News

The Transport Bureau has invited bids for 250 new licences covering the operation in each case of a single taxi. The 250 licences will each be valid for eight years, and cannot be transferred or extended, according to the notice published in the 16 March edition of the Macao SAR Gazette. The bidding process, by public tender, is a response to the phased expiration of existing time-limited taxi licences and increasing public demand for taxi services. Bidders must hold a Macao resident identity card or equivalent status. Each bidder can submit only one tender for a maximum of one licence. Individuals or groups of individuals can bid for the licences. The minimum bid price for each licence is 200,000 patacas, and there is an additional 10 percent stamp duty. A bid deposit of 50,000 patacas is required, payable either in cash or via bank draft. The public tender documents are now available at the Transport Bureau’s Public Relations Office, located at Estrada de D. Maria II, No 33, 6th Floor. Any queries regarding the tender documents should be submitted in writing to the Transport Bureau no later than 29 March 2016. All tenders should be submitted to the Transport Bureau Reception Desk – located at Avenida da Praia Grande, China Plaza Building, 3rd Floor – before the deadline of 6pm on 14 April 2016. Submitted tenders will be opened at the IPM Multisport Pavilion, located at Rua do Instituto Politécnico, at 10am on 17 April 2016. Those wishing to pursue their submitted tender are obliged to participate in the opening process that day and must produce their identity documents and the official receipt acknowledging their tender. For general information relating to the tender and bidding process, please visit http://www.dsat.gov.mo or telephone the Transport Bureau on 8866 6363 during office hours.
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“Where the World Heritage Shines – Photography Exhibition of the Historic Centre of Macao”, jointly organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and the Macao Cultural Heritage Reinventing Studies Association, will be inaugurated on Wednesday, 23 March, at 6:30pm, at the Old Court Building located at Av. da Praia Grande. The exhibition features 100 photographs of the world heritage listed Historic Centre of Macao taken by local photographer Chan Hin Io, revealing the beauty and vitality of Macao’s cultural heritage and showing the charm of this small city through various angles. The launching ceremony of the album Where the World Heritage Shines – Photographs of the Historic Centre of Macao will be held on the same day. A limited number of albums autographed by Chan Hio will be available for purchase, with discount. Chan Hin Io is a senior photographer nationwide and a recognised photographer in Macao. In recent years, he has been devoted to capturing Macao’s customs as well as the city’s landscapes, collecting several photography awards. Among his published works are The Neighbourhood of Macao – Documentary Photographs by Chan Hin Io, Memories of the Old Crafts and Trades in Macao, and Life in Macao 2012 – Photographs by Chan Hin Io. The photography works in this exhibition offer new perspectives of the city’s World Heritage sites, including photographs taken from high altitude and long distance, taken through different angles and shooting times, which allow the public to get to know the Historic Centre of Macao through the eyes of Chan Hio Io and the vicissitudes it went through. “Where the World Heritage Shines – Photography Exhibition of the Historic Centre of Macao” is open to the public from 24 March to 16 April at the Old Court Building located at Av. da Praia Grande. The exhibition is open from 10am to 8pm and is closed on Mondays. Admission is free. For more information, please visit IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo or the Macao Cultural Heritage Reinventing Studies Association’s webpage www.heritage.mo. For enquiries, please call IC through tel. 8504 0802 during office hours.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in March on 16 March for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Horte e Costa, Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga and Rua da Emenda areas in Santo António Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. 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 around 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.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said Macao Special Administrative Region’s Five-Year Development Plan outlined the city’s key aspirations and a set of achievable goals. Its implementation would lead Macao to further social and economic achievements. Mr Chui made the comments on Tuesday (15 March) during a meeting in Macao with the Director of Tsinghua University’s Institute for Contemporary China Studies, Professor Hu Angang. The professor was a member of the commission that drafted the nation’s 13th Five-Year Plan, and is a consultant to Macao’s Five-Year Development Plan. The city’s first master development plan covers the period from 2016 to 2020. In the meeting, Mr Chui said such a blueprint for Macao was a welcome innovation for the process of government. He added that one of the challenges was to develop the guidelines for each stage of the Five-Year Development Plan. Prof. Hu’s advice would be particularly important in relation to Macao’s deployment of resources, its setting of targets and the way the city coordinates its development with that of the whole country, said the Chief Executive. Prof. Hu noted that having a clear development plan spanning several years was crucial for a community and for a country. He said that view was based on his research, which compared the 20 countries in the world that had achieved what he termed the best economic performance over the past three decades. Mr Chui said he was glad to have Prof. Hu’s support and advice when formulating Macao’s Five-Year Development Plan. After the meeting with Mr Chui, Prof. Hu delivered a presentation at a seminar held at the Macao East Asian Games Dome. He outlined some of his ideas regarding Macao’s Five-Year Development Plan and shared more