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MBtv Debates – More guidelines, incentives in pipeline for Macau’s fund industry: AMCM
Macau’s financial regulator is preparing a series of new guidelines and tax incentives to support the city’s Investment Funds Law, which comes into effect on 1 January 2026, aiming to build a competitive ecosystem for the local fund industry.
The remarks were made by Amy Ho, Banking Supervision Department senior officer at the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM), during a panel discussion on Wednesday evening jointly held by Macau Business magazine and the Rui Cunha Foundation.
The MBtv Debates session, titled “Macau’s New Investment Funds Law: Prospects, Opportunities, and Challenges,” also brought together legal and industry operators to evaluate the city’s next steps. In addition to AMCM’s Amy Ho, the panel included Bernardo Alves, chairman and chief investment officer at A&P Investment Fund Management Company Limited; Calvin Tinlop Chui, co-managing partner at Lektou and president of the Macau Financial Law Association; Nuno Sardinha da Mata, senior partner at law firm C&C Lawyers; and Rui Proença, partner at MdME; and Gavin Kwok, head of prime brokerage sales origination (Hong Kong) at Maybank Investment Banking Group.
The updated law, which replaces Decree-Law No. 83/99/M from 1999, enhances the framework for fund establishment, operations, and supervision in Macau.
Watch the full MBtv Debates FB Live broadcast video here.
Ho emphasised that it aligns Macau with international regulatory standards and best practices, reinforces investor protection, and optimises conditions for industry growth, potentially attracting more local and overseas institutions and investors to participate in the development of Macau’s investment fund market.
The legislation introduces a broader range of fund structures, provides clearer distinctions between the requirements of public and private funds, enables the re-domiciliation of foreign funds, and clarifies the roles of industry stakeholders such as fund managers and custodians.
With fewer than three months until implementation, Ho confirmed AMCM is currently preparing “a series of guidelines to supplement the law” and will continue to raise awareness among the private sector through public outreach.
“We’re also studying some tax incentives, which is a very important part… We’re discussing it with the tax department,” she added.
Tackling talent shortage
Ho also pointed to talent development as a key medium-to-long-term priority. Given the early stage of Macau’s fund market, she said the growth of the fund industry will attract experienced overseas professionals to bridge the expertise gap.
“They can, at least in the initial stage, fill up the technical gap. They can bring experience they have, and inject some international perspective into the local industry,” she told the panel. “In the long term, these experienced overseas professionals can help us build our own local workforce… who can learn something from these overseas professionals.”
Currently, there are three licensed investment fund management companies in Macau — A&P Investment Fund Management Company Limited, WI Harper (Macau) Investment Fund Management Limited, and Macau Funway Investment Fund Management Company Limited. A&P is in operation, while WI Harper and Macau Funway are yet to commence business.
Tax neutrality
Panellist Rui Proença, partner at local law firm MdME, advocated for tax neutrality, a principle he said underpins successful fund hubs globally.
“If we look at the success of fund hubs around the world, the core principle is tax neutrality,” he said. “It means the fund vehicle itself is not taxed — it’s not taxed on its income and its distributions to investors… Only the investors are subject to taxation.”
He noted that jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Singapore provide schemes allowing funds to qualify for such status under specific conditions. “We should follow this same principle,” he added.
Read: “Unlocking funds” – Macau Business magazine | October 2025 edition
Proença emphasised that the objective at this stage is not to generate tax revenue but to attract and anchor new streams of economic activity beyond gaming. “Eventually, if the industry becomes successful and matures, it has to contribute like the rest of us,” he said. “But the objective at this stage is to attract, localise, [and] generate a new stream of economic activities.”
Not always about money
Beyond tax benefits, Proença noted that nearby Hong Kong offers a range of other incentives for the fund industry that Macau could look to replicate.
From the perspective of Gavin Kwok, head of prime brokerage sales at Maybank Investment Banking Group, one of the leading investment banks in the ASEAN region, incentives for stakeholders don’t necessarily have to be financial.
He cited Singapore’s scheme that subsidised up to SG$100,000 (US$77,020/MOP616,352) in set-up costs for new companies and fund managers, an initiative that led to a wave of empty funds without investors.
“Money is not always the best incentive. A lot of [incentives] should be regulatory and structural,” he told the panel. “Macau can definitely learn from what worked and what didn’t, but throwing money to fund managers to start a fund doesn’t actually move the needle.”
In addition, Kwok noted Macau’s legislation incorporates best practices from international frameworks, giving the city a strong foundation.
Finding Macau’s niche
The Wednesday panel also emphasised that Macau should carve out its own niche to stand apart from other major global fund hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, and the Cayman Islands.
“Our best position is not as a competitor to the existing markets but more as a cooperation market,” said Nuno Sardinha da Mata, senior partner at local law firm C&C Lawyers. He suggested collaboration with Hong Kong on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and green finance, as well as leveraging Macau’s connections to Portuguese-speaking countries to attract capital.
The legal expert also described the new law as “a big step” for the local financial sector, but said challenges — including talent shortages — remain. “Implementing this law is not a sprint; it’s a marathon,” he said. “It’s going to take many stops and throwbacks… but I’m optimistic about it as we have a good framework.”
A pioneering example
Bernardo Alves, chairman and chief investment officer at A&P Investment Fund Management Company Limited, echoed the sentiment, noting there will be “a learning curve” during the law’s initial implementation. But he emphasised that the law provides greater flexibility in fund structures and new avenues for capital allocation by managers like them.
A&P, the only operating fund manager in the city, last year launched Macau’s first pataca-denominated fund — the A&P Macau Patacas Money Market Fund — which achieved a 2.98 per cent annualised yield and reached MOP318 million (US$39.75 million) in assets under management in its first year.
“It’s difficult to attract firms [to establish in Macau] without the precedent case… but A&P shows it’s possible to do it here,” Alves said. He believes both A&P’s track record and the new legal framework could encourage more local and international fund managers to set up in Macau.
High interest
The Wednesday panel stressed the importance of mobilising local capital to drive fund industry growth.
As of July 2025, total deposits in Macau’s banking system stood at MOP1.39 trillion. Resident deposits rose nearly 10 per cent year-on-year to MOP817.3 billion, while non-resident deposits increased 7.5 per cent to MOP364.1 billion. Public sector deposits grew 8.5 per cent to MOP210 billion.
The panel also highlighted the potential impact of two government-backed funds aimed at boosting Macau’s fund industry.
Following the enactment of the new Investment Funds Law, the administration plans to launch an industrial investment fund and a technology guidance fund to support the city’s broader economic diversification beyond gaming. Details such as structure, scale, governance, and risk management remain under discussion.
With two months to go before the new law takes effect, Calvin Tinlop Chui, co-managing partner at local law firm Lektou and president of the Macau Financial Law Association, said market interest is already high. He noted that in the past two months, he has received numerous enquiries from various parties on how to set up investment fund managers and funds in Macau.
“This new law, which differs from other financial legislations, is that it actually brings in financial and economic effects even before it comes into effect,” he said. “It’s already benefitting the professional service world.”
https://www.macaubusiness.com/mbtv-debates-more-guidelines-incentives-in-pipeline-for-macaus-fund-industry-amcm/
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