the Macao Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Association (MSMEA).

The primary objective in his chief executive bidding in 1999 was to build a clean government, recalled the 63-year-old banker.

Macao is the only place in China, where the gaming industry exists as a legal business. However, the government should bring the industry under a sound control and minimize the negative effects induced by the high-rolling business, said Au, who is not only regarded as a banker keen on commonweal, but also a philanthropic politician.

Au has called incessantly for diversifying Macao's economy. Macao should not be content with its unitary economic pillar of the gaming industry. The Macao government should do more to diversify its industries and achieve a more steady economic growth.

In a personal endeavor to that end, Au found the MSMEA in 1998 to bolster a concerted effort among SMEs for growth margin.

Au said that the current prosperity in the highly-dominated gaming industry can not guarantee a stable and sustainable development of the economy. The government should give more attention to the development of the financial and manufacturing sectors, which are occupied mainly by SMEs.

"For the past five years, the first generation of the Macao SAR government led by chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah has put a full energy in stabilizing the social security and invigorate the economic recovery by opening up the gaming market, and has done well in laying a solid political and economic foundation," Au said.

However, he foresaw an instability in the economy heavily depending on the gaming industry, which now faces a growing competition from the rest of the Asian region.

"What Macao needs now is a blueprint for the next 10 years. The gaming industry can hardly sustain a prosperity for good. An early preparation in setting up a sustainable economic structure is crucial," he said.

In Macao, over 70 percent of the government's fiscal income was yielded by the gaming industry, which contributed some 9 billion patacas (1.1 billion US dollars) to Macao's tax coffer last year. However, the simplex economy can hardly afford a short break of the casino business, which runs round-the-clock. An obvious example of this was the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in Macao's surrounding regions in the second quarter of last year, when the slowing "engine" of the economy affected by the epidemic led to nearly zero economic growth, said Au.

He held that although the enacting of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the mainland and Macao in January this year may not yield as much profits as that between the mainland and Hong Kong due to Macao's immature financial and manufacturing abilities, the arrangement may become a prelude for a major economic restructuring conducive to reducing the risk of the unitary economy of the small city. As a free port, Macao has a favorable condition to develop highly value-added products, such as export-oriented brand garment products, family appliances and telecom equipment. CEPA can make it a more attractive place for mainland and overseas manufacturers.

The manufacturing industries here are mainly held by SMEs. There are a total of 15,000 registered firms in Macao, with over 90 percent of them being SMEs. Among them, some 2,000 are engaged in the manufacturing industry, but few of them are competitive, said Au.

"My prescription for Macao's sustainable economic growth does not go against that carried out by the administration," Au said.

He stated that the incumbent chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah is getting more and more experienced in politics. It would be good to see him re-elected for the second term to continue carrying out the blueprint drafted by his administration. His re-election would be "for the best interest of Macao," said Au.

Macao achieved a robust GDP growth of 15.6 percent last year, which represents the highest rate in history. However, no industries have become an obvious beneficiary more than the gaming sector, said Au.

"It may be the biggest challenge for the second administration of the SAR government to reduce the risks posed by the economy's heavy dependence on the gaming industry, and give out effective schemes to support the growth of local companies," said Au.

"I have spoken with the chief executive in person for several times that he should give more emphasis on the SMEs. I have done my utmost in soliciting the government on promulgating more preferential policies to aid the sector," he said.

Au said he thought that the government's SME aid scheme lacks consistency and systematic management and planning.

Source: Xinhua