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Police said today that the possibility was relatively high that the bullet that injured a passer-by during the May 1 demonstration came from a police revolver. The Judiciary Police, in a statement, said it carried out an indepth investigation following the shooting and experts from the Guangdong security department, who were invited to give their opinion, also carried out on-the-spot investigations. The findings showed that the bullet taken from the injured man was the same type as those from the revolver of the officer who fired warning shots at the height of the disturbance. The investigation also suggested that the location where the officer fired the shots was consistent with the wound sustained by the victim. The report would be forwarded to the Public Prosecutions Office, the statement said.
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Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, left for Singapore today on a visit to better understand the Republic's housing policies. Before his departure, Mr Lau, who is also the coordinator of a newly formed official group for public housing project, said they would meet officials from Singapore's public housing development sector to exchange view. Mr Lau and members of his group would continue their visit to Hong Kong. He said both Singapore and Hong Kong have valuable experience in public housing, which would be a good reference for Macao. The government has formed a specialised group, which includes officials from housing, land and transportation areas, to study public housing. The group had recently submitted a proposal to the Chief Executive regarding some 8,000 housing units to be built by the end of 2009.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 360,798 in March 2007, up by 23.3% year-on-year. Vsitors from Mainland China (249,548) decreased slightly by 0.6% whereas visitors from Hong Kong (32,224) and Taiwan, China (31,306) recorded remarkable growth of 242.7% and 251.8% respectively compared with March 2006. In the first quarter of 2007, visitors arrived in package tours grew by 43.9% over the same period of 2006 to 1,055,296. In March, the number of Macao residents travelling in package tours dropped by 28.5% year-on-year to 12,567. Mainland China; Thailand; and Taiwan, China were the three most popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 74.5%, 6.0% and 4.9% of the total respectively. In the first quarter of 2007, Macao residents travelling in package tours decreased by 28.8% over the same period of 2006 to 44,107. Meanwhile, 27,723 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by travel agencies, an increase of 3.9% over March 2006. Hong Kong (47.3%); Mainland China (24.9%); and Taiwan, China (14.8%) were the major destinations. In the first quarter of 2007, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements dropped by 9.0% compared with the same period of 2006 to 78,087. At the end of March 2007, the number of guest rooms available in the hotel industry registered an increase of 1,752 rooms (+15.5%) year-on-year to 13,049 rooms. In March 2007, a total of 477,365 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, representing a year-on-year growth of 19.5%. The average hotel occupancy rate grew by 0.9 percentage point to 76.0%, with 4-star hotels leading at 83.3%. The average length of stay of hotel guests increased by 0.08 night to 1.23 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (52.3%) and Hong Kong (26.7%). Number of hotel guests totalled 1,333,257 in the first quarter of 2007, up by 25.0% over the same quarter of 2006. In the first quarter of 2007, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 41.7% of the total number of tourists, higher than the 40.5% recorded in 2006.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that in the first quarter of 2007, a total of 4,547 real estate sale and purchase contracts were made, of which 5,940 real estate units were transacted, amounting to MOP4.1 billion. The number of units and value went up 61.9% and 83.1% respectively over the first quarter of 2006. In comparison with the fourth quarter of 2006, the number and value increased 30.8% and 32.1% respectively. In the first quarter of 2007, the total value of mortgage credits granted was MOP6.92 billion, of which the mortgage credits not involving actual property transactions reached MOP5.08 billion, whereas those related to purchases of real estate was MOP1.83 billion, equivalent to 26.4% of the total. The total value of mortgage credits jumped by 160.3% over the first quarter of 2006, and the credits involving actual property transactions soared by 106.4%. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2006, the above indicators were up 56.1% and 63.4% respectively. According to the information supplied by the Finance Services Bureau, in the first quarter of 2007, a total of 10,324 building units were transacted in the real estate market, with a total value of MOP14 billion. Residential units took up a predominant share of 67.7% at 6,987 units, accounting for MOP12 billion in value. Among all the units transacted, 3,632 units were exempted from property tax (i.e. they were new buildings) and their value amounted to MOP9.5 billion. In the first quarter of 2007, the average transaction price of residential units per square meter of usable area was MOP12,433, up 27.5% and 13.4% over the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2006 respectively. Meanwhile, the average transaction prices of residential units in the Macao Peninsula and Taipa were MOP11,117 and MOP15,988 per square meter respectively, higher than the levels recorded in the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2006. Moreover, the average transaction price of residential units in Coloane was MOP16,117 per square meter, up 2.5% over the fourth quarter of 2006. The average transaction price of industrial units per square meter of usable area was MOP4,266, up 14.4% over the first quarter of 2006 and down 3.8% over the fourth quarter of 2006. In addition, the average transaction price of office units per square meter of usable area was MOP21,735, up 25.8% and 4.4% over the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2006 respectively. Among the office units, the area of Baixa de Macau recorded the highest average, at MOP22,810 per square meter, whereas the area of NAPE e Aterros da Baía da Praia Grande had the lowest average, at MOP21,268.
