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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the total population was estimated at 598,200 as at end-September 2013, an increase of 6,300 quarter-to-quarter; female population totalled 307,700, accounting for 51.4% of the total. There were 1,682 live births delivered in the third quarter of 2013, an increase of 158 quarter-to-quarter (+10.4%). Male babies totalled 853 and the gender ratio of the newborn stood at 102.9, corresponding to 102.9 male babies per 100 female. In the first three quarters of 2013, a total of 4,815 live births were recorded, down by 391 year-on-year. Meanwhile, there were 453 mortality cases, an increase of 10 quarter-to-quarter; the top three underlying causes of death were Neoplasms (170 cases), Diseases of the Circulatory System (100 cases) and Diseases of the Respiratory System (73 cases). In the first three quarters of 2013, mortality cases went down by 8 year-on-year to 1,389. In the third quarter of 2013, Chinese immigrants reached 911 and the individuals granted right of abode registered a net inflow of 388, up by 111 and 28 quarter-to-quarter. Non-resident workers totalled 130,822 at the end of the third quarter, an increase of 9,628 quarter-to-quarter. In the first three quarters of 2013, immigrants from the Mainland totalled 2,391, a decrease of 894 year-on-year. A total of 941 cases of marriage registration were recorded in the third quarter, down by 109 quarter-to-quarter. In the first three quarters of 2013, there were 3,159 cases of marriage registration, up by 358 year-on-year.
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The Chinese, Portuguese and English editions of Macao Yearbook 2013, an annual publication compiled by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) of the Macao SAR, will hit the shelves tomorrow (11 November). The Macao Yearbook is a comprehensive chronicle. It outlines major events, details of progress achieved, and changes made in the course of Macao's political, economic, social and cultural development, with the aim of promoting Macao and providing detailed information and data for all who wish to study and understand Macao. Published annually since 2002, the Macao Yearbook is available in Chinese, Portuguese and English. It is divided into foursections: Administrative Priorities of the MSAR Government; Calendar of Events; Review of the MSARin 2012 and Appendices. This year's Chinese edition comprises 466 pages with over 200,000 words, Portuguese edition 577 pages, and English edition 533 pages; the yearbook is enriched by 148 photographs. Consisting of 16 chapters, the Review of the MSAR presents information on the political and administrative system; legal and judicial system; external relations; economy; gaming industry; tourism; public order; education; culture and sport; health and social welfare; media, communications and information technology; land, infrastructure, housing and public utilities; transport; geography, environment and population; religion and customs; and history. To illustrate various aspects of the latest developments in the MSAR in a visual way, the Government Information Bureau jointly organised with eight local photography organisations and four news media organisations a photographic competition entitled "Precious Moments in Macao" in early 2013. The yearbook has been enhanced by 8 of the winning entries. The Macao Yearbook 2013, together with a complimentary CD-ROM containing the PDF version of the yearbook, can be purchased at the following places at 120 patacas per copy: major local bookstores; the Government Public Information Centre at Rua do Campo; and the Macao Post Office (Macao Post)'s Philatelic Division, Rua do Campo Branch, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal Branch, Macau International Airport Branch, and Nova Taipa Branch. During the promotional period lasting until 31 March 2014, a 20 percent discount will be offered to any purchase of Macao Yearbook 2013.
