The Opening Ceremony of the Programme on Tax and Fiscal Policies for Portuguese-speaking Countries took place on November 24, at 11am, at the Golden Dragon Campus of the City University of Macau. The course is organised by the Training Centre of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), also known as Forum Macao. The programme is conducted by the City University of Macau.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Chang Hexi; the Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Kou Ming; the Director-General of the Trade Office of Economic Affairs Department of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Hu Jingyan; the representative of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Ms Rong Li; the Deputy Consul of the Republic of Angola in Macao, Ms Cezaltina Maria Monteiro da Costa; the Consul General of Portugal to Macao and Hong Kong and Representative of Portugal to the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Vítor Sereno; the Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao (appointed by the Portuguese-speaking Countries), Mr Vicente de Jesus Manuel; the Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao (appointed by the Macao SAR Government), Ms Rita Santos; the Acting Rector of the City University of Macau, Mr Pang Shu Shing; the current head of the programme, Mr Isaiah Mondlane; and representatives of the Portuguese-speaking Countries to the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao.

Welcoming speeches at the opening ceremony were delivered by the Secretary-General of Forum Macao, Mr Chang Hexi; the Acting Rector of the City University of Macau, Mr Pang Shu Shing; the Deputy Secretary-General of Forum Macao, Ms Rita Santos; and the current head of the programme, Mr Isaiah Mondlane.

The programme, running until December 5, will take place in Macao and Hengqin Island, part of Zhuhai prefecture in Guangdong Province. A total of 28 representatives from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor have enrolled for the course. Participants will attend several themed lectures and will also have the opportunity to make field trips in Macao and Hengqin.

Officials from the Macao SAR Government, professors from the City University of Macau and several experts in the field of finance will be responsible for themed lectures, including “The Role of Macao as a Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”; “The Economy of the People’s Republic of China”; “Tax and Fiscal Policies of Macao, those of Portuguese-speaking Countries and double taxation”; “Macao’s Economy: historic development, economic cycles, tax structure and the challenge of diversification”; “Macao’s Economy and Taxation System”; “Macao Tax Structure: technical specifications of taxation system”; “Audit and Tax Accounting in Macao: technical and financial organisation”, among other topics.

Participants will visit some public service departments of the Macao Government, including the Financial Services Bureau and the Monetary Authority of Macao, where they will have the opportunity to exchange opinions with local professionals.

During the visit to Hengqin, participants will visit local financial offices to exchange opinions with local professionals. They will also attend themed lectures in order better to understand the existing tax incentives, commercial registration policies and development strategies in place on Hengqin Island.

Participants will also be briefed about the latest developments in environmental and ecological projects in this new economic zone of Zhuhai.

The course aims to introduce the current tax and fiscal policies of Macao and the People’s Republic of China to representatives of Portuguese-speaking Countries. It also aims to consolidate the exchange on fiscal policies between Macao, Mainland China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, thus enabling a better understanding of the different policies.

With the support platform created in Macao, this programme opens new opportunities for co-operation and enables the possibility of further studies on the subject.

The course will also assist the development of the education and human resources programmes of Forum Macao and further strengthen the role of Macao as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.