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Macau Government Tourist Office and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) jointly present “Thinking Venues: Service and Market Success” workshop today and tomorrow at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center. A distinguished group of speakers will address a number of executives and sales and marketing professionals from the hotels and congress venues in Macau as well as other parts of Asia in the intensive seminar and workshop program. Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes delivered a speech and MGTO’s consultant of business tourism development, Gary Grimmer gave a briefing today before the workshop started. Mr Antunes expressed, “With the opening up of large international scale resort hotels and MICE facilities, 2007 is an important year for the development of convention, exhibition and business tourism in Macau. Members of the trade should equip themselves for the challenges. The expertise and experiences of the speakers at this workshop will sure make a valued contribution to Macau’s business tourism development. MGTO will continue to organize various training courses to enhance the management and service standards of MICE industry. The highly experienced speakers include Kuala Lumpur Convention and Exhibition Center CEO Peter Brokenshire, Console Communications – Kuala Lumpur Director Yap Shook Fung, Asia Pacific Financial Services Association (Singapore) Convention Bureau Chairman Sani Kudus, Gary Grimmer and Company in Melbourne CEO Gary Grimmer, Asia Pacific - International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Regional Manager, Jane Vong Holmes and Marriott Intl Asia Pacific global sales– Melbourne former VP Bernadette Dennis. The workshop will focus on a broad range of competitive issues like case studies on hosting a major MICE event, association market trends, what makes buyers tick, supporting bid processes, staying competitive in Asia and the world, how to improve the efficiency of events department, getting share of destination’s MICE business, successful site inspections, winning corporate and incentive business from new and upcoming geographic markets, working with PCO’s, hotel and convention centre relationships as well as open discussion forum. ICCA was founded in 1963 by a group of travel agents. Currently with over 700 members in almost 80 countries worldwide, it is certainly the most global organisation within the meetings industry. ICCA’s first and foremost aim was to evaluate practical ways to get the travel industry involved in the rapidly expanding market of international meetings.
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The Series I of the 19th issue of the "Official Gazette of the Macao Special Administrative Region", published on 7th May 2007, announced Law no. 3/2007 of the Macao Special Administrative Region, "Road Traffic Law". This law will become effective on October 1 and the related content is introduced as follows. According to this law, only those people qualified to drive a motor vehicle can drive a motor vehicle on the public roads. It is compulsory for the light vehicle drivers and the front seat passengers to use properly the safety belt; unless there is stipulation on the contrary, in principle children under 12 years old are prohibited to use the front seats of the vehicle; the number of passengers of a vehicle cannot exceed its seating capacity; the violation of any of the above stipulations shall incur a fine of 300 patacas to the driver. While driving, the driver should adjust the speed according to the situation on the road, in order to stop safely where necessary, as well as to avoid any predictable obstacle; this law also prohibits parking in intersection and less than 5 meters from the intersection to roadway; moreover, in case of immobilization of a vehicle, the hazard warning signal should be on, so that other road users may realize the existence of the vehicle; the violation of any of the above stipulations shall also incur a fine of 300 patacas to the driver. The driver should obey the law when driving and shall never practise any act or activity that may affect driving security; for example, the use mobile phone is prohibited when driving (unless the hands-free function is applied); at night or when visibility is insufficient, it is prohibited the circulation of vehicles without illumination due to light problem; in case of immobilization of a vehicle owing to breakdown or accident, the driver should, as far as the situation allows, move the vehicle to the left side of the roadway; the violation of any of the above stipulations shall incur a fine of 600 patacas to the driver. In order to ensure pedestrian's safety, the light motorcycle and heavy motorcycle drivers are prohibited to circulate or push by hand these vehicles on the sidewalk or pedestrian track. Any violation shall incur a fine of 600 or 300 patacas. When driving or riding motorcycles, citizens should use qualified helmets, the safety buckle of which should be tightened, otherwise these can be regarded as not used and they shall be fined. This law also makes restrictions to the situations of transportation of passengers of the above motorcycles. It is prohibited to carry children under six years old, passengers sitting by side and passengers outside the seat; in addition, the bicycle driver, as well as the light or heavy motorcycle driver with driving qualifications less than one year, are prohibited to carry passenger. When approaching places such as hospital, school, safety crossing, etc., the driver should reduce the speed; especially