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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today the Government is planning to amend existing gaming regulations so that people who should be barred from entering casinos would not get the prize money even if they had won. He said the issue was under study and proposed amendments would be passed to the Executive Council soon for further discussion. Speaking to reporters before his departure for Fujian this evening, Mr Ho said existing laws forbade Macao civil servants and anyone under 18, including visitors, from entering casinos. Inspectors were closely monitoring to ensure these “unqualified” people were not allowed in the prohibited areas. But some might be able to sneak in, for example with another person’s identity card. The Chief Executive said in order to stop problem, the laws should be changed to state clearly that neither the offender nor the offender’s family members would get the prizes even if they had won. Responding to questions on the economic growth, he said according to the latest available figures, this year should see a slight rise over last year’s figures. Mr Ho said that from the Government’s point of view, economic growth should not overheat and that he would closely watch how the people are affected by inflation. A string of subsidiary measures would be launched as soon as next month to help the disadvantaged and low-income families cope with inflation, he said.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is scheduled to leave for Xiamen, Fujian tomorrow to attend the 11th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) and the Second Forum on West Coast Economic Zone of the Taiwan Straits (the Forum). Mr Ho is to attend the opening ceremony of the Forum themed "Work together for the developemt of the Straits" where he will deliver a speech on 7 September, and CIFIT, themed "Going Global", sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, on 8 September. The President of the Macao Trade and Promotion Institute, Mr Lee Peng Hong, and the advisor of the CE's office, Mr Fong Sio Weng, are to accompany the Chief Executive. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan will be Acting Chief Executive in Mr Ho's absence.
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The final proposal on the Macao Light Rail Transit (LRT) would be announced at the end of this month or in October, according to a statement from the Office of Infrastructure Development. The Office issued the statement today, the end of its 45-day public consultation on the first phase of the system. During this period, more than 100 papers with suggestions ranging from the routing, the location of stations and financial control have been received. The statement said the public was generally supportive of the proposal to build the railway and a detailed proposal would be formulated after analysing the opinions collected. The Office launched the consultation in the middle of July, during which 25 meetings were held with different sectors to further explain the advantages of the LRT system. Moreover, billboards had been put up in different areas to give the public a better understanding of the project, which is scheduled to begin operation in 2010.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the available supply of Electricity and Unleaded gasoline in the second quarter of 2007 rose markedly by 19.3% and 14.1% respectively year-on-year. Compared with the first quarter of 2007, the available supply of Electricity and Unleaded gasoline surged by 43.7% and 17.0% respectively whereas the supply of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) registered a decrease of 11.7%. Consumption of Electricity and Gas oil & diesel went up by 16.3% and 11.9% respectively year-on-year, whilst that of Fuel oil fell by 5.3%. Compared with the first quarter of 2007, consumption of Electricity and Gas oil & diesel registered increases of 42.8% and 29.9% respectively, whereas that of LPG decreased by 16.5%. With respect to the imports of fuels, the quantity of Unleaded gasoline and Aviation kerosene went up by 20.8% and 16.9% year-on-year. Compared with the first quarter of 2007, the quantity of Unleaded gasoline and Gas oil & diesel expanded by 34.7% and 14.9% respectively, while that of LPG dropped by 14.8%. At the end of the second quarter of 2007, the list price of bottled LPG (per kg) and centralized LPG (per m3) rose by 8.4% and 6.9% respectively from a year earlier. Likewise, the list price of all types of fuels rose in comparison with the previous quarter, among which the price of bottled LPG (per kg) and centralized LPG (per m3) registered increases of 6.7% and 6.3% respectively.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released the expenditure-based GDP and the related information for the second quarter of 2007. The rates of change mentioned in this press release refer to the year-on-year change in real terms, unless otherwise specified. In the second quarter of 2007, the gaming and tourism sector continued to perform well. Gross gaming receipts (excluding gratuities) grew significantly by 48.9% in nominal terms compared with the same quarter of 2006. Total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose by 14.2% upon rises in the number of visitor arrivals and their per-capita spending. Investment soared by 44.4% on the back of several large-scale construction projects in progress. However, exports of goods fell by 5.9%. Estimated from all relevant data, GDP for the second quarter and the first half of 2007 recorded real growth of 31.9% and 28.9% respectively, while that for the first quarter was revised upward to 25.8%. In terms of major GDP components, private consumption expenditure in the second quarter of 2007 increased by 8.4%, lower than the 9.0% growth in the previous quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market rose by 6.5%, while that abroad went up by 8.2%, with the expenditure in Mainland China amounted to MOP 576 million. Government final consumption expenditure increased by 10.0%, up from the 1.1% increase in the previous quarter, of which compensation of employees and net purchases of goods and services went up by 9.5% and 11.5% respectively. Gross fixed capital formation, a gauge of investment, showed a robust expansion of 44.4%, higher than the 41.5% growth in the previous quarter. In the private sector, total investment recorded an increase of 49.9% that was mainly attributable to a surge of 56.7% in investment in construction; besides, investment in equipment rose by 32.4%. On the other hand, total government investment dropped by 20.0%, in which investments in construction and equipment decreased by 19.5% and 26.4% respectively. Based on the data of the private and public sectors, total investment in construction expanded by 49.1% in the second quarter of 2007, quickening from the 44.6% growth in the previous quarter; total investment in equipment increased by 31.2%, lower than the 33.0% rise in the previous quarter. In terms of visible trade, the decline in total value of goods exports in the second quarter narrowed from 9.6% in the previous quarter to 6.2% in nominal terms, or from 8.5% to 5.9% in real terms. Among this, exports to the United States and the European Union went down by 17.3% and 23.1% respectively in nominal terms, whereas exports to Hong Kong, China and Mainland China rose by 20.0% and 14.6% respectively. Total value of goods imports increased upon greater demand, by 15.3% and 13.0% in nominal and real terms respectively, lower than the 19.2% and 17.6% growth in the previous quarter. As regards invisible trade (exports of services), exports of gaming services soared by 49.0%; total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) increased by 14.2% upon rises in the number of visitor arrivals and their per-capita spending. Based on the integrated data of the exports of services, total exports of invisible trade recorded an increase of 37.1%, higher than the 32.9% growth in the previous quarter. Moreover, imports of services grew by 25.5%, up from 22.1% increase in the previous quarter.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, the unemployment rate for May-July 2007 was 3.1%, up by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (April-June 2007), on account of the increasing number of job-seekers during the summer holiday period. The underemployment rate was up by 0.1 percentage point over the preceding period to 1.1%. The number of unemployed was 9,500 and about 1,600 were searching for their first job, corresponding to 16.6% of the total unemployed, up by 5.0 percentage points over the preceding period. The unemployment rate in May-July 2007 fell by 0.9 percentage point over the same period of 2006, while the underemployment rate remained unchanged from a year earlier. The unemployment situation was improved in the Construction and Manufacturing sectors, while the situation in other sectors remained stable. Total labour force was estimated at 310,700, with 301,200 were employed. Labour force participation rate was 69.5%, up by 0.8 percentage point compared with the previous period and by 3.4 percentage points year-on-year.
