Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the economy of Macao in the second quarter of 2019 contracted by 1.8% year-on-year in real terms, representing a smaller decrease compared to the drop in the first quarter (-3.2%). The economic downturn was mainly due to a year-on-year decline in gross fixed capital formation. External demand continued to slow down; exports of gaming services fell by 0.8% and exports of goods slid by 24.4%. Domestic demand went down by 6.1% year-on-year, dragged down by a 25.0% drop in gross fixed capital formation; meanwhile, private consumption expenditure and government final consumption expenditure rose by 2.2% and 5.7% respectively, offsetting part of the decrease resulting from the economic slowdown. Imports of goods and services reduced by 0.8% and 13.7% respectively. The implicit deflator of GDP, which measures the overall changes in prices, increased by 2.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019.
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Being the coordinator of the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating of Financing of Terrorism Working Group (the AML/CFT Working Group) of Macao SAR, GIF participated in the Annual Meeting of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) from 18^th to 23^rd August 2019 in Canberra, Australia, together with representatives of the Working Group members, including CCAC, SPU, SA, DSAJ, AMCM, DICJ, DSE and PJ. One of the meeting’s agenda items was to discuss the first Mutual Evaluation Follow-up Report of Macao SAR. Discussions were made on the amendments and follow-up actions of Macao SAR on the AML/CFT laws and evaluate the completeness of its legal and institutional framework. The report has to be tabled for discussion and endorsement by all APG members at the plenary meeting before it can be adopted.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the value and volume of retail sales recorded a year-on-year decrease in the second quarter of 2019, with the sales value falling by 0.8% to MOP17.86 billion and the sales volume dropping by 0.5%.
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The “Macao Film Week”, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be held from 11 to 14 September featuring ten local productions released in the years following Macao’s Handover to China. The screening will be held at the Cinematheque・Passion and the Macau University of Science and Technology. Admission is free. All are welcome to attend.
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IFT 2019/20 Student Orientation Ceremony was held on 22 August with the presence of IFT faculty members and degree students (including exchange students).
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