According to a Chief Executive dispatch published in Macau’s Official Gazette on Monday, all public departments and agencies are explicitly required to strictly implement thriftiness and austerity measures.
Consequently, the total budget expenditure for the 2027 fiscal year should, in principle, not exceed the budgeted amount for the 2026 fiscal year.
The dispatch points out that all departments and agencies must prepare and submit their 2027 budget proposals, accompanied by their respective annual activity plans, to the Financial Services Bureau in accordance with statutory laws and relevant implementation regulations. The directive particularly emphasizes that all departments must rigorously assess the necessity and rationality of every single expenditure item.
To comprehensively coordinate and advance the budget preparation work, the dispatch announces the establishment of a dedicated task force. Operating under the purview of the Secretariat for Economy and Finance, the task force is coordinated by the Financial Services Bureau. Its members include representatives from the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, the Statistics and Census Service, the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, the Public Works Bureau, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and the Macao Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute.
The task force may request technical assistance from other government departments as and when necessary.
The dispatch also explicitly demands that all departments submit their budget data, approved by their respective supervisory entities, to the Financial Services Bureau on or before 3 July this year. The comprehensive government budget proposal must then be submitted to the Chief Executive for approval by 8 October.
During the pandemic, the Macao SAR Government drew upon its extraordinary financial reserves for several consecutive years to stabilize the economy, rolling out multiple rounds of consumer subsidies, corporate financial assistance and tax relief measures. However, in the post-pandemic era, the government has returned to the guiding principle of “keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues.”
