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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for November 2016 amounted to MOP798 million, down by 8.1% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP617 million) slid by 13.9%, but that of domestic exports (MOP181 million) rose by 19.4%. Total merchandise import increased by 2.9% year-on-year to MOP6.82 billion, of which imports of Watches and Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products expanded by 69.1% and 31.5% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP6.03 billion.

From January to November 2016, total value of merchandise export dropped by 5.1% year-on-year to MOP9.29 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP7.49 billion) decreased by 8.1%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.81 billion) increased by 10.0%. Total value of merchandise import fell by 16.6% to MOP64.78 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP55.48 billion for the first eleven months of 2016.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China decreased by 3.8% year-on-year to MOP1.61 billion in the first eleven months of 2016, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.52 billion) fell by 6.0%, and exports to Hong Kong (MOP5.15 billion) dropped by 11.7%. Meanwhile, exports to the EU (MOP165 million) and the USA (MOP148 million) reduced by 18.4% and 19.7% respectively, whereas exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP6 million) jumped by 629.1%. Exports of Non-textiles declined by 4.4% year-on-year to MOP8.63 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP919 million) dropped by 20.5%, but that of Tobacco & wine (MOP748 million) grew by 46.0%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP661 million, down by 13.3%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP23.73 billion) and the EU (MOP15.43 billion) in the first eleven months of 2016 decreased by 18.7% and 10.4% respectively year-on-year. However, imports from the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP606 million) increased by 12.6%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China declined by 5.6% to MOP11.05 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP10.41 billion) fell by 6.7%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 12.9% to MOP40.34 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP4.26 billion) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP1.19 billion) decreasing by 26.9% and 54.0% respectively. Moreover, value of imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP5.64 billion), Mobile phones (MOP4.41 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.81 billion) declined by 12.2%, 39.4% and 37.8% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled MOP74.07 billion in the first eleven months of 2016, down by 15.3% compared with MOP87.48 billion a year earlier.

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To be in line with the development of the electronic administration of the Special Administrative Region Government, the Identification Services Bureau continuously introduces different electronic services and measures to simplify administration procedures. Starting from 29 December 2016, all service counters of the Identification Services Bureau accept citizens to pay application fees with UnionPay QuickPass and Macao Pass, which will provide greater convenience for citizens when making payment.
Citizens can use the above-mentioned electronic payment tools to pay application fees at the service counters of the Identification Services Bureau at the China Plaza in Praia Grande and the designated counters of the Identification Services Bureau at the Government Services Center in Areia Preta. Furthermore, in order to achieve the whole self-service process to be done electronically, the Identification Services Bureau will add other electronic payment methods to self-service kiosk, so as to provide more convenient electronic services to citizens.

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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitors on package tours increased by 6.0% month-to-month to 728,000 in November 2016, with the year-on-year decline narrowing further to 6.5% as compared to 17.8% in October 2016. Package tour visitors from Mainland China (587,000) and the Republic of Korea (27,000) dropped by 7.5% and 5.5% respectively year-on-year, while those from Taiwan (38,000) increased by 1.0%. In the first eleven months of 2016, visitors on package tours totalled 6,831,000, down by 25.1% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 101,000 in November 2016, down by 11.1% year-on-year. Residents travelling on package tours decreased by 17.9% year-on-year to 38,000, of which residents travelling to Mainland China (26,000) dropped by 9,100 (-25.7%), while those travelling to the Republic of Korea (3,600) and Taiwan (2,500) increased by 62.3% and 14.4% respectively. In the first eleven months of 2016, outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 1,121,000, down by 15.9% year-on-year. There were 107 hotels & guesthouses operating at the end of November 2016, up by 3 year-on-year. Number of guest rooms increased by 14.0% to 36,000, with that of 3-star hotels having a significant increase of 116.7%. The number of guest rooms of 5-star (22,000) and 4-star hotels (7,700) together accounted for 81.2% of the total. Number of guests of hotels & guesthouses in November 2016 increased by 18.0% year-on-year to 1,103,000, of which guests from Mainland China (697,000), the Republic of Korea (31,000), Hong Kong (148,000) and Taiwan (40,000) went up by 19.6%, 61.9%, 7.0% and 12.9% respectively. The average length of stay of guests decreased by 0.1 night year-on-year to 1.4 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 86.4% in November 2016, up by 1.9 percentage points year-on-year, with 4-star hotels leading at 92.8%. Meanwhile, the average occupancy rate of other hotel categories also exceeded 80.0%. In the first eleven months of 2016, guests of hotels & guesthouses totalled 10,756,000, up by 14.0% year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 82.0%, up by 1.4 percentage points, while the average length of stay of guests was 1.4 nights, down by 0.1 night year-on-year. Visitor-guests accounted for 71.6% of the total overnight visitors, up by 3.4 percentage points year-on-year.