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According to the information released by the Statistics and Census Service, the resident population of Macao was estimated at 520,000 as at 31 March 2007, an increase of about 29,000 persons compared with the same period of 2006. In the first quarter of 2007, there were 992 live births, a decrease of 14.3% over the fourth quarter of 2006. Among the live births, 51.3% were male. The number of mortality cases reported was 419, and the major underlying causes of death were “Diseases of the circulatory system” and “Malignant neoplasms”. Meanwhile, 3 cases of fetal mortality were recorded. The Health Bureau received 959 cases of Notifiable diseases in this quarter, including 719 cases of “Varicella (chickenpox)”, 93 cases of “Tuberculosis of lung” and 71 cases of “Acute Norovirus gastroenteropathy”. In addition, 506 marriages were registered, down by 26.8% over the fourth quarter of 2006. Regarding the migratory flow, the number of legal immigrants from Mainland China totalled 497 in the first quarter of 2007, up 258 persons over the fourth quarter of 2006; meanwhile, 366 illegal immigrants were repatriated. The quarter-end balance of persons that were authorized to reside in Macao totalled 37,808, up 1,410 persons over the fourth quarter of 2006. The end-period balance of non-resident workers in Macao was 71,182, up 6,509 persons over the fourth quarter of 2006.
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Macao can use Singapore as a good reference when the Special Administrative Region (SAR) amends its public housing regulations, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, said today. Speaking to the press at the celebration activities of Maritime Administration Day, Mr Lau said Singapore's public housing scheme would be of great value, especially on control of the proper use of public resources. For instance, buyers of secondary market public housing units are strictly limited to those on the waiting list for public housing. This would prevent owners from selling it to third parties, making a quick profit at public expenses, said Mr Lau. And to prevent flats being left empty, construction starts only after buyers are fully committed, based on the floor plans they have seen. When asked about motorcycle parking, Mr Lau said more than 6,000 extra spaces will be available when a number of parking lots are open later in the year.
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The Statistics and Census Service released the results of the Employment Survey for the first quarter of 2007. Principal indicators such as the labour force participation rate, unemployment rate and underemployment rate have been published in the brief report in April. In the first quarter of 2007, total labour force was estimated at 293,000, of which 284,000 were employed and 9,300 unemployed, representing an increase of 6,700 workers in the employed population and a decrease of 900 in the unemployed population over the previous quarter. Regarding the employed population, 54.0% were male. Analyzed by industry, the majority of the employed population were engaging in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (21.6%), Wholesale & retail trade (13.4%), Construction (12.7%), as well as Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (10.7%). By occupation, 25.8% of the employed population were Clerks (including casino dealers, floorpersons, betting service operators, etc.); 20.4% were Service & sales workers and 17.6% were Unskilled workers. The overall median monthly employment earnings was MOP7,588. For Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services that engaged the majority of the employed population, the median earnings amounted to MOP10,901. The median actual hours worked per week was 47.1 hours. Within the unemployed, 90.8% were searching for a new job, while 9.2% had never worked and were searching for their first job. With regard to the educational attainment, 10.1% had lower than primary education; 29.2% had primary education; 34.3% had junior secondary education; 19.8% had senior secondary education and 6.6% had tertiary education. For the unemployed that were searching for a new job: Analyzed by the previous industry engaged, the majority had worked in Construction (22.4%), Wholesale & retail trade (17.4%), Manufacturing (16.4%), as well as Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (15.5%). In terms of the previous occupation, 28.6% were Service & sales workers, whereas Unskilled workers and Craftsmen & similar workers accounted for 22.3% and 16.7% respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI for April 2007 rose by 0.59% over March to 112.58. The increment was mainly attributable to the