Setting up a stock exchange for trading shares priced in renminbi could help Macao develop financial services for economic engagement by China and the Portuguese-speaking world, the China Daily reports.

The Chinese state-run newspaper quotes a written statement issued by the Monetary Authority of Macao as saying foreign consultants were studying the feasibility of such a stock exchange.

The report quotes He Xiaojun, director of the Guangdong Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, as saying he expects Macao to set up an exchange like the NASDAQ where enterprises in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, which adjoins Macao, can float shares.

Yu Lingqu, deputy director of the Department of Finance and Modern Industries at Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute, thinks the legal system in Macao may help a stock exchange there attract capital from Europe and South America, the China Daily reports.