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the unemployment rate (1.9%) and the underemployment rate (0.7%) for September-November 2016 held stable as in August-October 2016. Total labour force was 393,100 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.9%. Total employment decreased by 4,000 from August-October, at 385,500. Analysed by industry, employment in Construction registered a decrease, while that in Education and Retail Trade saw an increase. Number of the unemployed was 7,600, up slightly by 100 as compared with August-October; fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 14.7% of the total unemployed, down by 4.5 percentage points. In comparison with September-November 2015, the labour force participation rate dropped by 1.3 percentage points; the unemployment rate held steady, while the underemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) is launching the “2016 Subsidy Programme for the Production of Original Animation Short Films”. Applications are now open until 27 February 2017 and local animation producers are welcome to apply. Successful applicants will receive a subsidy of up to MOP 240,000 for the production, promotion and marketing of the animation short films. As part of the “Subsidy Programme Series for Macao’s Cultural and Creative Industries”, the “2016 Subsidy Programme for the Production of Original Animation Short Films” is a new initiative that aims to spur the development of Macao’s animation industry, nurture local talents in animation creation, production and planning, enhance their creativity in planning and storytelling techniques and encourage the production of original animations by the sector, as well as promote local animation development through participation in exhibitions, public screenings and online promotion. Applicants must hold a valid Macao Resident Identity Card and be aged 18 or above, and be the director or producer of the proposed film. Applicants must have directed or produced at least one animation short film with over 2 minutes, which must have been screened in public. The proposed film, which could be a single film or a film series, must be a fictional animation film. The selection process is comprised of the initial review and the second review. In the initial review, the adjudication panel will analyse the application documents, and select a maximum of 12 projects for the second review based on criteria including creativity of the story and expression techniques, character design and potentiality, feasibility of production plan, promotion and marketing plan, budget rationale as well as the applicant and film crew’s implementing capacity. Eligible applicants for the second review will receive a subsidy to produce the animatic of a storyboard based on their proposal in the initial review, and present it to the adjudication panel followed by a final interview. A maximum of five beneficiaries will be selected by the adjudicating panel based on the aforementioned criteria. Each beneficiary will receive a subsidy of up to MOP240,000 to initiate the production, promotion and marketing of their animation short films. Beneficiaries will also be provided with professional advices by veteran animation producers. The Programme’s information, regulations and application forms can be downloaded at the Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo/cn/CCI-Subsidy) and at the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). Applicants must submit all required documents to the Department for Promoting Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau located at No. 567, Av. da Praia Grande, Edif. BNU, 12th floor A-D, Macao, within the designated deadline. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Leung or Ms. Choi, staff members of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council on 28 December collects prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. The mentioned data collected during 21 December to 27 December are used for comparing the average selling price of the same products from Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. The specific price surveys on fresh pork and vegetables are now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), iPhone & Android ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ app, and the Council’s WeChat Account page. The relevant surveys include the average selling prices of local fresh pork and vegetables, and comparison on the respective the average selling prices rom HK and Macao. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 1,708 organisations were operating in the cultural industries in Macao in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 10,192, and compensation of employees amounted to MOP 1.56 billion. Total service receipts amounted to MOP 6.24 billion. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy totalled MOP 2.05 billion, accounting for 0.6% of the total for all economic activities of Macao in 2015. Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the cultural industries reached MOP 0.96 billion. Cultural industries are divided into four core domains, namely 'Creative design', 'Cultural exhibitions & performances', 'Art collection' and 'Digital media', which encompass a wide range of activities characterised by their cross-sectoral quality. The 'Creative design' domain covers brand design, cultural and creative product design, exhibition design, fashion design, advertising design, industrial design, architectural design, etc. In 2015, there were 919 organisations operating in 'Creative design'. Number of persons engaged totalled 3,336 and compensation of employees stood at MOP 0.42 billion. Annual service receipts amounted to MOP 1.82 billion, and Gross Value Added totalled MOP 0.62 billion. Within this domain, 601 organisations were engaged in advertising design and 67 in conference & exhibition organising services. With the increasing number of large-scale conferences and exhibitions held in Macao, advertising services and conference & exhibition organising services saw satisfactory growth in 2015, together generating MOP 1.23 billion in service receipts, accounting for 67.6% of the total in 'Creative design'. The 'Cultural exhibitions & performances' domain comprises production of performing arts, agency services of cultural exhibitions and performances, performing arts training, operation of performing arts venue, etc. There were 168 organisations operating in 'Cultural exhibitions & performances' in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 1,829, and compensation of employees amounted to MOP 0.24 billion. Annual service receipts totalled MOP 1.35 billion, coming primarily from ticket sales (56.4% of total). Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 0.23 billion. In this domain, there were 119 organisations operating in production of performing arts, with 1,116 persons engaged. Annual service receipts amounted to MOP 1.12 billion, contributing 83.4% of the total in the domain. The 'Art collection' domain covers creation, sale and auction of arts (such as painting, calligraphy, sculpture, photography, antique, gardening, etc.), as well as photography services. There were 109 organisations operating in 'Art collection' in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 435, with compensation of employees amounting to MOP 27.76 million. Annual service receipts amounted to MOP 87.78 million, of which photography services accounted for 79.1% (MOP 69.42 million). Among the 99 organisations operating in photography services, 49 were engaged in art photography services such as wedding photography, with service receipts amounting to MOP 37.95 million. Gross Value Added of the 'Art collection' domain totalled MOP 34.11 million. The 'Digital media' domain includes information, publishing, radio and television program production, operation of cinema, film production and distribution, etc. A total of 512 organisations were operating in 'Digital media' in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 4,592, and compensation of employees amounted to MOP 0.88 billion. Annual service receipts and Gross Value Added of 'Digital media' totalled MOP 2.99 billion and MOP 1.17 billion respectively, constituting the largest shares (47.9% and 56.8%) of the respective total of cultural industries. With the increasing popularity of information technology in the industrial and commercial sectors, the demand for computer software and hardware design has grown rapidly, giving an enormous impetus to the growth of the information industry in the 'Digital media' domain. There were 289 organisations operating in the information industry in 2015, and number of persons engaged totalled 1,530. The information industry generated MOP 1.50 billion in receipts (50.1% of total in the domain) and MOP 0.44 billion in Gross Value Added (38.0% of total in the domain). Meanwhile, there were 177 organisations operating in the publishing industry, which also falls under this domain, with 1,857 persons engaged. Annual receipts and Gross Value Added the publishing industry amounted to MOP 0.76 billion and MOP 0.31 billion respectively. Compilation of Cultural Industries Statistics is carried out by the Working Group on Industries Statistics and Assessment Indicators under the Committee of Cultural Industries of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), in accordance with the framework for cultural industries statistics established based on the Policy Framework for the Development of Cultural Industries of the Macao SAR. In 2016, DSEC conducted a number of specialised surveys in the four domains of cultural industries, namely 'Creative design', 'Cultural exhibitions & performances', 'Art collection' and 'Digital media'. Survey results were combined with data collected from relevant industries surveys of DSEC to estimate the economic contribution of cultural industries in Macao.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI increased by 1.53% year-on-year to 108.67 in November 2016, an increase from the 1.33% growth in October. The increment was attributable to higher charges for eating out, dearer rentals for parking spaces, increases in property management fees and tuition fees, as well as rising prices of motor cars and vegetables. Among the various sections of goods and services, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages that accounted for the largest share of household expenditure rose by 2.09% year-on-year. Price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+7.47%), Education (+7.38%) and Transport (+6.70%) also increased. On the other hand, price index of Communication, Housing & Fuels and Recreation & Culture decreased by 2.02%, 1.36% and 0.31% respectively. The CPI-A (108.76) and CPI-B (107.95) went up by 1.38% and 2.76% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for November 2016 increased by 0.29% month-to-month. Price index of Clothing & Footwear and Health rose by 3.68% and 1.24% respectively on account of new arrival of winter clothing & footwear and higher charges for out-patient services. Moreover, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages went up by 0.40% owing to higher prices of vegetables & fruits and dearer charges for eating out; meanwhile, receding price of fresh pork tapered off part of the increase. By contrast, lower charges for package tours pushed down the price index of Recreation & Culture by 0.97%. In addition, declining rentals for dwellings offset the rise in water charges and Liquefied Petroleum Gas price, bringing the price index of Housing & Fuels slightly down by 0.09%. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.30% and 0.18% respectively month-to-month. For the 12 months ended November 2016, the average Composite CPI grew by 2.56% from the previous period. Price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+24.25%), Education (+8.53%) and Transport (+6.81%) showed marked increase. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 2.51% and 3.02% respectively over the previous period. The average Composite CPI for the first eleven months of 2016 increased by 2.46% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.39% and 3.03% respectively. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households in Macao. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP29,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP30,000 to MOP54,999.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals in November 2016 were similar over the same month of 2015, at 2,588,645, including 109 visitors travelling under the “cross-border yacht sailing scheme” which became effective as from 23rd November. Compared to the previous month, visitor arrivals in November decreased by 3.4%. Overnight visitors rose by 10.4% year-on-year to 1,374,752, accounting for 53.1% of the total, while same-day visitors dropped by 9.7% to 1,213,893. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.2 days; the average stay of overnight visitors and same-day visitors was 2.1 days and 0.2 day respectively. Visitors from Mainland China decreased by 1.2% year-on-year to 1,705,721 in November, of which those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme increased by 2.1% to 791,007. Mainland visitors came mainly from Guangdong Province (716,282), Hunan Province (80,061) and Fujian Province (68,247). Both Hong Kong (505,216) and Taiwan visitors (83,498) dropped by 1.4%, of which visitors from Taiwan recorded the first decline after 16 consecutive months of year-on-year increases. Visitors from the Republic of Korea (62,009) and Japan (34,142) surged by 34.6% and 25.4% respectively. Long-haul visitors from the United States (20,814), Canada (8,370) and the United Kingdom (6,420) increased year-on-year, while those from Australia (8,020) decreased. Analysed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by land decreased by 3.1% year-on-year to 1,427,238; those arriving through the Border Gate (1,242,997) dropped by 5.0% while those through the Checkpoint of Cotai (182,650) rose by 12.5%. Visitor arrivals by sea increased by 2.3% year-on-year to 961,480; those disembarking at the Outer Harbour (576,332) and the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa (385,148) grew by 0.6% and 12.0% respectively. Visitor arrivals by air increased by 13.3% year-on-year to 199,927, with 199,053 arriving at the airport. In the first eleven months of 2016, visitor arrivals totalled 28,135,886, up slightly by 0.2% year-on-year; overnight visitors rose by 9.1% to 14,153,210 while same-day visitors dropped by 7.4% to 13,982,676. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.2 days; the average stay of overnight visitors rose by 0.1 day to 2.2 days whereas that of same-day visitors remained stable at 0.2 day. Visitors from Mainland China (18,668,340) and Hong Kong (5,814,967) decreased by 0.5% and 2.2% respectively year-on-year, while those from the Republic of Korea (591,581) and Taiwan (979,839) increased by 18.5% and 8.5%. Moreover, visitors from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom registered year-on-year growth.
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The Central Government has affirmed the SAR Government’s work and would continuously pledge its full support to Macao for further economic development and enhancement of the livelihoods of Macao’s people, said today the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On.Mr Chui was speaking to reporters in Beijing this afternoon as he concluded his annual duty visit after he was today received by the President Xi Jinping and the Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang. During the meetings with the state leaders, the Chief Executive presented his report regarding Macao’s situation and its development during the past 12 months and also outlined the Government’s policies for 2017.During his four-day visit, Mr Chui additionally had meetings with, respectively, the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Wang Guangya; and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Mr Zhang Dejiang.Mr Chui said the state leaders had affirmed the direction of the Government’s efforts in implementing several policies over the past year. They included: the effort to develop Macao’s strategic positioning as a world centre of tourism and leisure, and a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and the Portuguese speaking countries (collectively known as “Centre and Platform” policies); and to ensure the work done under the city’s Five-Year Development Plan complemented the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan.Mr Chui said that under a plan approved by the Central Government, Macao is to have more involvement in the development of the country’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as the “Belt and Road” initiative),Macao would press ahead in cooperating – in areas such as tourism, financial services and the enhancement of social wellbeing – with more than 60 countries and regions covered in the “Belt and Road” initiative.The Government would set up a work committee, supervised by the Chief Executive’s Office, to coordinate efforts regarding how to press ahead with specific forms of such cooperation, in particular with mainland provinces close to Macao, such as Guangdong and Fujian.The “Belt and Road” initiative would result in a great number of development opportunities for Macao, Mr Chui said.In addition, Mr Chui also commented on Macao’s economic prospects for 2017. The Government believed the city’s economy would expand next year, he said. Mr Chui noted the Government had been able to maintain balanced finances and budget surpluses during the economic adjustment period in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Macao’s budget surplus had been 25.2 billion patacas; the Government was confident there would be also a surplus in 2016, without wishing to commit at this stage to a specific figure.Mr Chui stressed public expenditure on long-term policy mechanisms relating to social wellbeing and to welfare measures would not be negatively affected by economic adjustment.Regarding the development of surrounding waters that are to be administered by Macao, Mr Chui said the Government was taking three steps to prepare gradually for economic development of the 85 square kilometres concerned. The measures covered: preparation of legislation; the strengthening of management processes; and the conduct of research relating to the local maritime economy and to the overall development of Macao.Regarding an idea expressed by some people – that allowing the importation of non-resident workers for vehicle driver positions would be positive for the Macao economy – Mr Chui said the Government needed to study the matter in depth, in order to ensure a scientific approach to decisions on that subject.Officials accompanying the Chief Executive on his duty visit included: the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; and the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Mr Fung Sio Weng.
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