Macau’s “1+4” development strategy aims to encourage the growth of integrated tourism and leisure traffic (the “1”) while also facilitation the development of four nascent industries: Big Health; modern financial services; high and new technology; and the convention, exhibition, sports and commercial and trade industries. But two years into the 2024-2028 economic plan, is it paying the dividends the government had hoped for? 

Iat Seng Ho, Macau’s chief executive from 2019 to 2024, touted the 1+4 plan at an August 2024 meeting of the Legislative Assembly, where he said the government would play a supporting role while the market should take the lead to ensure the development needs of the market would be met, and the goal of economic diversification would be achieved, according to a statement released by Government Information Bureau at the time. 

He noted that the Financial System Act had included significant content related to the field of modern financial services, including digital currency and cryptocurrency. He said at the time that the government was keeping an open mind on those two products, but stressed that they could only be introduced provided that sound conditions were met to ensure that Macau’s economy – which was small in scale – was not affected. 

In a May 2025 interview with Macau Business, Niall Murray, founder and chair of the Murray International Group, whose portfolio includes properties such as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York, The Venetian and Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas and the The Venetian in Macau, said that laws are being implemented to enhance and ensure strict control over the market and to avoid anti-money laundering and other illegal activities. “New effective, efficient and best-in-class laws are essential and need to be written and implemented as the market attempts to expand beyond gaming, pursues 1+4 appropriate diversification and expand non-gaming and lifestyle pursuits in Hengqin and the Greater Bay Area,” he told the publicaiton. “If new laws are not implemented, it will be impossible to increase Macau’s appeal and attract diversified industries to the area.” 

In the interview, Murray criticized the government’s implementation of the 1+4 strategy, saying that Macau has “lost sight” of its competition, particularly when it comes to improving revenue streams from tourists interested in pursuits other than gaming. 

“Macau’s strategy is short-sighted, and although it generally states that Macau will follow the 1+4 appropriate diversification strategy, this strategy is no more than a of a set of guidelines as it is neither comprehensive, detailed, coordinated nor actionable at present. The focus on reducing VIP, junket and premium mass players from mainland China has been all consuming.” 

Murray said that Singapore’s comprehensive public-private IR collaboration will make Singapore more competitive moving forward with a doubling of investment and aggressive non-gaming strategic goals, while the Philippines is adjusting its laws and gaming and non-gaming offerings at pace. “The emerging market potential of Thailand is a major threat to Macau as it already has highly attractive non-gaming tourism offerings. As these developments open over the coming years, Macau will find itself years behind in many non-gaming attractions, see its appeal fade and wane and its reliance on mainland Chinese mass visitors will increase steadily as its international appeal dwindles.” 

As Macau works to diversify its tourism base, high-value gaming will continue to take centre stage. Many of its top intellectual property lawyers are also experts in gaming law, and casinos themselves, of course, own significant IP. Eleven different firms are represented on this year’s list of Macau’s IP Experts. 

MdME Lawyers landed three lawyers on our 2026 IP Experts list: João Encarnação, David S. Lopes and Carlos D. Simões. Two firms landed two lawyers each on our list: Manuela António Lawyers and Notaries (Tiago Assunção and Daniel da Silva e Melo) and RPmacau Intellectual Property Services (Alice Leong and Luís Reigadas). 

Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice. All of them have something in common: they are experts in their fields and, in one way or another, they provide extra value for their clients. They are Asia IP’s Macau IP Experts. – GREGORY GLASS 

Macau’s IP Experts is based solely on independent editorial research conducted by Asia IP. As part of this project, we turned to in-house counsel in Macau, Asia and elsewhere and around the world, as well as China-focused partners at international law firms, and asked them to nominate private-practice lawyers including foreign legal consultants, advisers and counsel.  

The final list reflects the nominations received combined with the input of the editorial team at Asia IP, which has more than 55 years of collective experience in researching and understanding Macau’s legal market. 

All private practice intellectual property lawyers in Macau were eligible for inclusion in the nominations process; there were no fees or any other requirements for inclusion in the process. 

The names of our 15 IP Experts are published here. Each IP Expert was given the opportunity to include their biography and contact details in print and on our website, for which a fee was charged.