details of the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan. Details included information on the national policy goal of building a moderately prosperous society; the 13th Five-Year Plan’s major targets; and the Central Government’s respective strategies for strengthening the development of Macao and Hong Kong. Prof. Hu said Macao’s special status under China’s “One country, two systems” policy and Macao’s role as a free port were important advantages that the city could draw on to assist the whole country’s development. The city could also draw on the support of other national policies in order to create fresh economic opportunities, the scholar said. In that way, Macao’s prosperity could grow in parallel with the nation’s prosperity. Prof. Hu additionally said the policy of developing Macao as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure (known as the “Centre” policy) would help optimise the city’s position in relation to the country’s development. In reference to the nation’s 13th Five-Year Plan, Prof. Hu mentioned five key themes: innovation; coordination; green development; opening up; and sharing. Those themes related to the existing national and local policy vision of “putting people first”, he added. Prof. Hu said the 13th Five-Year Plan’s seven major targets, its 22 sub-targets and the benchmarking systems for evaluating their delivery were designed with practicality in mind. Overall they provided a scientific approach to the delivery and measurement of national development. During the seminar session, Prof. Hu said he was impressed by the SAR Government’s work and its support for the people regarding education, health services, employment, social security and housing. Macao has a strong foundation and conditions for further socio-economic development, he added. Officials attending Tuesday’s seminar included: the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan; the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak; the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng; the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo do Rosário; the Commissioner Against Corruption, Mr Cheong Weng Chon; the Commissioner of Audit, Mr Ho Veng On; the Commissioner-General of the Unitary Police Service, Mr Ma Io Kun; the Director-General of the Macao Customs Service, Mr Vong Iao Lek; and the Public Prosecutor-General, Mr Ip Son Sang.
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To be in line with the Macao SAR Government’s policy objectives of promoting the development of the convention and exhibition industry to gradually become a pillar industry of Macao´s economic development, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), being the government department responsible for the overall co-ordination of the convention and exhibition industry in Macao, is actively promoting the advantages of the local MICE industry through several channels. Nurturing of talents is an important component in the sustainable development of the industry. In view of this, IPIM recently organised a briefing session on the “Support Programme for Professional Training and Education in the Convention and Exhibition Sector”, to enable local convention and exhibition industry and local education institutions to make better use of the financial incentives provided by the Programme to organise training courses and sponsor full-time employees to participate in training courses and examinations, with the objective of building a talent pool and enhancing the professional level of the industry. IPIM assumed the responsibility for co-ordinating the promotion of the convention and exhibition industry from November 2015 and effective from 1 January this year, IPIM is responsible for the implementation of several support programmes for the convention and exhibition industry, namely the “Convention and Exhibition Stimulation Programme”, “International Meeting and Trade Fair Support Programme” and the “Support Programme for Professional Training and Education in the Convention and Exhibition Sector” under Macao Economic Services (DSE). To enable local convention and exhibition industry and education institutions to have a better understanding of the “Support Programme for Professional Training and Education in the Convention and Exhibition Sector”, a briefing session was organised by IPIM on 15 March 2016 at the Macao Business Support Centre (MBSC) located on the 19th Floor of China Civil Plaza. Mr. Sam Lei, Senior Manager of IPIM´s Promotional Activities Department gave an introduction of the details of the Programme. The event attracted more than 60 participants, including representatives of local private tertiary institutions, organisations of continuing education as well as business associations of the convention and exhibition industry. Participants expressed interest in the programme and raised enquiries during the Q&A session. The Programme Provides Support to Two Categories The “Support Programme for Professional Training and Education in the Convention and Exhibition Sector” is divided into two categories, namely, providing financial support to the organisers of convention and exhibition related training activities and the course providers, as well as providing financial support to the employers or originations sponsoring their full-time staff to participate in convention and exhibition related training courses and examinations. The Programme aims to build a talent pool and enhance the professional standard of the full-time employees of the industry. From 1 April to 31 May each year, IPIM accepts applications for financial support for training courses to be held in the following year. IPIM will notify the applicants in writing of the outcome of their application before 30 September each year. Applications to sponsor employees to participate in training courses and examinations should be submitted at least two months prior to the deadline for course or examination registration or three months prior to the first day of the related activities. IPIM will notify the applicant in writing of the outcome of the application before the end of the deadline for course and examination registration.
