News

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP154.4 billion (USD19.33 billion) at the end of October 2016. The reserves decreased by 0.3% from the revised value of MOP154.9 billion (USD19.39 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-October 2016 represented 12 times the currency in circulation or 98.3% of Pataca M2 at end-September 2016. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca rose 1.15 points month-to-month and 1.52 points year-on-year to 106.91 in October 2016, implying that overall speaking, the exchange rate of the pataca advanced against the currencies of Macao’s major trading partners.
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The Macao Cultural Centre, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presents its Children’s Choir Annual Concert set to be staged on December 18 at the Small Auditorium. This year’s performance includes a wide range of internationally known tunes and will feature choreographic moves to dramatize some of the songs. This time, grownups and kids will also have the chance to enjoy interpretations performed a cappella by some of the little choristers. The CCM Children’s Choir provides quality music education to children aged 8 to 16. Through weekly choral practices, music appreciation and creative activities, choristers develop their interests and talents in music, as well as their interpersonal skills and sensitivity to appreciate art. Ticket distribution for this free admission performance starts from November 15 at CCM’s box Office and Macao Ticketing Network outlets. Each person may collect two tickets, available on a first-come first-served basis. For further inquiries, please visit www.ccm.gov.mo or call (853) 2870 0699.
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The 1st International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao (IFFAM) will be staged from 8th to 13th December. The Organizing Committee held a press conference today (14 November) to share the latest progress of event preparation. Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, President of Macau Films & Television Productions and Culture Association (MFTPA) and Executive Vice President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Alvin Chau, famous Korean actor and IFFAM Talent Ambassador, Jang Keun-Suk, other personages as well as members of the press coming from Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China and around the world were present in the press conference. The number of attendees aggregates over a hundred. During the press conference, President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee Senna Fernandes presented the event program in detail, and awards were handed to the judges and winner of IFFAM – “Macao Audience Choice Award” Trophy Design Competition. The press conference also introduced members of the jury, comprising film directors from Hong Kong and Macao, for the Chinese Language Short Content Competition, which will be held to encourage participation among the local cultural and creative sector and inspire young local talents to create their works. In response to Mr. Marco Müller’s resignation from his post of Festival Director of IFFAM earlier, President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee Senna Fernandes will take up the post of Acting Festival Director and all the work and responsibilities concerned together with the Secretariat. Rich and fascinating program Spanning six consecutive days, the IFFAM program encompasses an opening ceremony, an array of film premieres and red-carpet presentations, Industry Hub, media exchange sessions after numerous film screenings, Masterclass, closing ceremony and award ceremony, etc. The 1st International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao will commence with an opening ceremony at Macao Cultural Centre on the night of 8th December. Many internationally-acclaimed film stars and personages will appear on the red carpet. A French movie titled “Polina, danser sa vie” will unveil the opening night. The closing ceremony will also be held at Macao Cultural Centre, on the night of 13th December, when winners of the Competition Section in IFFAM will be announced followed by a grand award ceremony. 50 international films come into spotlight The 1st IFFAM will screen a total of 50 films from over 20 countries and regions across the globe. For most of the films, this will be their world or Asian premiere. As one of the highlights in IFFAM, the Competition Section will pit 11 feature films against each other for a total of 9 awards, including the Best Film, Jury Prize, the Best Director, the Best Actor Award, the Best Actress Award, the Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress, the Best Screenplay, Award for Best Technical Contribution and Macao Audience Choice Award. The 11 films will debut at Macao Cultural Centre or Macau Tower. In addition, a range of film screenings including Gala, “Hidden Dragons”, Best of Fest, Special Presentation and “Crossfire” will feature recommended films for appreciation and special film genres. Among them, Gala will present seven of the most important films of the year including “Polina, danser sa vie”, which has been chosen to kick-off the Festival. In recent years, more local directors have directed local films in Macao which have gained wider recognition over time. Directed by local director Emily Chan and starring Sean Pang, the movie “Yesterday Once More” will be lined up alongside other films in the category of “Hidden Dragons” (Genre of Asian films in original and distinctive style). Another movie “Sisterhood”, starring Gigi Leung and jointly directed by local director Tracy Choi and a Hong Kong director, will run in the Competition Section. Industry