increases in the price indices of Housing & fuels; Food & non-alcoholic beverages; Recreation & culture; and Clothing & footwear. Compared with March 2007, the indices of Clothing & footwear; Recreation & culture; and Housing & fuels recorded notable increases of 1.67%, 1.45% and 1.11% respectively, on account of dearer prices in new arrivals of Summer clothing, higher charges for outbound package tours in the Easter holidays, as well as higher rental for housing. In addition, rising prices of gasoline and higher charges for meals bought away from home drove the indices of Transport; and Food & non-alcoholic beverages up by 0.69% and 0.38% respectively. On the other hand, the price index of Household goods and furnishings was the only section that recorded a decrease of 0.02%, as a result of lower prices of glassware and household utensils. The Composite CPI for April 2007 registered a year-on-year increase of 4.67%. The average Composite CPI for January to April 2007 went up by 4.60% over the same period of 2006. For the 12 months ended April 2007, the average Composite CPI rose by 4.79% over the previous period. In addition, the CPI-A and CPI-B for April 2007 were 113.95 and 112.23, up by 0.51% and 0.62% respectively compared with March. The Composite CPI reflects the impacts of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 3,000 to MOP 9,999, whereas the CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 10,000 to MOP 19,999.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today urged college students to accept with an open mind new concepts which come along with a changing society. Speaking at a seminar on student's role in a changing society, Mr Ho said since Macao was rapidly changing, there were lots of reforms and renewals appearing in all sectors of the society, and that college students ought to readjust themselves to accommodate them. He said that conflicts would definitely crop up in a changing society, however, this phenomenon catalysed a diversified development of the entire society with an activity and extensive participation by Macao residents. To face a changing society, Mr Ho encouraged students to enhance themselves with specialised knowledge to compete in a highly competitive market, at the same time, they also need to develop various interests and skills so as to add values for themselves. He said students should not follow others blindly, but should stand on their own faith that totally depended on their rational and independent thinking. They should also develop a correct world view and moral view to resist inducements, he added.
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The former President of Portugal, General António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes, has arrived in Macao yesterday for a two-day visit. He is on a visit to China and Macao is one of the cities on his itinerary. During his visit to Macao, General Eanes met with the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, toured attractions and attended a reception hosted by the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region, and one by Portugal's Consulate-General in Macao. General Eanes completed his Macao visit and left in the evening.
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The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, said today that the Singaporean Government policy to give priority to first-time home buyers and encouraged to them conserve the nuclear family are valuable experience for Macao to study in formulating its own housing policies. Mr Lau, who is also the co-ordinator of a specialised group for public housing project, returned from his fact-finding trip to the Singapore today, and said the Repulic’s public housing policies were based on the actual needs of the residents. He pointed out that the Singaporean Government encouraged composite family by granting subsidy and priority in the allocation of flats, which is a good reference for Macao. During the visit, the Macao delegation had a better understanding on how Singapore solved the housing problems of those who could not afford to buy homes in the private sector, and how to allocate units in a fair manner. The Singaporean Government has implemented various strict requirements for applicants in order to prevent any unwanted behaviour, with stiff jail sentences for violators. The delegation met with the Minister of National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan and the Minister of Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, respectively, and exchanged views with them. On the five-day-visit, the delegation also visited the Housing Development Board, Light Rail Transit, Land Transport Authority and the Urban Redevelopment Authrotiy.