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Consumer Council conducts a questionnaire on the application details and disclaimer of travel agents for package tours, 9 travel agents will exchange consumers with another tour or refund them in case of Force Majeure, though certain travel agents charge consumers a service fee and the highest fee amounts to 40 percent of the package tour cost. Consumers are advised to pay attention to all different fees involved. Details of the questionnaire can be found in the latest issue no.269 Consumer Report. In recent years, package tours are often canceled due to Force Majeure as sudden incidents like public health and political issues arise, Consumer Council therefore sent out questionnaires to 9 travel agents to check their application details and disclaimer, including all charges involved and ways of withdrawal from package tours. Regarding tours canceled due to Force Majeure, 3 agents will refund consumers according to their requests, or help them switch to another tour; 3 agents will only switch consumers to another tour without any refund; 1 agent will only refund consumers while another 2 agents state that both refund or switching tours depend on contract terms and arrangements of airline companies. 4 agents are found to have a service fee of up to 40 percent of the tour cost levied on consumers regardless of the solution plan, while 1 agent states in its response that the amount of service fee varies case by case. The questionnaire also reviews that travel agents will switch tour or arrange refunds for consumers if package tours are canceled due to other reasons, although most agents do not refund consumers if withdrawal from package tours are made due to consumers’ personal reasons. Notification time of different travel agents regarding unsuccessful tour varies from 1 to 7 days or 5 to 14 days. Consumer Council believes that notification time affects consumers’ holiday arrangement and therefore advises consumers to pay attention to travel agents’ terms and conditions when signing up for package tours. The mentioned questionnaire also compares promotional information of the 9 travel agents, and details can be found in the latest issue no. 269 Consumer Report. The latest Consumer Report also includes a report on the promotion of ‘Certified Shops’ by The Institute for Sustainable Development of Macau University of Science and Technology as commissioned by the Council. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 24-A, Edf. Cheung Heng, R/C), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo) and WeChat official account. For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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Considering the public’s overwhelming response to the 27th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) is organising additional performances for the most sought-after shows, which will be on sale from 16 March (Wednesday). Early bird discounts on tickets is only available until 20 March (Sunday). Tickets are limited and subject to availability. In order to give the public more opportunities to enjoy the 27th MAF and to increase artistic appreciation, the following shows will offer additional performances: The Fairy Tales from the World of Chaos, by Breakthrough Association, on 7 May (Saturday) at 3pm; The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Godot Art Association, on 14 May (Saturday) at 3pm; and the children’s puppet play Circles by Step Out, on 21 May (Saturday) and 22 May (Sunday) at 8pm. Tickets for these additional performances will be available from 10am on 16 March (Wednesday) at the Macau Ticketing Network outlets (except the Av. Horta e Costa branch, where tickets will be available from 10:30am). Tickets may also be purchased through the internet or by telephone. An early bird 30% discount is offered before 20 March, subject to certain criteria, and a 20% discount is offered from 21 March onwards. Holders of BOC Multi-Currency Credit Card or BOC card will receive a 30% discount on tickets for the designated performances, as well as a 20% discount on all other shows. A 20% discount for all shows is also available for ICBC Macau, BCM Bank, OCBC Wing Hang Bank or Tai Fung Bank MasterCard, Visa or Unionpay card holders. A 50% discount will also be offered to Macao Senior Citizen Card holders and holders of the Disability Assessment Registration Card, with purchases limited to one ticket per person per performance. For more information about the performances, ticket purchase and other discounts, please visit the MAF leaflet, which can be download at (www.icm.gov.mo/fam), follow the MAF’s page on Facebook or subscribe to IC’s WeChat account. Ticket reservation: 2855 5555. Online ticket reservation: www.macauticket.com
