Bank of China Ltd (BOC) President Wang Jiang has said his state-owned bank is willing to help Macao become more competitive as a place where enterprises in China and the Portuguese-speaking world can avail of financial services, the government of Macao says.

The government issued a written statement quoting Mr Wang as saying so when he met Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng on Tuesday to discuss making the economy of Macao more diverse after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement quotes Mr Ho as saying the authorities in Macao are committed to nurturing a financial industry there, including a stock exchange, to drive long-term growth of the economy.

Macao will keep on exploiting its particular advantages to help China develop its relationships with lusophone countries in business and other economic matters, the government statement quotes Mr Ho as saying.