News

The Macao SAR Government was officially informed by the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Hong Kong that the Macao SAR Passport holders are granted visa-free access to enter the Islamic Republic of Iran for a maximum stay of 21 days.
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The Social Security Fund (abbreviated to FSS in Macao) recently published the “Social Security Fund 2018 Annual Report” to summarize the work of the department. The non-mandatory central provident fund system (the System) came into force in 2018, to further enhance the retirement protection of residents, and the first year of implementation has received wide response from the society. In the same year, the FSS significantly increased the amount of birth allowance to support the policy objectives of promoting healthy births and increase of birth rate. In addition, the FSS further improved the social protection of people with disabilities by amending the law to make the disability pension universally applicable to all people with disabilities. Through prudent and robust investment strategies, the total value of the assets of FSS increased to nearly 80 billion patacas by the end of 2018.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the total population was 672,000 as at end-June 2019, an increase of 1,100 quarter-to-quarter; female population (357,500) accounted for 53.2% of the total.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) will conduct restoration works in Dom Pedro V Theatre and the retention walls of Calçada do Teatro from 12 August (Monday), repairing mainly the building of the Theatre and the surrounding walls, as well as pruning and maintaining the trees. During the intervention period, scaffolding will be installed outside the building and in the area of the retention walls, also occupying part of the roadway of Calçado do Teatro on 23-24 August. The restoration works are estimated to be completed by the end of September. During this period, the Theatre will remain open to the public and the opening hours will remain unchanged. For further enquiries, please call IC through tel. 2836 6866, during office hours.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) decreased in June 2019. With regard to the outstanding balances, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed increases.
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The Consumer Council conducted its ‘Supermarket price survey’ of the first-half of August on 8 August for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 13 supermarkets in São Lázaro, São Lourenço and Sé Parishes. Consumers may now check the report data on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), the “Supermarket Price Information Platform” app, or the Council’s WeChat account.
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Tickets for the 33^rd Macao International Music Festival (MIMF), organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, are currently available and early bird discounts are offered until this Sunday (August 11). Many programmes have been highly sought-after by the public since the first day of sales; as tickets are limited, the public are advised to purchase tickets as soon as possible to enjoy this grand musical feast with the theme of “The Instrumentalist”.
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“Reunion”Group Exhibition of Contemporary Art, one of the events organized under the programme "Art Macao", will be held at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), from 8 August to 13 September. This exhibition presents works of six artists, they have long lived and engaged in artistic creation under the background of different cultures and now yield visual experiences different from their previous works.
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A paper co-written by Xin Yanyu, a PhD student in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau (UM), and her supervisor, Assistant Professor Cai Tianji, has been published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, one of the top journals in criminology and penology. Titled ‘Paying Money for Freedom: Effects of Monetary Compensation on Sentencing for Criminal Traffic Offenses’, the paper explores new possibilities and directions for sentencing studies.
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The Committee for the Development of Conventions and Exhibitions previously held its second plenary ordinary meeting for this year in the Multi-function Conference Hall on the 19^th Floor of China Civil Plaza. During the meeting, the Committee discussed topics relating to co-operation in the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) sector between Macao and other cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area). Such discussion covered the joint organisation of events under the “One Fair, Two Venues” concept; and the collaborative bidding for the right to host international MICE events. Committee members were also briefed on the work carried out during the first half of 2019 relating to IPIM’s “One-stop Service” for MICE Bidding and Support in Macao.
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