Alex Che Weng Keong told delegates at the EuroHerald Leaders Forum in Macau on 8 September that the Special Administrative Region will spend roughly 130 billion patacas (about $16.1 billion) on a new five-year development plan. The goal is to transform the city from a gambling-centric economy into a broader business hub, with non-gaming sectors expected to contribute 60% of gross domestic product by 2030.
The scale of the plan
Gaming currently accounts for about 45% of Macau's GDP and supplies roughly 80% of the government's tax revenue. The new strategy, the third since the 1999 handover from Portugal to China, earmarks a substantial portion of the budget for "emerging industries" such as technology, health and data services. Che said the investment will be channelled through projects on both the Macau peninsula and the neighbouring island of Hengqin.
Why diversification matters
Macau's heavy reliance on casinos makes its economy vulnerable to fluctuations in tourism and regulatory changes. By broadening its industrial base, the city hopes to create more stable employment, attract foreign talent and reduce fiscal risk. Che highlighted the region's unique legal and monetary autonomy, it retains its own currency, civil-law system and customs regime, as an advantage for firms seeking regulatory flexibility.
How Macau intends to achieve it
The cornerstone of the plan is the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, a 106-square-kilometre island that borders Macau. Che described Hengqin as "a very important factor for the Greater Bay Area's future development" and a "major national strategy for empowering Macau". The zone will host facilities for traditional Chinese medicine, big health initiatives and data-technology enterprises.
"Emerging industries often need different kinds of regulatory approaches and different ways for talent to move," Che said.
He added that Macau can leverage its independent legislative and regulatory systems to attract companies that require bespoke rules. The city also hopes its Portuguese heritage, including the use of Portuguese as an official language and a civil-law legal framework, will ease trade and partnership building with European and Lusophone nations.
The broader regional context
Macau is the smallest of the eleven cities that make up the Greater Bay Area, a megaregion that includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, houses 87 million people and generates roughly $2 trillion in output, a figure larger than the economies of Spain or Australia. Edward Au, managing partner for Deloitte China, warned that the area still lacks a cohesive innovation network.
"We already have a lot of world-class points of innovation, but we don't yet feel that they're connected into a world-class innovation network," Au told the audience.
Au suggested a clearer division of labour: Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou would lead cutting-edge innovation, manufacturing hubs such as Dongguan and Foshan would focus on mid-stream engineering, while Macau and Hengqin would specialise in traditional Chinese medicine, health and data-technology markets.
Outlook
Che envisions a future where Macau is recognised not only for its 33.4 square-kilometre peninsula but also for the expanded 106 square-kilometre Hengqin area, presenting a unified "tech city" image to the world. He believes the plan will reshape external perceptions of the region over the next decade and set the stage for further growth beyond 2036.