Macau, China, Sept. 23, 2024 (Lusa) - The financial regulator of the Chinese semi-autonomous region said on Monday that Macau will launch a digital currency by the end of 2024 that "can serve as an example for Portuguese-speaking countries."
The president of the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM), Benjamin Chan Sau San, was speaking during the second Conference of Central Bank Governors and Financial Area Managers between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which is taking place in Macau.
At the event's opening ceremony, the leader of the territory's government, Ho Iat Seng, said that the aim is to "demonstrate to the public the functions and applications of Macau's future" digital pataca (e-Mop) by the end of the year.
The government chief said the measure would also serve to celebrate the region's 25th anniversary, following the transfer of Macau's administration from Portugal to China on 20 December.
Ho Iat Seng's term ends on 19 December, with the new leader due to be sworn in the following day. He is expected to be former magistrate Sam Hou Fai, the only candidate in the vote scheduled for 13 October.
Ho Iat Seng said that the development of the e-Mop was "supported by the central authorities and advanced technology" of the People's Bank of China and is in line with the "trend of global digital currency development in central banks".
China was the first major global economy to launch a digital currency, the digital renmimbi or e-CNY, in August 2020.
In a statement released during today's conference, the AMCM said that it is building a prototype system with basic functions for Macau's digital pataca by the end of this year.
The regulator explained that once the system is built, it will conduct tests in a controlled environment, exploring the situations in which the new currency will be applied and evaluated "while respecting the principle of prudence, the various types of risks".
In addition, said the regulator, the tests will serve to "establish laws and regulations that adapt to the current situation of the Macau market, preparing, in an appropriate manner, for the official launch" of the digital pataca.
The AMCM emphasised that, unlike private cryptocurrencies (the best-known of which is Bitcoin), e-Mop will be legal tender, with the same legal status and monetary value as physical pataca coins and notes.
At the end of 2022, Macau approved a legal regime for creating and issuing currency, which, for the first time, covered "currency in digital format".
However, at the time, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, said that the conditions were not yet in place to move forward with a digital currency in Macau and that the legal regime was designed with the long-term in mind.
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