Hub functions as a platform The three-day Industry Hub will take place at Macao Science Center from 9th to 11th December. Film industry professionals from worldwide have been invited to participate in the event, so as to enhance interchanges and create new business opportunities in the industry. The Industry Panel and Crouching Tigers Project Lab will also be rolled out along with other activities. Demonstrating the advantage to host mega events in Macao, the activities and screenings of IFFAM will take place at various venues across Macao Peninsula and Taipa this year, including Macao Cultural Centre, Macao Science Center, Galaxy Macau, Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre, Wynn Macau and The Venetian Macao, etc. Promotional strategies To gear up for the 1st IFFAM, the Organizing Committee visited various film festivals in different countries and regions this year to promote the upcoming event and learn from its counterparts’ experience, including Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), Cannes Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, London Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival, etc. The Organizing Committee also promotes the event in partnership with TV stations, newspaper, magazines, ferry operators, bus companies and banks, etc. As for online promotion, a website and theme pages on social networks have been set up for the event to give wider publicity to IFFAM. A mobile interactive game has also been launched to capture the attention of mobile users for their participation. Beyond the city, the Organizing Committee has specially invited over 100 representatives of film media from across the region and the globe to cover the event in depth especially through feature articles about IFFAM’s feature films, thus widening media coverage of the event. As a result, it will produce dual effects of wide publicity and in-depth coverage directed towards the film industry, which will raise Macao’s profile to a new level. Selling Film tickets Apart from the opening and closing film, all the feature films will be shown to the public at Macao Cultural Centre, Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre, The Venetian Macao and Galaxy Macau. Residents and visitors can buy the film tickets at the outlets or website of Kong Seng Ticketing Service starting from 21 November. For more details and latest news of the 1st IFFAM, please visit http://iffamacao.com/en/. In addition, for more relevant photos and information about the IFFAM, please browse: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ky2x0e6kngql93f/AABekRIC3WLZZh6t0dUKn9Qza?dl=0
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The 83rd UFI Global Congress, organised by UFI - The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai between 9 and 12 November inclusive. This was the second time the Congress had been held in Mainland China: the first time was in 2006, when the event took place in Beijing. Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) – as the official Macao SAR Government body responsible for promoting the development of the city’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry – attended the Congress. Representatives from IPIM took part in the main activities of the Congress, and set up a booth at the event to promote Macao’s unique advantages as a MICE destination. The theme for the 83rd UFI Global Congress was “Ripples – The Exhibition Industry in Transformation”. Participants discussed the challenges currently faced by the MICE industry, including changes brought by the digital age, as well as uncertainty connected to political instability and transformations in the global economy. UFI’s annual report on the development of the exhibition industry was delivered during the Congress, and the UFI annual award presentation ceremony also took place there. UFI is a leading international association in the exhibitions and conventions field. Its Congress is one of the most influential annual events in the industry. The 2016 edition attracted approximately 590 participants from more than 40 countries and regions, including industry leaders, executives, young professionals and senior experts. During the Congress, UFI signed an official cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government for the establishment of a representative office in Shanghai. The office’s intended role is to help stimulate the development of the MICE industry in Mainland China. IPIM representatives attended the opening ceremony and several high-profile activities at the Congress. IPIM also set up a 6-square-metre booth in the display area of the Congress to promote the features of Macao’s MICE industry and IPIM’s “One-stop Service” for MICE Bidding and Support in Macao. During the Congress, IPIM’s President, Mr. Jackson Chang, along with the Managing Director of UFI, Mr. Kai Hattendorf, and Professor Dr. Jörg Beier from the Ravensburg University of Cooperative Education in Germany, presented certificates to participants in the internationally accredited 2016 UFI Exhibition Management Degree (UFI-EMD), a course for advanced training in exhibition management, which took place in Macao. During the Congress, Mr. Chang had discussions with industry leaders and executives from more than 40 countries and regions. He took the opportunity to promote the 13th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO 2017), to be held in Macao in January. During these exchanges, Mr. Chang also discussed the development of Macao’s MICE industry and presented the latest updates on it. In January this year, at CEFCO 2016, the organising committee of the event announced Macao had been chosen to host CEFCO 2017, the first time it will be staged outside Mainland China.
