MACAU SAR, CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Bruno Almeida, Belmiro Leong and Kimberley Cheong, Riquito Advogados
• promote fact-checking of information and data; and • not overlook common ESG practices. In the Policy Address for the Year 2026, the Macau government defined, as a key action, the deepening of public administration reform, aiming to enhance accountability and governance effectiveness through legislative reforms, staffing optimisation, the stream - lining of government structures and improvement of e-governance. In its continuing efforts towards economic diversifi - cation, the government also announced the creation of two strategic funds, a government industrial fund and a guidance fund, to manage the deployment of public monies into the four target areas of diversifica - tion. Sociedade de Investimento e Gestão de Macau Limitada (Macau Investment and Management Com - pany Limited) was established in May 2026, with the goal of managing government-guidance funds sup - porting local emerging industries, under strict trans - parency rules and market criteria. The government further announced that it was taking measures to improve the local workforce, including by promoting modern technology education programmes (AI, big data and cybersecurity) and international rules and standards, such as ESG and International Organiza - tion for Standardization (ISO) standards, to foster an advanced, competitive local market and internation - alised economy. The ongoing reforms reflect Macau’s systematic efforts to transition from the defensive governance mechanisms of the Commercial Code towards mod - ern governance anchored on ex ante oversight, real- time monitoring and fiduciary duties. The Commercial Code is no longer the only source of rules or remedies implemented when directors do not uphold theirs duties to the expected standards (at least the ones that shareholders or creditors rely upon); the current CG framework ensures things go smoothly and are supervised from the outset.
Although this paradigm shift is currently concentrated in regulated sectors (gaming, finance and public capi - tal), its influence is multidimensional. The standards of transparency and institutional trends associated with these special laws may provide guidance, or an improved comparison platform, for review of the duty of care, diligence and good faith standards currently applied to actions taken by directors under the Com - mercial Code. In practical terms, where courts and legal practition - ers have to interpret open concepts, such as the duty to act as a “diligent manager”, they will certainly consider the standards and thresholds set by these new sectoral laws and may be tempted to adapt their views to the modern governance framework. Ultimately, these developments and efforts are cru - cial for a future overall review of the Commercial Code. They provide governance principles that can eventually be codified into general law, ensuring that Macau’s core commercial legislation regains its role as the backbone for future economic diversification and international integration. The path from the narrow defence of rights to the broad and proactive manage - ment of corporate responsibility will require strength - ening disclosure requirements, clarifying directors’ duties and enhancing shareholders protections.
464 CHAMBERS.COM
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