News

The working group on food prices released its latest specific price survey on dairy products. Survey result showed that prices of the 16 surveyed products were similar to the data recorded in June, but consumers need to pay attention to various price differences of products. The working group on food prices collected 16 brands of dairy products from 18 retail outlets on 16th August. A general price difference of 20 to 30 percent was recorded in most surveyed items. 'Pura UHT Milk (paper pack) (1L)', which was sold at $14.0 to $23.5, recorded the greatest price difference of about 67 percent; 'Pauls Milk - Pure Milk (paper pack) (1L)', which was sold at $15.9 to $24.0, recorded a price difference of around 51 percent. Consumers are advised to check with the survey data to make practical consumption. The specific price survey on dairy products is now available on the Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that value of retail sales for the second quarter of 2012 totalled MOP 12.74 billion, up by 30% year-on-year. Retail sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery amounted to MOP 4.10 billion (32% of total), which was followed by retail sales of Goods in Department Stores (13%), Leather Goods (10%), Adults' Clothing (8%), Motor Vehicles (7%) and Goods in Supermarkets (6%). Value of retail sales for the second quarter decreased by 3% compared with the revised figure (MOP 13.16 billion) of the first quarter, with marked decrease being observed in sales of Adults' Clothing (-24%), Communication Equipment (-20%), Leather Goods (-11%) and Goods in Department Stores (-10%); however, retail sales of Motor Vehicles soared by 27%. Value of retail sales for the first half year of 2012 reached MOP 25.91 billion, up significantly by 31% year-on-year, of which noticeable increase was seen in sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+49%), Motor Vehicles (+36%), Adults' Clothing (+29%) and Goods in Department Stores (+28%). After removing the effect of price changes, volume of retail sales for the second quarter increased by 22% year-on-year, with notable increase in sales of Motor Vehicles (+63%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+39%) and Communication Equipment (+24%). Volume of retail sales decreased by 4% quarter-to-quarter, with sales of Adults' Clothing (-22%), Communication Equipment (-15%), Leather Goods (-14%) and Goods in Supermarkets (-10%) posting the greatest decline. Volume of retail sales registered an increase of 21% year-on-year in the first half year of 2012. In respect of the comments of the retailers, about 65% stated that sales volume in the second quarter increased or held stable over the previous quarter, up by 11 percentage points compared with those holding the same sentiment in the first quarter, while 35% reported a decrease in sales volume. In terms of the retail prices, about 67% reported stable prices, 26% stated an increase and 7% reported a decrease. In comparison with the same quarter of 2011, about 71% expressed that the stock level was normal in the second quarter, while 18% indicated that the stock level was low. As regards the business outlook for the third quarter, about 81% anticipate that sales volume will increase or remain stable from the second quarter, while 19% expect a decrease. Concurrently, about 77% predict stable retail prices, 14% predict an increase while 9% predict a decrease in retail prices.
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STAMP FESTIVAL, 2012 – DON'T MISS OUR ENJOYABLE ACTIVITIES, LET'S HAVE A FUN AND RELAXING TOUR AT THE MUSEUM! Communications Museum is going to organize the Stamp Festival, 2012 from August till the end of this year. Stamp Festival, 2012 - Among the different activities, adults and kids can play the Funny Stamp Chess at the entrance hall. The Museum will invite visiting students to dress up the pillar box by putting stamps on it. From September 1 to October 4, the public can guess the total number of stamps on the pillar box. The five winners who can guess the correct quantity or made the closest estimate can get stamp album and philatelic book. Please feel free to view the latest photos of the pillar box on the Museum website. There is no restriction on age and the number of votes. Furthermore, the Stamping Fun spots are located at different areas inside the Museum. Have fun stamping and collect your happy moments at the Museum! In the temporary exhibition gallery of the Museum, the 3-Dimensional Stamps shows distinct stamps made of special materials or techniques. Visitors can, therefore, appreciate stamps from different angles. Apart from seeing, they can hear, smell and use their hands to feel these stamps that are made of special materials instead of just a piece of paper. The same gallery also exhibits stamps that are awarded with International Awards and Coin Covers of the United Kingdom. Coin cover is a kind of philatelic product with a coin on it. These exhibited coin covers are co-issued by the Royal Mail and the Royal Mint, and applied with special datemark of origin on the commemorative stamps. There is also special guided tour service for the stamp exhibitions. Please feel free to book! There are many activities suitable for different age groups during the Stamp Festival. The first one is The 18th International Postage Stamp Design Contest. Communications Museum will provide collecting services for the entries of Macao participants before 20 September. The themes of this year are "New Year Greetings" and "Energy Conservation", and participants can join the Youth or University /General categories. Winning designs of the