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Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), the exhibition “Traces and Vision – Longzhou ‘Shehuo’ Folk Performances, Photography by Wu Xiaopeng” will be inaugurated this Friday, 18 November, at 6pm at the IACM Temporary Exhibitions Gallery, featuring a total of 60 works by the famous Chinese photographer Wu Xiaopeng. The show displays the folk customs of Longzhou ‘Shehuo’ in Shaanxi Province. Admission is free and all are welcome. Wu Xiaopeng is currently a member of the China Photographers Association, Guangdong Province Photographers Association, of the executive committee of Photographers Association of Zhuhai, and vice-chairman of the HSZM Photographic Alliance. As a former consultant to the Photography Salon Society of Macao, he was a member of the jury of the 16th to the 19th Macao International Salon of Photography. Mr. Wu has received many national and international awards for his works. In 2015, he was hailed as one of the Top 10 Photographers in Guangdong Province. Wu Xiaopeng visited dozens of villages across Longzhou in Shaanxi Province in recent years to capture images of the quaint Shehuo activities. This profound historical and cultural folk custom, of which Shaanxi Province is one of the representatives, was inscribed in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006. Rather than pursuing the visual aesthetics of the images, Mr. Wu showcases his endeavour to capture the villagers’ spiritual demeanour and present the customs of indigenous communities. The exhibition “Traces and Vision – Longzhou ‘Shehuo’ Folk Performances, Photography by Wu Xiaopeng” will be held from 19 November 2016 to 8 January 2017, at the IACM Temporary Exhibitions Gallery located at No. 163, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, and is open daily from 9am to 9pm, including public holidays. Admission is free. For enquiries about the exhibition, please call IC through tel. no. 8988 4000, during office hours.
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The Macao Orchestra (OM, from the Portuguese acronym) under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presented the concert “Henning Plays Mozart”, part of the Shining Virtuosos series, on 12 November at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium. Under the baton of the Music Director of Macao Orchestra, Lü Jia, OM joined hands with internationally renowned Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud to present works by Mozart. Their virtuosity and high quality performance was enthusiastically received by music fans. The concert featured two works by Mozart, namely the Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish” and the Adagio in E Major for Violin and Orchestra. Kraggerud’s spectacular interpretation concluded the first half of the concert in perfection. OM performed Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in the latter half of the concert. The work’s elegant melodies reflect the composer’s highest accomplishment in the genre. OM’s brilliant performance was acclaimed by the audience. Furthermore, the activity “Music Hour with Henning Kraggerud”, organised by OM on 11 November, offered an opportunity for music lovers to interact with Henning Kraggerud at close distance, and received the support of a large number of violin music lovers in an amicable ambience. There was also a violin performance session, where Kraggerud commented the students’ interpretation. The session had a warm response and the students considered the session to be very instructive. Macao Orchestra’s 2016-2017 Concert Season Programme can be obtained at the Macao Ticketing retail shops for free. The electronic version can be downloaded at www.icm.gov.mo/om. For details and enquiries about the programme, please call OM through tel. 2853 0782 during office hours. In addition, holders of BOC Multi-Currency Credit Card or BOC Card are offered a 30% discount for ‘Starry Vienna – New Year Concert’ and ‘2016-2017 Season Closing Concert – Eine Florentinische Tragödie’. Ticketing Hotline: 2855 5555.
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The Organizing Committee of 1st International Film Festival and Awards Macao (IFFAM) received notice from Macau Films & Television Productions and Culture Association (MFTPA) that Mr Marco Müller has resigned from his position as Festival Director with effect from 13 November 2016. MFTPA reassures the Organizing Committee that the Secretariat will assume all responsibilities of the Festival Director and that this incident will not affect the organisation of the Festival as planned.
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The carnival atmosphere which embraces the entire city of Macao during the annual Grand Prix officially got underway today (12 November) with the opening ceremony of the Macau GT Cup, Motorcycle Grand Prix and Classic Motorcycle Show at Tap Seac Square. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Government of the Macao SAR Government, Dr. Alexis Tam officiated at the opening ceremony. The ceremony was also be attended by members of Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. The show featured all the stunning GT racing cars competing in the SJM Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup this year, the impressive two-wheel machines that will contest the Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition, and a selection of classic motorcycles which are part of the celebrations for the Motorcycle Grand Prix’s Golden Jubilee. Countless residents and visitors took advantage of the chance to get an up-close preview of the awesome racing machinery that will be in action on the 6.2km Guia street circuit from November 17-20, and Tap Seac Square was abuzz with excitement. Special guest appearances included Michael Rutter, who has a record-setting eight Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix victories to his name, and 2015 winner Peter Hickman. The two Bathams/SMT Racing riders met their fans and signed autographs. Sportscar fans were given a golden opportunity to check out the jaw-dropping line-up of racing supercars, including the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 which will make its Macao debut with defending FIA GT World Cup champion Maro Engel this week, the Audi R8 LMS of “Mr. Macao” Edoardo Mortara, the Porsche 911 GT3 R (991) of 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Earl Bamber, and local driver André Couto’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3. The Grand Prix’s many passionate two-wheel fans turned out to see the mighty superbikes that the world’s best road racers will wrestle between Macao’s steel Armco barriers, while the collection of classic motorcycles representing the more than five decades of history added to the spectacle. The Show at Tap Seac Square will conclude at 5pm tomorrow (13 November).