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Consumer Council conducted its second 'Supermarket price survey' for November on 7th November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. 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. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six 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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For four consecutive Saturdays in November, the Consumer Council will be hosting 4 community carnivals to promote the Regulations and services of the Consumer Arbitration Centre. The first one will be held on 9th November from 3PM to 5PM at Espaço Lateral do Jardim Cidade das Flores in Taipa. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre', and a series of activities, such as seminar, carnivals, exhibitions and online quiz games were held earlier this year. Through holding various events and collecting opinions from the public, the Council can better its service of the Centre and introduce to the local citizens the advantages of using the Centre's service: legal, fair, professional, efficient and free of charge. The carnivals gained popularity among the citizens, especially the Q and A session which enhanced the public's awareness of the Arbitration Centre. The Council states that adopting the mechanism of Mediation-Arbitration for dispute resolution is a recent trend and the Council encourages both parties involving in a consumer dispute to have it settled through this mechanism, thus saving time and social costs. The number of consumer disputes settled through the Arbitration Centre has been increased in recent years and around 500 cases have been handled by the Centre since its establishment. The Council will continue to enhance its service to meet public needs. The first outdoor event will be held on 9th November from 3PM to 5PM at Espaço Lateral do Jardim Cidade das Flores in Taipa, booth games, on-site quiz games and consultation service will be available for the public. Information on the services and regulations of the Consumer Arbitration Centre will also be exhibited. Residents are welcome to participate. The other 3 community carnivals will be held at Parque Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção, Zona de Lazer da Rotunda de Carlos da Maia and Jardim do Mercado de Iao Hon on 16th, 23rd and 30th November respectively. For inquiry, please call 8988-9315.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) took part in "Ningxia, Hong Kong and Macau Travel Mart and Tourism Promotion Event" in Ningxia along with travel trade delegates from Macau. The tourism offices and trade of the three destinations signed and announced a declaration together during the event. Travel industry partners from Macau and Ningxia also signed a cooperative agreement not only to enhance mutual cooperation and communication in tourism but also to facilitate their market development and tourism business mutually. "Ningxia, Hong Kong and Macau Travel Mart and Tourism Promotion Event" was held in Yinchuan today (7 November). Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), Wu Wenxue; Vice Chairman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Wang Heshan; MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; Commissioner for Tourism, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Philip Yung, participated in the event among other guests. The tourism authorities and trade partners of Ningxia, Hong Kong and Macau signed and announced a declaration together. Hong Kong and Macau trade also signed a cooperative agreement separately with their counterparts from Ningxia. The tourism official delegates of the three regions each presented their destination's tourism development, products and events during the function. Director Senna Fernandes remarked that almost 14 years have passed since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region. Driven by the Central Government's strong support and CNTA's guidance, the Macau SAR Government is actively building Macau into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure while steering the city's tourism development toward diversification. The destination also keeps expanding and consolidating those tourism markets with great potential. Furthermore, Macau embraces an open and friendly attitude throughout her collaboration with various Mainland cities, provinces and autonomous regions. Senna Fernandes believed that Ningxia and Macau will enjoy much room for future tourism development by maintaining close ties and communication with each other in both official and private sectors. "Ningxia, Hong Kong and Macau Travel Mart and Tourism Promotion Event" is jointly organized by Department of Affairs on Tourism of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan of CNTA, Tourism Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Macau Government Tourist Office and Tourism Commission of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR. During their stay for the event, Hong Kong and Macau delegates also conducted a familiarization visit in Ningxia to know more about the current situation and trends of local tourism industry, which is expected to facilitate their collaboration and promotion in the future.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 1,147 new companies were incorporated in the third quarter of 2013, up by 155 year-on-year; total value of registered capital decreased by 20.4% to MOP129 million. Analysed by industry, the majority of new incorporations were operating in Wholesale & Retail (423) and Business Services (293), and the total value of capital amounted to MOP44 million and MOP27 million respectively. In the third quarter of 2013, companies in dissolution totalled 121, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to MOP22 million. Analysed by size of registered capital, there were 794 new incorporations (69.2% of total) registered with capital under MOP50,000 and the total value of capital amounted to MOP21 million; there were 26 new companies registered with capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, and the total value of capital reached MOP66 million (51.3% of total), indicating the predominance of new incorporations with small capital. In the third quarter of 2013, capital of the new companies came mainly from Macao (MOP89 million) and Mainland China (MOP28 million), including MOP13 million from the 9 Provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, with that from Guangdong province sharing MOP11 million. Analysed by combination of the shareholders, there were 734 new companies established solely by Macao shareholders, and 130 joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. In the first three quarters of 2013, a total of 3,281 new companies were incorporated, and total value of registered capital amounted to MOP457 million, up by 16.3% and 1.4% respectively year-on-year. Number of companies in dissolution totalled 394, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to MOP228 million. At the end of the third quarter of 2013, number of registered companies totalled 42,674, an increase of 3,558 from a year earlier.