Grand Prize and Gold Prize will be issued as stamps by Korea Post. In addition, participants who submitted their works through Communication Museum and who win the Grand Prize or Gold Prize will be granted the Macau-Korea round-trip air ticket as sponsored by Macao Post to attend the awards ceremony in Korea. Families and groups of friends are welcomed to join the Mailbox Painting Workshop with the theme "Love and Blessings". Registration is now open till 13 September. Each group of participants will be provided with a metallic mailbox, painting colors and tools to design and paint their mailboxes in the Museum. The finished works will be kept and exhibited by the Museum. Winners of the best three works will be invited to join "A Tour at Hong Kong Museums" on 11 November 2012, with sponsored ferry tickets, transportation, lunch and insurance. They will visit the The Majesty of All Under Heaven: The Eternal Realm of China's First Emperor exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Science Museum. Science and Arts Activities for Primary Students, 2012 – Component Revamp, which is jointly organized by the Macau Society of Biomedical Engineering and Communications Museum, will be held on 6 October. The purpose is to encourage Primary 4 to 6 students to understand science and technology in our daily life so as to increase their initiative of "Dare to experiment. Dare to discover". Individuals or groups of 2 students are welcomed to register before 27 September. During the activity, they will use different electric components to design and create a 3-dimensional object. Beginners are welcomed to sign up for the free "Tools Training Class" in September. Schools are also welcomed to book the training class. Winners of the three best works and their supervisors will also be invited to join "A Tour at Hong Kong Museums" on 11 November. Creative Storytelling Challenge – Story on the Stamps, which is jointly organized by the Macao Central Library and Communications Museum, will be held on 1 December. The objective is to encourage youth to make use of the resources in libraries and museums for information gathering and problem solving. From now till 15 November, Primary 1 to 4 students are welcomed to register for the Cantonese or Putonghua Category. They will create and tell their stories on stamps with selected topics. The topic selections for Primary 1 and 2 students are "Lunar Year of the Dragon", "Giant Pandas" and "Love and Blessings"; whereas those for Primary 4 and 5 students are "Watching Over a Stump Waiting for a Rabbit" of "Idiom – Watching Over a Stump, Waiting for a Rabbit", "Macao World Heritage – Ruins of St. Paul" and "Scenes of Daily Life in the Past – Mr. Postman". The three winners and their supervisors will be invited to join "A Tour at Hong Kong Museums" on 27 January 2013. They will visit the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Science Museum. For details of activities and registration forms of the Stamp Festival, 2012, please feel free to visit the Museum website or register online.
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The Macao SAR Government said today it was pleased to see the release of 14 Chinese nationals, including a Macao resident who were illegally detained by Japan for landing on one of the Diaoyu Islands on Wednesday. This was stated by a statement issued by the Government Spokesman Office. The statement also said that it was pleased to know that the Macao resident can safely leave Japan today. "Diaoyu Islands and its islets have been China's inherent territory since ancient times, and the SAR Government firmly supports any action of the country in safeguarding the sovereignty", the statement emphasised. The Government expressed gratitude to the efforts made by the Ministry of Feoreign Affairs and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macao in helping secure the release of the Macao resident, the statement added.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total spending of visitors (excluding gaming expenses) amounted to MOP11.4 billion in the second quarter of 2012, up by 13% in comparison with MOP10.1 billion in the second quarter of 2011; spending of the overnight visitors totalled MOP9.3 billion and that of same-day visitors was MOP2.0 billion. In the second quarter of 2012, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP1,713, an increase of 16% compared with MOP1,482 from a year earlier. Analysed by place of residence, per-capita spending of visitors from Mainland China was MOP2,209, Singaporean visitors spent MOP1,426, Japanese visitors spent MOP1,372, Thai visitors spent MOP1,227. As regards per-capita spending of long-haul visitors, Australian visitors spent MOP1,434, US visitors spent MOP1,115 and UK visitors spent MOP948. Per-capita non-shopping spending of visitors rose by 12% year-on-year to MOP878, of which expenses on Accommodation and Food & Beverage accounted for 48% and 36% respectively. Australian visitors had the highest per-capita non-shopping spending of MOP1,274 and that of Japanese visitors was MOP1,219. Per-capita shopping spending of visitors amounted to MOP835, up by 20% year-on-year, with Local Food Products (23%), Jewellery & Watches (18%), Clothing (18%) etc. being the more popular shopping items. Mainland visitors had the highest per-capita shopping spending of MOP1,287. In addition, per-capita spending of overnight visitors increased by 16% year-on-year to MOP2,895, while that of same-day visitors edged down by 2% to MOP594. The overnight and same-day visitors from Mainland China had the highest per-capita spending of MOP3,741 and MOP760 respectively.