when he is approaching designated pedestrian crossing, the driver should decelerate or stop, whenever necessary, to let the crossing pedestrian pass; non-allowed parking is also prohibited at the bridge, flyover or tunnel. In order to guarantee suitable compensation to the victims in the traffic accidents, this law stipulates that civil liability insurance for motor vehicle and its trailer should be purchased lawfully; circulation of vehicles not covered by insurance in the public roads shall incur a fine of 3,000 patacas. When driving, the driver should bring along document proving the coverage of insurance, otherwise a fine of 300 patacas shall be incurred. Besides the above administrative violations, this law also regulates some criminal acts, such as abandoning a victim of accident caused by the driver himself, which shall incur an imprisonment of up to three years or fine; driver who has caused an accident and intends to, by any method, avoid oneself from civil or criminal liability, shall also incur an imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 120 days. Any person, intentionally or by fault, drives a vehicle on the public roads under the influence of alcohol (with alcohol content per litre of blood equal or superior to 1.2 grams), narcotics or psychotropic substance (as long as the act of taking those substances lawfully constitutes a crime), can be condemned to an imprisonment of up to one year and prohibition to drive from one to three years. This law has also stipulated some minor offence behaviours, for example: unlicensed driving, namely driving, without the correspondent qualifications, a motor vehicle or an industrial vehicle on the public roads, shall be condemned to a fine of up to 25,000 patacas; recidivist shall be condemned to an imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 50,000 patacas. Minor offence behaviours include also driving on the public roads under the influence of alcohol; as long as the alcohol content per litre of blood of the driver is equal or superior to 0.5 grams, he is considered to be “under the influence of alcohol”; the alcoholemia per litre of blood from 0.5 gram to 0.8 gram shall incur a fine of up to 10,000.00 patacas; the alcoholemia from 0.8 gram to 1.2 gram shall incur a fine of up to 30,000.00 patacas and prohibition to drive up to six months; recidivist shall be condemned to a prohibition to drive of at least six months besides the fine. The law enforcement officer may carry out a breathe alcohol test to the driver or other people involved in a casualty accident, this test must be accepted if the condition allows. Overspeed is another kind of minor offence, when the vehicle speed exceeds by up to 30km/h or 20km/h over the limits of velocity imposed, a fine of up to 2,500 patacas shall be incurred; when the vehicle speed exceeds by more than 30km/h or 20km/h over the limits of velocity imposed, a fine of up to 10,000 patacas and a prohibition of driving up to one year shall be incurred. Recidivist shall be condemned according to the overspeed speed, the maximum penalty is a fine up to 20,000 patacas and prohibition to drive up to three years. As for the inobservance of the duty to stop, it refers to the driver who "jumps red light" or does not observe the duty to stop imposed by the compulsory stop sign at the intersection, shall incur a fine of up to 5,000 patacas; recidivist shall incur a fine increased to up to 10,000 patacas and a prohibition of driving for up to 6 months. In addition, this law also stipulates that in certain situations, the court may order the driver to retake a driving license exam or withdraw his driving license (for example the driver commits another offence subject to the suspension of license, after being condemned twice to the suspension of license within five years). This law also stipulates that, regarding the above administrative violations, the voluntary payment of the fine within 15 days from the date that the offender receives the notification of the charge, only two-third of the fine shall be paid; after the expiration of payment deadline, full payment shall be made. Any person who has not yet paid the fines for which his is responsible and are related to administrative violations of this law or other supplementary provisions, applied by decision turned to be non-pleadable, cannot, before the payment of these fines, make payment of circulation tax of the vehicle involved in the above administrative violations and of which he is the owner; obtain registration of other vehicle in his name; and renew the driving license.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) will introduce 10 “Experience Macau!” travel routes to offer tailor-made experiences for visitors with different interests and enrich Macau’s tourism products. This initiative will be featured in a popular magazine in Hong Kong. Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes said, “MGTO will effectively utilize existing tourism resources by repackaging product components and launching them in the respective markets, offering more choices for visitors. MGTO will also continue to develop more new tourism products to further enhance the competitive edge of Macau’s tourism industry while diversifying its attractions.” The10 travel routes are designed to target different market segments, which include luxury, family, heritage, honeymoon or couples, retired seniors, photographers, religion, university students, history scholars and sports lovers. 