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The Conference of Entrepreneurs between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries cum Project Matching Meeting for China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund to bolster participating countries' trade and business co-operation, was held in Macao today. The Conference, which was themed "Grasp Opportunities and Deepen Cooperation in Pursuit of Common Development and Win-win Outcomes", was attended by some 600 high ranking officials, entrepreneurs from China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, said in his speech that significant achievements have been made in two-way investments, co-operation between entrepreneurs, and training to widen the human resources pool, adding that all these have shown that co-operation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries have been enhanced over the past decade. He highlighted the importance of the special fund for co-operation and development between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, which was formally established in June this year, and said the participants would discuss ways to further promote exchange and co-operation between entrepreneurs from China and the Portuguese-speaking countries in this Conference. In her speech, China's Vice Minister of Commerce, Ms Gao Yan, made four suggestions to promote mutual benefit. They are: - Expand bilateral trade and investment; - Create an enabling environment for trade and economic cooperation; - Beef up collaborative projects between China and Portuguese-speaking countries; and - Leverage the role of Macao as a platform. During the Conference, two agreements on trade co-operation were signed and 95 business projects on infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, energy and natural resources, were successfully matched.
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Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) announces the renewal of the "TedQual Certification" granted to its bachelor degree programmes by the United Nations World Tourism Organization until August 2016. In 2000, IFT was the first United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO.TedQual institution. This certification confirmed the international standard and quality achieved by IFT in tourism education. Several strategic performance areas were assessed in the latest audit, including "The Employers: Public and Private Sectors", "The Student", "The Curriculum and Pedagogical System", "The Faculty", and "The Management". The auditor met with the Institute's management, faculty, students, alumni, directors of government departments as well as industry representatives. The auditor also visited internal departments to collect comments and suggestions for the Institute's future development. Since IFT was granted this certification in 2000, UNWTO has sent UNWTO-THEMIS Executive Director and experts to IFT for periodical observation. IFT appreciates the valuable opinions and makes improvements in various aspects. Within 18 years of the Institute's establishment, IFT has developed gradually and increased its programmes to cope with the needs of community development. Currently, IFT offers 6 daytime degree programmes with English as the medium of instruction, and 2 evening degree programmes in Chinese. The successful renewal covers 4 English degree programmes, namely Tourism Business Management, Heritage Management, Hotel Management, as well as Tourism Event Management. The Institute plans to apply for the evaluation of the remaining programmes as soon as they graduate their first batches of students. The certification confirms the quality of IFT's programmes and raises the morale of students and staff. IFT believes that this honour is to be shared with supportive industry partners, alumni, devoted staff and academic members, as well as diligent students. Tourism is Macao's leading industry. The opening of new hotels and entertainment facilities will enhance Macao's tourism profile. IFT strives to work together with the industry to build a better future for the city.
