Casino specialist publication Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) has published an uncorroborated report claiming that O Lam, the outgoing vice-president of the municipal councils, will become Macao’s next secretary for economy and finance.
IAG cited unnamed sources “close to the matter” as saying that O would be picked for the position due her “extensive experience in government service.”
O worked in the Sports Bureau from 2000 before moving onto other governmental positions, including advisor to the chief executive’s office between 2009 to 2019, and deputy chairperson of the urban services department in 2020.
The public servant is descended from the founder of the Nam Kwong Group, Macao’s biggest supplier of petroleum products, and has an academic background in economics and finance, having earned degrees in those fields from Jinan University as well as the American Graduate School of Business in Switzerland.
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If the claim is confirmed, O would be the first female civil servant to take charge of the economy portfolio.
Speculation about a number of other civil servants is made in IAG’s report, including the current secretary for security, Wong Sio Chak. His name has been put forward in other unverified media claims as a possible secretary for administration and justice, which would make him the second most powerful official in the SAR government.
Meanwhile, Sónia Chan Hoi Fan has been rumoured as a potential candidate for the new secretary for social affairs and culture, with Lam Wai Hou and Chan Tsz King being respectively mooted as possible contenders for the roles of secretary for transport and public works and secretary for security.
While an official list of the senior members of Macao’s incoming government has yet to be unveiled, IAG believes that it “could be made public next week.”
