News

Arrangements for the exchange of the Lunar New Year Snake Banknotes (Snake Notes)
Starting from 1 March 2013 till 30 August 2013, registered Macao residents can proceed to exchange for the Snake notes in person on the selected day and at the chosen bank during the bank's business hours. Each registered resident should bring along his/her ID card and the required cash to exchange for 30 Snake Notes issued by each Issuing Bank. The Snake Notes will be exchanged on random basis such that the serial number of the exchanged banknotes cannot be selected. Arrangements for the prolonged exchange of the Lunar New Year Dragon Banknotes (Dragon Notes)
For Dragon Note registrants who have not conducted note exchange by end of January can have a second chance by bringing along their ID cards to exchange for their subscribed Dragon notes at their previously selected bank(s) during the bank's business hours between 3 June and 31 July 2013. For further enquiry, registered residents can log onto the system of the Macau Branch of Bank of China Limited and Banco Nacional Ultramarino S.A. via the webpage of the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) (www.amcm.gov.mo). Appointment of representative to conduct the Note Exchange
As previously communicated, an authorized representative will only need to bring along his / her ID card and submit the following documents to conduct the exchange on the selected date (for the exchange of the Dragon Notes during the bank's business hours between 3 June and 31 July 2013) and location:
1. Authorization form (downloaded from AMCM's website (www.amcm.gov.mo)) signed by the registrant
2. Registrant's ID copy bearing his / her signature
3. Representative's ID copy bearing his / her signature
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for November 2012-January 2013 held stable at 1.9% in comparison with the previous period (October-December 2012); the underemployment rate was 0.6%, down by 0.1 percentage point. Total labour force was 358,000; the labour force participation rate stood at 72.5%, up by 0.1 percentage point. Total employment increased continuously, reaching 351,000 in November 2012-January 2013, an increase of 1,400 from the previous period. Analysed by industry, employment in Retail Trade and Real Estate & Business Activities saw notable increase. Number of the unemployed was similar to the previous period, at 6,600; fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 11.6% of the total unemployed, down by 4.5 percentage points. In comparison with November 2011-January 2012, the labour force participation rate went down by 0.7 percentage points; both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points.
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The opening ceremony of On Set in the City – Works by Yu Cheng-ta is scheduled for Friday 8th March 2013 at 6:30pm in Tap Seac Gallery. The exhibition, organised by the Macao S.A.R. Cultural Affairs Bureau, features video installation works created by the young Taiwanese artist Yu Cheng-ta in a number of cities in which he has had artistic residencies since 2008. These works, recording his journey from Taipei to Aomori in Japan, to Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, and to Macao, employ a humorous and facetious artistic language as a means of interpreting the thoughts of a foreigner encountering an alien culture. Yu currently resides and works in Taipei and has participated in numerous international exhibitions, winning awards on many occasions, including First Place in the Taipei Arts Awards (2008) and Beacon Prize in Art Fair Tokyo (2012). Following the screening of his work at the 6th Taipei Biennial, he was chosen to participate in the Taiwan Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale, on behalf of Taiwan. In 2009, he was invited to participate in the Biennial Cuvée in Austria. In 2012, he participated in the 5th International Biennale of Media Art in Melbourne, Australia and the Made in Asia Festival in Toulouse, France. Yu has developed a keen interest in the inaccuracies and nuance of language that arise from cultural differences. He also seeks to explore the identity, rights, recreation and translation issues deriving from language fractures through the preview of physical performance and language repetition that is regularly presented in his works, with a view to unveiling the seemingly pre-scheduled context of reality. The exhibition will also showcase work that was created in Macao at the invitation of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. This Macao work seeks to interpret his reflections upon the contemporary world as an outsider. On Set in the City – Works by Yu Cheng-ta will run from 8th March to 28th April 2013 in the Tap Seac Gallery, open daily from 10am to 7pm. Admission is free. All residents are welcome to attend the opening ceremony, enjoy the unique video installation works on show and experience the creativity and joy of this artist's works.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is scheduled to visit Beijing from 4 to 7 March to attend the opening of the First Plenary Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress on 5 March. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chun Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam and the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping will take part in the visit. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Chui is away.