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To expand media coverage on the “Experience Macau with Visa!” promotional program, a delegation of 18 media representatives from 5 Asian countries/regions as well as program spokesperson Amanda Strang to “Experience Macau!”. Visa International and the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) are co-organizing the “Experience Macau with Visa!” promotional program between May 1 and September 30, 2007 in Macau. To further expand the scope of media coverage of the program, a media delegation comprise of representatives from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan China, Japan and Korea embarked on their 2-day visit to Macau yesterday (17th). Hong Kong supermodel Amanda S., spokesperson of the program also came to Macau, generating considerable public interest. The Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have consistently been the 3 major tourism source markets of Macau. Japan and Korea, on the other hand currently occupy 5th and 6th positions among the top 10 markets. The 18 media representatives are from 11 newspapers and 4 magazines specialized in tourism, leisure, lifestyle and fashion, all of which are leading publications of the respective countries/regions. During the visit, the delegation made some exclusive interviews, toured the “Historic Centre of Macau”, visited museums as well as new tourism facilities. The organizers believe that the media from different areas will enable readers to easily picture the new Macau through their articles and photos. Chinese-French model, spokesperson of the promotional program, Amanda S. is one of the most popular models now in Hong Kong. She has been appearing on top magazines’ covers, participated in Hong Kong movies, music videos as well as TV commercials. Amanda S. was in Macau today for promotional photos with Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes, Deputy Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Hong Kong / Macau, Taiwan & Philippines of Visa International, Chris Clark, and Country Manager of Hong Kong/Macau, James Dixon. MGTO hosted a luncheon to welcome the media delegation, and Director Antunes said at his welcome remarks, “Riding on the success of last year’s promotional program jointly organized by Visa International and MGTO, a 5-month program entitled “Experience Macau with Visa” is launched this year to encourage visitors’ consumption in Macau, complementing MGTO’s current year promotional slogan “Experience Macau!” From May 1 to September 30, 2007, Visa cardholders spending in Macau will have chances to enjoy discount privileges and win fabulous prizes. Visa cardholders spending at 34 participating outlets can enjoy a host of exclusive dining and shopping discounts; and for every MOP$300 they spend, they are also entitled to one Instant-Win Lucky Draw (maximum 6 draws per transaction). The more you spend, the more chances you can win! Fabulous prizes include Macau hotel accommodation and round-trip ferry tickets between Hong Kong & Macau. In addition, visitors spending MOP$800 with Visa card anywhere in Macau can redeem a “Goodies Bag” from redemption booths at 2 designated venues, while stocks last! For details of “Experience Macau with Visa”, please visit www.visa.com.hk Locations and opening hours of Visa Macau Delights Goodie Bag redemption booths:
- Macau Business Tourism Centre (09:00 – 21:00)
- Macau Tourism & Cultural Activities Centre (10:00 – 21:00)
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Tourism authorities in Macao and the Mainland will join hands to fight irregular practice in their respective tourism industries. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Chui Sai On, was in Beijing this week to meet with the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, Mr Shao Qiwei. They exchanged views on measures to be taken to combat irregular practice in the tourism industry, especially the so-called zero- and negative-fee tour packages that have affected Macao in the past few years. They agreed to promote a basic fee, which would correspond with the cost of package tours from China to Macao. Mr Chui said it required concerted efforts by the Government and tourism operators to combat zero- and negative-fee tour packages. In January, three Macao tourism business associations also visited the Administration and they agreed on the basic package fee scheme and promote honest operation. Mr Shao said the Administration would continue to fully support Macao's tourism industry and urged for Macao’s co-operation with the Administration in pursuit of healthy development of the tourism industry. In response, Mr Chui expressed his gratitude to the Administration's support. China is the most important tourism market for Macao, whose citizens accounted for 54 per cent of Macao's visitor arrivals last year. After the meeting, Macao decided to set up a task force, which would conduct further discussion with the Administration next month, in order to fight irregular practices in the tourism sector. Mr Chui's visit to Beijing was accompanied by representatives of the Macau Government Tourist Office and Travel Development Committee.
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The inauguration of the new director for Finance Services Bureau (DSF) , Ms Lau Ioc Ip took place today in the presence of the Secretary for Economic and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen. Mr Tam told the media that redeployment of officials at all ranks was basically due to the work requirement and this was quite normal. Ms Lau replaced Mr Carlos Ávila, the former director of DSF and was assigned as the Financial Controller of the Macao Science Centre Company Limited. Mr Tam said some colleagues might prefer to accept new challenges after they have served in a position for a long time; meanwhile, there are a number of new posts which needed appropriate candidates to take up to continue to serve the SAR Government. Ms Lau, who started to work in DSF in 1984, has been promoted as the Deputy Director in 2004. She has rich experience in taxation and public administration.
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