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Tichket for the three scheduled performances of the 26th Macao International Music Festival opening show, the Broadway musical "Peter Pan", sold out shortly after tickets went on sale. In order not to let music fans down, the Cultural Affairs Institute has added an extra show at 3pm on 7th October (Sunday). Tickets will be on sale from this Sunday (19th August) at 10am, at counter sales, online and through the ticketing hotline.. Each person can purchase up to ten tickets at a time and audience are kindly reminded that the performance is only for 6-year-olds or above.
The musical "Peter Pan" is a two-time Emmy Award winner and a two-time Tony Award nominated production. Its adventurous-filled plot, coupled with the timeless and legendary immortal life of the protagonist, never fails to capture the child within the hearts of adults. The main character, Peter Pan, is played by the Tony Award nominee Cathy Rigby. Her elaborated fairy-like aspiration and the professionalism of other Broadway actors will definitely turn the stage into Neverland. In addition to musicals, opera is also a beloved show of the music festival. This year, the festival presents Puccini's immortal classic "Tosca". In order to present to the audience the grand scenery of this masterpiece, the Cultural Affairs Institute especially invited the Puccini Music Festival production team from Italy to create a world-class set for the internationally renowned singers to perform on.
The violin recital of the Russian musician Vadim Repin is a must-see for violin lovers and solo concert fans. Vadim Repin is the youngest violinist in history to win the first prize of the Queen Elizabeth Competition. This is a unique opportunity to see one of the most talented violinists of our time, one that Yehudi Menuhin called "the best", perform sonatas by notable composers, such as Brahms and Debussy.
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The Government would keep close contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macao regarding the 14 Chinese citizen detained by Japan, including one local man. A statement issued today by the Government Spokesman Ofifice said China had asked Japan to "immediately and unconditionally" release the 14 Chinese nationals illegally detained by Japan yesterday on one of the Diaoyu Islands. Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had lodged solemn representations with Japan, it said. The Government was monitoring developments closely and would co-ordinate with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao SAR to secure the release of Macao man to return home safely.
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Consumers International (CI) recently features Macao Consumer Council's 'Certified Shop' mechanism on its official website and recognizes the consumer protection work that has been done in Macao. Further, the June's newsletter of Consumers International Asia Pacific & the Middle East regions points out that 'Macao (Consumer Council)'s supermarket price survey benefits consumers'. The CI recently features an article on the work of Macao Consumer Council, especially its 'Certified Shop' mechanism, on the CI's official website. The 'Certified Shop' mechanism is described by the CI as one which boosts tourism industry in Macao and helps promoting consumer right. The organization also recommends the mechanism to its global members. In order to enhance interaction and cooperation between its members, the CI features important projects of its members on its official website and exchanges information with its members. The CI recently features a detailed report on Macao Consumer Council's 'Certified Shop' mechanism on its website, enabling over 220 full members and affiliates from 115 countries and regions all over the world of the CI network to know more about the work and the said mechanism of the Council. The Council believes that such information will be disclosed to local residents by the member countries and regions of the CI network, tourists coming to Macao will therefore benefit from the 'Certified Shop' mechanism. Meanwhile, in its June's newsletter, the Consumers International Asia Pacific & the Middle East regions points out that 'Macao (Consumer Council)'s supermarket price survey benefits consumers'. Consumers International is an independent and non-profit international organization founded in 1960. The CI has been working closely with consumers organizations worldwide to help promoting consumer rights. Macao Consumer Council has become a full member of the CI since 1997 and gets access to the most updated information worldwide about new policies on consumer protection.
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Macao Post will launch the "Gift Fulfillment Service in Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao" - Mid-Autumn Festival Gift Series during the period from 17th of August to 17th of September 2012. Customers can express their warmest regards to Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao families, friends or business partners in this seasonal festival. This year, 20 kinds of gifts have been specially selected for your choices. Apart from the traditional mooncake gift sets, the seasonal hampers are now offered for your selections. To place your order, please visit Macao Post website at http://www.macaupost.gov.mo, Central Post Office or any post offices. You may make an order on or before 17th of September 2012, and your ordered gift will be delivered to the designated addressee on or before 30th of September 2012. For enquiry please contact the gift fulfillment service hotline at 8396 8813 or by email at reb@macaupost.gov.mo.
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The Government Spokesman Office today released a statement over the incident of activists detained by Japanese coastguard personnel when they landed yesterday on one of the Diaoyu Islands. The Macao SAR Government was paying close attention to the development of relevant issues, the statement said. It said the Government would fully support the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in asking Japan to refrain from taking any action that could endanger the lives and properties of Chinese citizens going to the Diaoyu Islands.
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