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Regarding to the hot air balloon crash that has killed 19 tourists today (February 26) in Luxor, Egypt, GGCT would like to inform the public that there is no any Macau residents involved in the accident. So far GGCT has not received any calls for assistance or information. Macao residents may call the 24-hour Tourism Hotline at (853) 2833 3000 for assistance if necessary.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals totalled 2,312,321 in January 2013, down by 6.1% year-on-year and same-day visitors (1,195,450) accounted for 51.7% of the total. In January 2013, visitors from Mainland China decreased by 1.4% year-on-year to 1,473,785; those from Guangdong Province, Fujian Province and Shanghai totalled 683,776; 67,180 and 51,033 respectively. Meanwhile, there were 616,066 Mainland visitors travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Moreover, visitor arrivals from Hong Kong (509,826); Taiwan, China (76,841) and Japan (26,904) decreased by 20.1%, 10.2% and 15.0% year-on-year respectively; while those from the Republic of Korea (52,668) and Thailand (21,810) increased by 14.1% and 81.0%. As regards long-haul visitors, those from the US (14,630), Australia (12,203), Canada (5,992) and the UK (4,317) decreased by 5.1%, 8.8%, 11.7% and 9.0% respectively in January 2013. The average length of stay of visitors stood at 1.0 day in January 2013, up by 0.1 day year-on-year, with overnight visitors and same-day visitors staying 1.9 days and 0.2 day respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 294 MICE events were held in the fourth quarter of 2012, an increase of 22 events year-on-year, of which 263 events were held in paid venues. Total number of participants and attendees increased by 22% year-on-year to 621,359. There were 19 exhibitions held in the fourth quarter of 2012, an increase of 3 exhibitions year-on-year; number of attendees increased by 22% to 586,489. Meanwhile, the other 275 meetings and conferences had 34,870 participants. In accordance with the information collected from 15 exhibition organizers, in the fourth quarter of 2012, there were 11 repeated exhibitions that were previously held in Macao. The major reasons for selecting Macao as the exhibition destination were "business operation in Macao" (73%) and "expanding local market" (40%). The 15 exhibitions held in the fourth quarter attracted 1,967 exhibitors and 19,720 professional visitors. In the fourth quarter of 2012, revenue of the exhibition organizers decreased by 4% year-on-year to MOP85.16 million, mostly from the Financial Support from Government and Other Organizations (89% of total). Expenditure amounted to MOP130.67 million, up by 19% year-on-year, with expenses on Production, Construction & Decoration Services; and Advertising, Promotion & Public Relations accounting for 26% and 13% of the total respectively. Information from 247 exhibitors interviewed showed that revenue of the exhibitors amounted to MOP28.37 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, with 98% coming from Sales of Products. Expenditure amounted to MOP8.43 million, of which Rental for Exhibition Booth and Construction & Decoration accounted for 43% and 33%, respectively. For the whole year of 2012, a total of 1,022 MICE events were held, down by 23 events year-on-year. Total number of participants and attendees increased by 26% year-on-year to 1,612,961, of which 1,489,933 attendees were attracted by the 61 exhibitions, up by 28%. In 2012, revenue and expenditure of the exhibition organizers amounted to MOP155.09 million and MOP234.00 million respectively; meanwhile, revenue and expenditure of the interviewed exhibitors totalled MOP53.76 million and MOP18.08 million respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that imports of Electricity decreased by 25.3% over the previous quarter to 906 million kWh in the fourth quarter of 2012; meanwhile, local generation of Electricity dropped further by 15.6% to 108 million kWh; consumption of Electricity went down by 21.8% to 985 million kWh. For the whole year of 2012, total consumption of Electricity (4.205 billion kWh) increased by 9.1% year-on-year; consumption of Electricity by the Business sector (76.5% of total) increased by 10.4% to 3.218 billion kWh, with that of the Gaming sector rising by 14.6%; consumption by Households went up by 3.4% to 792 million kWh. In 2012, imports of Electricity (3.855 billion kWh) increased 21.8% year-on-year, while local generation of Electricity (561 million kWh) dropped by 36.7%. In the fourth quarter of 2012, imports (11,606 tonnes) and consumption (11,450 tonnes) of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) increased by 25.1% and 21.8% respectively quarter-to-quarter; the average price of imports rose by 13.5% to MOP9.22 per kilogram. For the whole year of 2012, imports (43,477 tonnes) and consumption (43,615 tonnes) of LPG went up by 2.4% and 1.6% respectively year-on-year; the average price of imports rose by 3.1% to MOP9.29 per kilogram. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the average price of Gas Oil & Diesel for automotive (MOP13.20 per litre) and Unleaded Gasoline (MOP12.20 per litre) increased by 1.9% and 0.4% respectively quarter-to-quarter, and that of Bottled LPG (MOP15.56 per kilogram) went up by 11.8%. For the whole year of 2012, the average price of Unleaded Gasoline (MOP12.16 per litre) and Gas Oil & Diesel for automotive (MOP13.03 per litre) increased by 5.5% and 4.6% respectively year-on-year, and that of Bottled LPG (MOP14.98 per kilogram) went up by 5.4%. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, stock of LPG (1,972 tonnes) and Gas Oil & Diesel (22.46 million litres) increased by 28.0% and 14.2% respectively quarter-to-quarter, while stock of Fuel Oil (11.00 million litres) decreased by 39.6%.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new SME lending approved by Macao banks rebounded in the second half of 2012. Concurrently, the utilisation of SME credit in proportion to the credit limit approved by banks continued to contract. New Lending Approved In the second half of 2012, new SME credit limit approved by Macao banks totalled MOP12.2 billion, up by 82.6% from the first half year of 2012 but down 28.1% from the same period of 2011. The collateralised ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 64.8%, up 1.6 percentage points when compared with the last survey period or 4.0 percentage points when compared with the same period of 2011. Credit Utilisation As at end-December 2012, the outstanding value of total SME loans increased 3.2% from end-June but down 5.3% from a year earlier to MOP31.9 billion. When compared with end-June 2012, SME loans to "education", "information technology" and "restaurants, hotels and similar activities" increased at respective rates of 29.2%, 17.2% and 11.3%, whereas those to "wholesale and retail trade" and "construction and public works" dropped 14.4% and 14.3% respectively. The utilisation rate, defined as the proportion of outstanding credit balance to the credit limit granted, dropped 1.5 percentage points from six months ago to 57.5%. Delinquent Loans At the end of December 2012, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans decreased by 29.7% from six months ago to MOP301.0 million. Compared to a year ago, the balance dropped 41.6%. The delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, dropped 0.44 percentage points from end-June 2012 or 0.59 percentage points from a year earlier to 0.94%. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao
(Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (120.21) for January 2013 increased by 5.04% year-on-year, attributable to dearer charges for eating out and higher rentals for housing. In comparison with January 2012, notable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+10.05%); Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+7.19%); and Health (+6.99%) on account of dearer prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, higher house rentals, rising charges for domestic services and out-patient services. On the contrary, price index of Education and Recreation & Culture decreased by 3.06% and 2.03% respectively. The CPI-A (119.93) and CPI-B (120.70) increased by 5.69% and 4.93% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for January 2013 increased by 0.17% month-to-month. Higher charges for eating out, dearer prices of fresh fish and fresh meat drove up the price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 0.54%, while decrease in vegetable prices offset part of the increase; besides, price index of Recreation & Culture decreased by 1.75% due to lower charges for outbound package tours. The CPI-A and the CPI-B increased by 0.24% and 0.16% respectively month-to-month. For the 12 months ended January 2013, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.96% from the preceding period, of which the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+28.25%); and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+8.22%) rose significantly, while that of Communication decreased by 3.75%. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 6.33% and 6.13% respectively. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
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