Macau aiming to become KPCS certified

Macau's Executive Council announced during a press conference at Government Headquarters earlier this month that its government has drafted and submitted a bill that, when approved by lawmakers, would open the way for Macau to join the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). Once accepted, Macau could then import and export rough diamonds. According to a government spokesperson, the bill soon will be submitted to Macau's Legislative Assembly.

Macau was a Portuguese colony from 1557 until 1999, when it was returned to China. As a special administrative region, similar to Hong Kong, Macau's system of government is separate from that of mainland China.Macau’s official designation is the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Macau is the last regional government to apply for KPCS membership. Both Hong Kong and China have been members since 2003. In 2018, Macau's  local government requested -and received - the assistance of the General Administration of Customs in Beijing in implementing the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

Both Macau and China are interested to see Macau join the KPCS. As a former Portuguese colony with close ties to other Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), both Macau and China would be able to lower the threshold in accessing the diamond producers in some of these countries, in particular in Angola and in Brazil.