MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Nelson de Azevedo, Belmiro Leong and Kimberley Cheong, Riquito Advogados
involved in terrorism or the financing of the prolifera - tion of weapons of mass destruction, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions (Arti - cle 1). The entities identified in 5.4 Global Anti-Money Laundering , particularly financial institutions, gam - ing operators and designated non-financial profes - sionals – including their boards of directors – have to comply with strict compliance and supervisory obligations. They are prohibited from directly or indi - rectly providing assets to, or utilising assets for the benefit of, persons designated in UN decisions, and they have an obligation to provide information – for example, if it is discovered that the company holds or manages property belonging to a designated person, the board must ensure that a report is submitted to the Asset Freezing Coordination Commission within two working days (Article 16, paragraphs 1 and 2). The board of directors must approve and periodically review the company’s sanctions compliance manuals and policies. They must ensure that the compliance department receives adequate technical support and professional manpower, and verify that employees receive relevant training to understand the importance of these legal requirements. Under Macau law, the MCC does not explicitly adopt the term “environmental, social and governance”. However, the annual report prepared by the board of directors is required to explain the development of the company’s business. While these reports tradi - tionally focused on financial aspects, modern gov - ernance trends necessitate the inclusion of risks that significantly impact the company’s continuity, which indirectly covers environmental and social risks. Fur - thermore, regulations regarding labour laws and social security require companies to record and report data on occupational safety, employee training and equal opportunity. Regarding gaming concessions, following the amend - ment of the Gaming Law in 2022 and the strengthening 7. Environmental, Social and Governance 7.1 ESG Requirements
of the national security and governance framework in 2026, concessionaires have to bear the responsibility and submit reports to the government detailing spe - cific progress in areas such as support for SMEs, envi - ronmental protection, the mobility of local employees and fulfilment of criteria for responsible gaming. The government conducts a review of concessionaires every three years, where contributions to industrial diversification and social welfare serve as key indica - tors for evaluating their eligibility to operate (Article 16 of Law 16/2001 Legal Regime for the Operation of Gaming in Casinos). These reporting requirements for gaming concessionaires have become a core element of the operational compliance of ESG. 7.2 ESG Developments In Macau, there have been no significant legislative changes or material shifts regarding ESG reporting. The current requirements continue to rely on the general disclosure principles of the MCC and sector- specific regulations, such as for gaming, without new ESG-specific requirements being introduced at this stage. Under the current legal framework of Macau, there is no single statute or specialised regulation specifically targeting board oversight of artificial intelligence (AI). However, the board’s supervisory duties regarding AI are scattered across existing commercial, cyberse - curity and industry-specific regulatory requirements. Currently, these requirements focus on risk and con - trol rather than issues concerning board composition or specific committee mandates related to AI. Regarding general corporate provisions, according to the MCC, directors have to act diligently towards the company. When a company introduces AI technolo - gies, such as automated approvals, algorithmic trad - ing or data mining, the board is expected to ensure that the application of AI does not cause the company to violate existing laws, especially Law No 8/2005 Law for Personal Data Protection. 8. Artificial Intelligence 8.1 Board Oversight of AI
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