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The Macao Museum of Art (MAM), under the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), inaugurated the great contemporary art exhibition “Ad Lib – Recent Works of Konstantin Bessmertny” today, 11 November, at 6:30pm, at the Gallery of Special Exhibitions of MAM, 2nd floor. This exhibition features a total of 34 recent works by the top artist Konstantin Bessmertny in the forms of painting, sculpture, installation and mixed media, offering viewers a bustling and humorous visual feast. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was officiated by the Acting President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leung Hio Ming; the Acting Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Cecilia Tse Heng Sai; the veteran curator and art critic, Oscar Ho; famous designer, Henry Steiner, and the artist, Konstantin Bessmertny. The Director of MAM, Chan Hou Seng, accompanied the guests in a tour of the exhibition. The title of the exhibition is “Ad lib”, is an abbreviation of the Latin word ad libitum which is rooted in the notions of liberty and is a command or an invitation by a composer or dramatist, to improvise in music and drama. The application of the term in the exhibition title shows that the artist does not wish to give the exhibition a definite theme; instead he chooses to bring viewers a bustling and humorous visual feast, aiming to respond to different phenomena happening in society. Having resided in Macao for over two decades, Konstantin Bessmertny was born in Blagoveshchensk, USSR in 1964 and graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Vladivostok, specialising in classical painting. Bessmertny is an artist of collage, clash, collision and conundrum. His profound studies in multiple mediums, dimensions and cultures in the fields of literature, music, history, politics, are reflected in multiple mediums, dimensions and cultures with great precision and intelligence. Bessmertny was primarily inspired by Macao’s history, its multicultural coexistence and by the city’s transformation into a gambling centre. He manifests the spiritual demeanour of the city with a visual language that is seemingly absurd, sharing his personal musings. The humorous approach he adopts in his works often amuse viewers. For instance, the artist seems to act as a comedian in “The Battle of Macao”, an enormous oil painting 4 metres wide featured in the exhibition, by using irony, criticism and suspicion. Through the historical figures, Venice, pandas, gondola rides, roulettes, ladies and other images in the painting, he impels viewers to contemplate what they usually do not think about the details and anecdotes of the daily occurrence. The exhibition “Ad Lib – Recent Works of Konstantin Bessmertny” is held until 28 May 2017. The “Artist’s Guided Tour”, to be held on Sunday, 13 November, from 3pm to 4pm, will be conducted by Konstantin Bessmertny in English. The Macao Orchestra will also present an orchestral ensemble performance on Sunday, 20 November, at 3pm, at the venue. In addition, guided tours in Cantonese will be held on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 26 November, from 3pm to 4pm. Guided tours reserved for groups and schools, along with the “Amusing - Children’s Guided Tour Programme”, will be available from 29 November. For details of the aforementioned activities and application, please visit www.icm.gov.mo or www.MAM.gov.mo. For queries, please call MAM through tel. 8791 9814 during office hours. The Macao Museum of Art is located in NAPE, Avenida Xian Xing Hai, and is open daily from 10am to 7pm (no admittance after 6:30pm; closed on Mondays). The admission fee is MOP5.00, and admission is free on Sundays and public holidays.
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The Government is to recommend – still this year – an additional 50 projects from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Macao for the Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Industrial Park, in Zhuhai Prefecture, Guangdong Province. Those projects are related to: tourism and leisure; logistics; research and technology development; cultural and creative industries; and medicine and health. The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and the Hengqin New Area Management Committee will soon arrange a briefing session for the promoters of the recommended projects, to provide them with information on how to set up facilities in the Park and how to take advantage of the favourable business opportunities provided by the Park. The Hengqin New Area Management Committee will decide which of the recommended projects are to be accepted in the Park. The decision will be made based on: how well each project fits with the Park’s overall development plan; the project’s nature; and its investment scope. The Government recommended in April 2014 a total of 33 projects from Macao for the Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Industrial Park. The promoters of 16 of those projects have already acquired land plots in the Park. Those 16 projects represent an aggregate investment of 80 billion patacas. Among those 16 projects, 12 are now in the construction phase. Some of the projects are expected to be ready in two years. To further develop regional cooperation ties, the Government will continue to strengthen communication with the Hengqin New Area Management Committee regarding the development of the Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Industrial Park, in order to create more business opportunities for SMEs from Macao. This effort is in line with the Government’s strategy to promote diversification of the city’s economy by taking advantage of the growing number of available opportunities in terms of regional cooperation, and to make further contributions to the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as “Belt and Road” initiative).
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