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A proposed law to regulate the import of labour and its administrative regulations have been passed to the Executive Council, a body which assists the Chief Executive in policymaking. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, disclosed this today when asked by the media about labour issues. "We have made suggestions on the management of imported labour and the legal liability a contractor and a subcontractor should bear," he said. He said the proposals would be introduced to employers and labour associations soon after the Executive Council -- the body that advises the Chief Executive on policy matters -- for discussion, and then to the Legislative Assembly for legislation.
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According to the information released by the Statistics and Census Service, the resident population of Macao was estimated at 526,000 as at 30 June 2007, an increase of about 27,000 persons compared with the same period of 2006. In the second quarter of 2007, there were 993 live births, up by 0.1% over the first quarter. Among the live births, 51.8% were male. The number of mortality cases reported was 378, and the major underlying causes of death were “Malignant neoplasms” and “Diseases of the circulatory system”. Meanwhile, 4 cases of fetal mortality were recorded. The Health Bureau received 420 cases of Notifiable diseases in this quarter, including 184 cases of “Varicella (chickenpox)”, 111 cases of “Tuberculosis of lung” and 44 cases of “Enterovirus infection”. In addition, 530 marriages were registered, up by 4.7% over the first quarter of 2007. Regarding the migratory flow, the number of legal immigrants from Mainland China totalled 491 in the second quarter of 2007, a decrease of 6 persons over the preceding quarter; meanwhile, 424 illegal immigrants were repatriated. The quarter-end balance of persons that were authorized to reside in Macao totalled 39,068, up by 1,260 persons over the first quarter of 2007. The end-period balance of non-resident workers in Macao was 75,391, up by 4,209 persons over the first quarter of 2007.
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Macao would continue to help train educational professionals in Western China, especially in Xinjiang, to prepare the region better for future development. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Chui Sai On, said this upon his return from leading an official delegation, comprising members from the education and tourism sectors, to Xinjiang from 15-18 August 2008. To co-ordinate with the country's plans to open up the Western parts, this is the eighth annual visit for the delegation to Xinjiang after the establishment of the Macao SAR. As part of the programme, teachers of English in Xinjiang have been studying in Macao to enhance their teaching and language skills. Later this year Macao would help to set up an international standard English study centre in Xinjiang. Macao also pledged to help boost Xinjiang's tourism industry by using the MSAR as a platform to attract more foreign visitors to Xinjiang.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that value of total retail sales was estimated at MOP3.28 billion in the second quarter of 2007. Retail sales of watches, clocks & jewellery took the largest share of 14% of the total, which were followed by sales of goods in department stores (12%), motor vehicles (11%), goods in supermarkets (10%), adults' clothing (9%) and automotive fuels (5%). In this quarter, value of retail sales rose by 29% as against MOP2.54 billion in the second quarter of 2006, with marked increases in the sales of watches, clocks & jewellery, adults’ clothing, goods in department stores, goods in supermarkets and motor vehicles. In comparison with the estimate of MOP3.11 billion in the first quarter of 2007, value of retail sales in this quarter increased by 5%. In the first half of 2007, value of total retail sales amounted to MOP6.38 billion, up by 27% over the same period of 2006. In the second quarter of 2007, about 43% of the retailers reported decrease in the sales volume from the first quarter, down by 1 percentage point over the findings in the previous quarter, while 57% reported that the sales volume remained stable or increased. In terms of retail prices, about 57% and 18% reported that the prices were stable and showed increase respectively whereas 25% reported the prices decreased. Compared with the same quarter of 2006, about 70% said that the stock level was normal in the second quarter of 2007, while 21% indicated that the stock level was low. Regarding the business prospect for the third quarter of 2007, about 56% expected the sales volume to increase or remain stable compared with the second quarter, and 44% expected it to decrease. Meanwhile, about 80% expected the retail prices to remain stable or increase, while 20% expected it to decrease.
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