News

For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council on 13 December collects prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. The mentioned data collected during 7 December to 13 December are used for comparing the average selling price of the same products from Zhuhai and Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. fThe 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 Zhuhai, HK, and Macao. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
…

The Government has announced today Decorations, Medals and Certificates of Merit awarded for 2016 by the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR). They go to 36 individuals and organisations in recognition of their achievements, outstanding contributions and distinguished services. It follows recommendations from the Committee of Nomination of Medals and Honorary Titles. The awards for Decorations of Honour include the Decoration of Honour – Grand Lotus; the Decoration of Honour – Golden Lotus; and the Decoration of Honour – Silver Lotus. Such awards are for individuals or entities that have made outstanding contributions to the image and reputation of the MSAR. The recipients for such awards are: Decoration of Honour – Golden Lotus Cheong U Lei Pui Lam Decoration of Honour – Silver Lotus Kou Hoi In Van Kuan Lok Seven types of Medals of Merit are awarded, covering the fields of: 1. Professions; 2. Industry and Commerce; 3. Tourism; 4. Education; 5. Culture; 6. Philanthropy; and 7. Sports. Each of the awards in these categories is for individuals or entities that have made major or excellent contributions in their respective fields. The recipients for such awards are: Medal of Merit – Professions The Identification Bureau Cândida da Silva Antunes Pires Medal of Merit – Industry and Commerce Ho Ioc Tong F. Rodrigues (Sucessores), Limitada. Medal of Merit – Tourism Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes Lou Chi Seng Moisés Francisco Xavier Medal of Merit – Education Leong Lai University of Macau School Choi Nong Chi Tai (Escola da Associação para Filhos e Irmãos dos Agricultores) Ip Hong Kit Medal of Merit – Culture Macau Artist Society Mio Pang Fei Medal of Merit – Philanthropy Welfare Club of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macao (Associação de Bem-Estar dos Moradores de Macau) Association of Friends of Charity of Macau Macao Association of Parents of Mentally Handicapped (Associação dos Familiares Encarregados dos Deficientes Mentais de Macau) Medal of Merit – Sports Wushu General Association of Macau Mário Ferreira Sin Lau Vai Hong Medals for Distinguished Services are awarded to public entities, organisations or their staff for outstanding performance in their duties or community service. The recipients for such awards are: Medal for Distinguished Service – Medal for Bravery Vaccination team of the Health Bureau Macao Peninsula Traffic Commissariat of the Traffic Department of the Public Security Police Force Medal for Distinguished Service – Medal for Dedication Maria do Céu Dourado Amorim da Silva Hung Vicente João Monteiro Porfírio Zeferino de Souza Medal for Distinguished Service – Medal for Community Service Ieong Iu Chang Mong I Georgiana Lau do Rosário Lei Pou Loi Wong Man I Certificates of Merit, including the Honorific Title – Prestige and the Honorific Title – Merit, commend Macao SAR residents or others who have made major contribution to the reputation, development or social progress of the Macao SAR. The recipients for such awards are: Honorific Title – Prestige Lew Hwan Kyu Honorific Title – Merit The Team from the Workers’ Children High School’s that designed a device to measure frictional forces The Team from the Workers’ Children High School’s that designed a portable water purifier with eco-friendly features Lei Kuan Hou Lei Wai Shing The ceremony to award the Decorations, Medals and Certificates of Merit to the recipients will be held in early January.
…

To celebrate the 17th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at our Philatelic Shop located at Macao Post Headquarters at 9:00 to 17:30 on 20th December 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “17th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region”. A commemorative envelope priced at MOP3.00 will be issued. Welcome to visit us and collect Macao Stamps!
…

To celebrate the Great Music and Dance Performance of “Di Zi Gui”, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at the Grand Auditorium of Macau Cultural Centre at 19:00 to 22:00 on 17th December 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Great Music and Dance Performance of ‘Di Zi Gui’ ”. A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
…

Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in December on 12 December for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Taipa and Coloane area. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided over 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
…