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Consumer Council conducted its first 'Supermarket price survey' for November on 5th November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. 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. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six 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 Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which is organised by the Ministry of Commerce of the Central People's Government and hosted by the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, is an official, non-political platform for promoting international economic co-operation and development. It aims to strengthen trade and economic exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries while making use of Macao's role as a bridge between the two sides, thereby facilitating the common development of China, Portuguese-speaking countries and Macao. Forum members consist of China and Lusophone countries, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste. As China continues to push ahead with economic reforms, full participation in global economic co-operation has become China's economic development approach. Portuguese-speaking countries, which spread over five continents with their respective geographical advantages and boast rich natural resources and a combined consumer market of 200 million people, offer great potential for complementary co-operation for the Chinese economy. Founded in 2003, the Forum has held three ministerial conferences and the fourth one is being held in Macao during 5-6 November 2013. Over the last decade, the hosting of the Forum and the measures rolled out during the meetings have strengthened economic and trade co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, with Macao serving as a bridge between the two sides. As a result, the common development of the Mainland China, the Macao SAR and Portuguese-speaking countries are greatly bolstered. The First Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries was held in Macao over 12-14 October 2003. Ms Wu Yi, then Vice Premier of the State Council, came to Macao to officiate at the opening of the Forum, which was attended by trade ministers of China and seven Portuguese-speaking countries. The Action Plan for Trade and Economic Cooperation was signed at the end of this Forum, establishing a formal framework for cooperation between the participating countries in the fields of intergovernmental exchanges, investment and commercial co-operation, trade, agriculture and fishery, infrastructure, as well as natural and human resources development. The first Forum also decided to set up a follow-up mechanism and establish a permanent secretariat in Macao to provide the necessary logistical support and finances to help implement the proposed plans and projects. The second and third ministerial conferences of the Forum were held in Macao in September 2006 and November 2010 respectively. The two meetings were officiated by then Secretary General of the State Council, Mr Hua Jianmin, and then Premier of the State Council, Mr Wen Jiabao, respectively. The second Forum explored the theme of sustainable development and discussed ways to help enterprises in the Mainland, Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries to grasp business opportunities arising from the Forum. Another three-year action plan for economic cooperation was signed during this meeting. During the third Forum, the participating countries signed the Action Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation 2010-2013, which outlined more projects and clearer objectives compared with the action plan in 2006. The third action plan added co-operation initiatives in the fields of education, finance, tourism, transport, communications, culture, broadcasting, sport, health and technology. It also proposed to achieve a bilateral trade volume of US$100 billion between China and Portuguese-speaking countries by 2013. The Macao Training Centre of the Forum was also inaugurated. Then Premier Wen Jiabao also announced six measures to promote Sino-Portuguese ties during the third Forum. These measures included: the establishment of a US$1 billion co-operation and development fund between China and Portuguese-speaking countries; provision of 1.6 billion Yuan in concessional loans to the Asian and African members of the Forum; training 1,500 officials and technical personnel for the Asian and African members of the Forum; provision of materials, equipment, technical personnel and other support for one bilateral agricultural project in each Asian and African member of the Forum; provision of 1,000 one-year government scholarships to students from the Asian and African members of the Forum; and provision of medical equipment worth 10 million Yuan to each Asian and African member of the Forum. According to official statistics, bilateral trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries stood at US$5.6 billion in 2002; the figure hit US$10 billion in 2003 when the Forum was founded. By 2008, bilateral trade already reached US$77 billion, realising the goal of exceeding US$50 billion one year ahead of schedule. In the first nine months of 2010, bilateral trade exceeded US$68 billion, a surge of 57 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. In 2012, the total value of exports and imports between China and Portuguese-speaking countries was US$128.497 billion, a year-on-year rise of 9.6 percent. In the first eight months of 2013, the figure stood at US$86 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 0.31 percent. Since the establishment of the Forum, bilateral investments between China and Portuguese-speaking countries have surged rapidly. At present, over 800 enterprises have been set up in China by investors from Portuguese-speaking countries. The rise in bilateral investments has greatly boosted economic growth on both sides. Meanwhile China has provided a total of 4 billion Yuan in concessional loans to Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and Timor-Leste over the past decade. The Cooperation and Development Fund between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which is proposed by the Chinese government and jointly undertaken by the China Development Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Macao), was formally inaugurated on 26 June 2013. The fund's initial capital stands at US$125 million and are jointly provided by China Development Bank Capital Corp and the Industrial and Commercial Development Fund of Macao. The fund is run and managed by the China-Africa Development Fund under the China Development Bank. The 4th Ministerial Conference of the Forum, which is being held in Macao, aims to further bilateral talks and boost joint development of China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
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