The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said the recently announced cooperation between Alipay and a local third-party payment company could foster the development of Macao’s e-commerce sector. Such cooperation by a local company with Alipay – a leading third-party online payment platform on the mainland – would further promote regional economic integration, Mr Leong told reporters on 13 December. The Government would closely monitor transactions made via the Alipay platform and make sure such transactions complied with existing legislation, he said. Mr Leong additionally said no casinos were among the businesses in Macao accepting payments made via the Alipay platform.