The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said a new measure to limit cash withdrawals per ATM transaction in Macao would not have a negative impact on the city’s gaming industry. The measure would help maintain the city’s monetary stability and would have a positive effect on managing capital flows, Mr Leong told reporters on Sunday (11 December). The new measure sets a limit of 5,000 patacas or 5,000 Hong Kong dollars per transaction of overseas cash withdrawal when using mainland bank cards. The new limit took effect on 9 December. The measure would not bring any negative impact to daily cash withdrawals by Macao residents and tourists, said Mr Leong. The mainland’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has set an annual cap – in force since January – on overseas cash withdrawals for mainland bank cardholders at 100,000 yuan per card, in addition to a 10,000 yuan daily cap. The Government remains committed to make use of all measures that can help further stabilise Macao’s economy and effectively combat any forms of money-laundering and illicit capital flows. On Sunday, the Secretary also gave a summary of his visit to Portugal last week. The visit included meetings with Portugal’s secretaries of state in the areas of industry, commerce, environment, energy and foreign affairs. Those meetings were in order to discuss ways to take full advantage of Macao’s role as a bridge between China and Portugal. Topics discussed included: how to explore additional fields in which Macao could offer services that can help improve cooperation between China and Portugal; strategies to attract more European companies – in particular, firms led by young entrepreneurs – to invest more in the mainland, via services offered by Portugal and Macao; and how to take advantage of Macao’s close ties with Portugal and other European countries in order to help young people from Macao and the mainland strengthen cooperation ties with those nations. Mr Leong said Portuguese companies were particularly interested in exporting a wider range of food products to the mainland by making use of policies under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), an existing protocol between the mainland and Macao. The Government was actively seeking more channels that would enable a larger number of food products from the mainland – particularly products that are processed in Macao – to have greater access to the Portuguese market, he said. The Macao officials also exchanged views with their Portuguese counterparts on: technology development; environmental science; the role of Macao as the new host of the headquarters of the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund; and reciprocal protection of consumers’ rights. While in Lisbon, Mr Leong also attended an Internet development summit, which attracted nearly 60,000 participants. Portugal and Macao would step up efforts to jointly explore markets in Asia, he said. To accomplish that goal, Mr Leong added that Macao would further optimise its existing infrastructure, in particular Internet infrastructure, in order to meet international standards.
…

The deadline for applications for the “2016 Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films”, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), is 30 December, at 5pm. All interested parties are welcome to take this chance to apply for the Programme. The “2016 Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films” aims to continuously promote the development of the Macao film industry, cultivate local filmmaking talents, enhance the professional production capacity of the local film industry, and encourage filmmakers to get involved in feature film productions, thus spawning more local creative cinematic works. A maximum number of four beneficiaries will be selected and each eligible beneficiary will receive a financial support up to 70% of the total estimated costs of the project (up to a maximum of MOP 1,500,000), to be used for the production, promotion and marketing of the feature film. The Programme’s information, regulations and application forms can be downloaded at the IC’s website (www.icm.gov.mo/cn/CCI-Subsidy) and at the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). Applicants should submit all required documents to the Division for Planning and Developing Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau located at No. 567, Av. da Praia Grande, Edif. BNU, 12th floor A-D, Macao, in the designated period of time. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Leong or Mr. Chong, staff members of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040, during office hours.
…

The Government is working closely with relevant ministries and departments of the Central Government in order to establish a Guangdong-Macao nuclear safety reporting mechanism. The Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, said on Sunday (11 December) that four separate bodies linked to the Central Government had already given their approval to the establishment of such a reporting mechanism. Currently, the Guangdong Government is going through the necessary procedures in order to set up the reporting mechanism. The Government pays great attention to the public’s interest in safety issues regarding the nuclear facility in Taishan Prefecture, Guangdong Province. Macao is 67 kilometres away from Taishan, which means no evacuation measures would be necessary even if an incident categorised as of the most serious type were to occur, according to information provided by mainland authorities to the Government. Mr Wong also commented on recent news reports regarding a suspected incident at the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, located in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The Secretary said that on Saturday (10 December) he contacted the Central Government’s agency responsible for regulating nuclear safety and learnt that no incidents had happened recently at the power plant.
…

According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both decreased in October 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs stayed virtually unchanged whereas CRELs increased mildly. New lending approved In October 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 46.5% month-to-month to MOP2.9 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 97.9% of the total, fell by 47.0% from a higher comparison base in the previous month to MOP2.8 billion. The non-resident component also dropped by 5.2%. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs increased by 16.3%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased by 6.6% from the preceding month to MOP269.5 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 97.5% of the total, increased by 3.9% from the previous month. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 14.4%. New CRELs dropped by 31.3% from a higher comparison base in the previous month to MOP6.2 billion. New approvals of CRELs declined by 32.6% when compared with last year. Outstanding balances As at end-October 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP178.6 billion, virtually unchanged from the previous month but increased by 4.9% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.7% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents slightly increased by 0.2% whereas those to non-residents dropped by 2.1%. The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP171.5 billion, up by 1.0% month-to-month or 7.3% when compared with a year ago. Residents accounted for 89.1% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 1.2% whereas those to non-residents fell by 0.4%. Delinquency ratios At the end of October 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.15%, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up 0.07 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs was 0.09%, down 0.02 percentage points from one month earlier but up by 0.08 percentage points from end-October 2015.
…

…