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This year’s Macau Grand Prix would include more input from the city’s cultural and creative industries, including the production of souvenirs designed locally. This is in order to enhance the promotion of the annual event, and better to integrate Macao’s sports, cultural and tourism sectors. The information was disclosed on Monday (14 March) by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, prior to the first plenary session of the revamped Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee. The Committee has been created in its updated form to coordinate cross-departmental efforts within the Government regarding the staging of the Macau Grand Prix, according to an Executive Order published on Monday. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture heads the Committee; the President and Vice-presidents of Macao’s Sports Bureau are the coordinator and deputy coordinators of the Committee respectively. The Committee also has representatives from a range of public bodies, including the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Health Bureau, the Unitary Police Service and the Fire Services Bureau. The updated structure of the organising body – which involves the Sports Bureau taking the lead on planning and delivering the event from this year onward – would take the Grand Prix to a new level of achievement, the Secretary said. Mr Tam also told reporters that the Government was working on the expansion of the city’s Grand Prix Museum, with the aim of completing the work in two or three years. The museum improvements are part of the Government’s effort to refresh Macao’s existing attractions and to create new ones in order to widen the appeal of the city for visitors, added Mr Tam. The 63rd Macau Grand Prix will be held from 17 November (Thursday) to 20 November (Sunday) inclusive.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP153.2 billion (USD19.13 billion) at the end of February 2016. The reserves decreased by 1.4% from the revised value of MOP155.4 billion (USD19.39 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-February 2016 represented 12 times the currency in circulation or 105.5% of Pataca M2 at end-January 2016. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca dropped 1.23 points month-to-month but rose 2.74 points year-on-year to 106.41 in February 2016, implying that overall speaking, the pataca depreciated against the currencies of Macao’s major trading partners on a monthly basis but appreciated on an annual basis.
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The University of Macau’s (UM) recently published a paper in Lab on a Chip, a journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. The paper discusses a novel method that can shorten the duration of DNA melting curve analysis to less than seven seconds. This is another breakthrough in UM’s microchips research. The paper from UM’s State-Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI is titled ‘Sub-7-second Genotyping of Single-nucleotide Polymorphism by High-resolution Melting Curve Analysis on a Thermal Digital Microfluidic Device’. It discusses a novel thermal digital microfluidic (T-DMF) device which enables precise thermal modulation and pipelined measurement of multiple samples. Ultrafast DNA melting curve analysis was achieved impressively in less than seven seconds, while keeping the resolution adequate for single-nucleotide discrimination on the device. The paper is co-authored by UM doctoral student Chen Tianlan, Dr Jia Yanwei, doctoral students Dong Cheng and Gao Jie, Prof Elvis Mak Pui In, and Vice Rector Prof Rui Martins. The research was funded by the Macau Science and Technology Development Fund. The thermal digital microfluidic (T-DMF) device enables ultrafast DNA melting curve analysis (MCA). Within seven seconds, the T-DMF device succeeded in differentiating a melting point difference down to 1.6 °C with a variation of 0.3 ̊C in a tiny droplet sample (1.2 μL), which is 300 times faster and 20 times less sample spending, than the standard MCA (35 minutes, 25 μL) run in a commercial qPCR machine. Such a performance makes it possible for a rapid discrimination of single nucleotide mutation, relevant to prompt clinical decision-making. Also, aided by electronic intelligent control, the T-DMF device facilitates sample handling and pipelining in an automatic serial manner. An optimised oval-shaped thermal electrode is introduced to achieve high thermal uniformity. A device-sealing technique averts sample contamination and permits uninterrupted chemical/biological reactions. Simple fabrication using a single chromium layer fulfils both the thermal and typical transport electrodes. Capable of thermally-modulating DNA samples with ultrafast MCA, this T-DMF device has the potential for a variety of life science analyses, especially for disease diagnosis and prognosis.
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