News

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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In order to commemorate the “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day” (WTISD) established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) held a commemorative ceremony and thematic seminar at 10:00 am on May 15^th. The Acting Director of CTT, Lao Lan Wa, stated in his speech that the ITU has designated this year’s theme as “Digital lifelines: Strengthening resilience in a connected world”, aiming to convey that reliable and robust digital infrastructure and services are fundamental to the stable functioning of society. It is expected that all parties will join efforts to build more resilient digital lifelines to embrace the opportunities and challenges of a connected world.
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Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) keeps branding Macao as a glamorous luxury travel destination. Debuting in LUXE Asia in Shanghai, Macao won the Award for Asia’s Best Luxury Destination 2026. Targeting the year-on-year surge of 84.5% in Russian visitor arrivals, over 60 luxury buyers were invited to Macao for business matching. Meanwhile, the globally-prestigious Destination Wedding Planners Congress convened in Macao for the first time. A series of strategic initiatives were rolled out to showcase Macao’s diverse “tourism +” appeal and comprehensive capabilities to high-end travelers and industry buyers worldwide, as part of the efforts to diversify the market segments.
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