News

At the awards gala dinner held concurrently with the “Second Asia-Pacific Corporate Annual Conference Expo (APCAC) 2026”, Macao and Hengqin received two prestigious awards: Macao was recognised as the “Best Destination for Annual Meetings” thanks to its well-developed convention and exhibition facilities, high-quality and efficient services, rich experience in event organisation, and unique urban charm. The Economic Development Bureau of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Co-operation Zone in Hengqin was recognised as the “Best Innovative Unit for MICE Policies” for its innovative and pragmatic MICE support policies, efficient and convenient government services, and the advantages of “Macao-Hengqin Collaboration”. The awards follow the principles of “buyer-led and professional selection” and are voted by over a hundred annual meeting organisers across diverse sectors like investment, technology, and pharmaceuticals, reflecting the continuously improving recognition towards the Macao-Hengqin MICE brand from the international MICE players.
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Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from its Portuguese acronym), the 44^th Macao Young Musicians Competition, dedicated to the categories of Chinese and Western Instruments, will be held from 25 July to 6 August. The competition Regulation and designated repertoire will be available from 6pm on 15 May on the Competition’s website (www.icm.gov.mo/CJMM). Applications will be open from 10am on 27 May to 4pm on 2 June. All eligible individuals are welcome to register.
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A research group led by Associate Professor Mo Huang in the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) at the University of Macau (UM) has been awarded the Outstanding Regular Paper Award at the 2025 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC) for their research on a continuously scalable-conversion-ratio switched-capacitor (SC) converter (CSCR) based on only four flying capacitors. Notably, it was the only paper to receive the Outstanding Regular Paper Award at the conference. The paper has also been invited for publication in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC) and has been shortlisted for the ‘Top 10 Semiconductor Research Advances’ by the Journal of Semiconductors (English Edition). This marks the first time UM has received an Outstanding Regular Paper Award at CICC, reflecting the growing international recognition of the university’s research excellence in analogue and mixed-signal integrated circuits.
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To support the implementation of the newly revised legislation governing Macao’s two-tier social security system, the Social Security Fund recently partnered with the General Union of Neighbourhood Association of Macao to organise two community outreach sessions in the Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (the “Cooperation Zone”). The events introduced the revised provisions to Macao residents living, working, or studying in the Cooperation Zone and promoted a series of new cross-border social security facilitation measures. Approximately 480 people participated in total.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average rent per square metre of usable area for residential units decreased by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter to MOP140 in the first quarter of 2026. Besides, the average rents for shops (MOP467), office units (MOP274) and industrial units (MOP117) went down by 1.2%, 1.5% and 2.2% respectively from the previous quarter.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the economy of the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) showed steady and promising growth in the first quarter of 2026, underpinned by a notable increase in exports of services due to surging visitor arrivals amid the Lunar New Year holidays and a series of festive events. The revised figure for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at MOP107.56 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up by 7.1% year-on-year in real terms. The overall economic output corresponded to 90.3% of the total in the same period of 2019.
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According to statistics released today (15 May) by the Monetary Authority of Macao, in the first quarter of 2026, the number and the value of transactions of local mobile payment tools both witnessed growth on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the turnover of credit cards and debit cards both increased from the preceding year.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today (15 May) that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP232.8 billion (USD28.84 billion) at the end of April 2026. The reserves decreased by 3.9% from the revised value of MOP242.2 billion (USD30.00 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-April 2026 represented 10 times the currency in circulation or 84.7% of the Macao pataca M2 at end-March 2026.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that number of MICE events remained the same year-on-year, at 425, in the first quarter of 2026. Despite an increase of over 30% in the number of participants of meetings & conferences, the number of participants & attendees of MICE events decreased by 8.7% year-on-year to 181,000 as the number of exhibitions recorded a small drop. Meanwhile, MICE-driven receipts of the non-gaming industries in the Macao Special Administrative Region grew by 29.4% year-on-year to MOP841 million in the first quarter, driven by a rise in the number of non-local participants & attendees.
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According to statistics released today (15 May) by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased whereas those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) dropped month-on-month in March 2026. With regard to the outstanding balances, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed declines on a monthly basis.
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