5 travel routes, with itineraries spanning 3 days or 2 days, will be launched in the 1st phase. MGTO has invited some Hong Kong citizens to experience first hand the travel routes, and their trips will be featured in “U Magazine”, a Hong Kong consumer magazine. Hong Kong actress, Fiona Yuen is the guest of the first “luxury lifestyle” route. Arriving Macau in a helicopter, Fiona stayed in a deluxe 5-star hotel where she indulged herself in the luxurious spa and high-end restaurant. She also showed her skill at the golf course and her talent learning Portuguese cooking at the Institute for Tourism Studies. Wine tasting at the Macau Wine Museum marked a perfect finale for her lavish two-day tour in Macau. Mr Tong’s family of four was invited to explore what Macau has to offer to family visitors. The parents and two children aged 7 and 12 enjoyed their three-day tour in Macau, which included nature and man-made attractions, such as hair-raising thrills at Macau Tower and Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, home-made ice-cream at an old local store, charcoal grilled chicken wings on Ha Sac Beach, grass-sliding at the country park and rides on the race car simulator at the Macau Grand Prix Museum. “The Historic Center of Macau”, listed as UNESCO World Heritage, attracts many visitors, and Mr Louis Lor, member of the Heritage and Conservation Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, is one of them. Mr Lor joined the “Tales of the Heritage” travel route, trying to revive an inkling of the olden days of Macau from the stories told by the historic relics. Macau’s romantic ambience is also a perfect backdrop to stage wedding ceremonies and shoot wedding photos. Mr Chen and Ms Kan, who have just made their vow of a lifetime, chose to embark on their “Journey of Blessing and Happiness” here. “Love Lane”, “Lovers Lane” and European style churches in Macau bear witness to their everlasting love. “The street names of Macau are as unique as its architectures, boasting characteristics of east and west. The “Love Lane” is the ideal backdrop for our wedding photos,” said Mr Chen. Another couple Mr and Mrs Chan, who have started their retired life, have decided to break away from the hustle and bustle of city life to enjoy a tranquil trip in Macau. “One will discover more when he slows down his pace. This is how we discover the surprises Macau offers when we stroll through the streets and corners,” expressed Mr Chan. Luxurious hotels, natural scenery, historic relics, romantic churches, quiet street corners are among the many characteristics that make Macau different. Visitors of diverse interests will sure find what they look for in Macau, now and when they return.
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The World Trade Organization (WTO) has recently completed the trade policy review of the Macao Special Administrative Region. The WTO recognized the Macao SAR’s economic achievements over the past six years and its optimistic prospects for future development, and reaffirmed the openness of its economy. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, led a government delegation to attend the Macao SAR’s Trade Policy Review Session, in Geneva, on 30 April and 2 May, respectively. The delegation comprised representatives from Macao Economic Services, Finance Services Bureau, Statistics and Census Bureau, Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Macao Monetary Authority, Macao Customs Service, International Law Office, Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau as well as Civil Aviation Authority. Members of the delegation returned to Macao on 4 May. Currently, the WTO has 150 Members. Trade policies of all Members are subject to regular reviews at specific intervals according to individual Member’s share of world trade. The review aims to facilitate the understanding of Members’ trade policies; enhance transparency of the international trading regime; as well as encourage the fulfillment of commitments made by Members with a view to the effective functioning of the multilateral trading system and promoting trade liberalization. The Macao SAR is scheduled to conduct its WTO Trade Policy Review each six years. Beginning last year, the Macao Economic Services initiated the coordination and preparatory work with other relevant government departments in this regard, in compliance with the requirements of the WTO. The whole preparatory process lasted nearly 15 months. During the Review session, Mr. Francis Tam reiterated Macao SAR’s continuing pursuance of the provisions under the Basic Law to maintain Macao’s free-port status, whilst reaffirming its support for the multilateral trading system and the Doha Round negotiations, by implementing the commitments made under the WTO. Other WTO Members noted that Macao practices a market economy with liberal policies on trade and investment. Macao has recorded rapid economic growth from 2001 to 2006 due to its initiatives to foster effective economic policy measures, liberalization of the gaming sector and favorable external environment, as well. The WTO believes that the Trade Policy Review enables other Members to understand Macao’s trade policies and development prospects and also assists the Macao SAR Government in better preparing for future challenges.
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The Secretary for Economic and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said today that Banco Delta Asia (BDA) is operating normally, the government has no intention to buy it. When asked by reporters how BDA would handle the North Korean funds, Mr Tam said the bank is operating normally and will transfer the funds according to the clients’ instructions. He said the problem faced by the bank in transferring the funds is an operational one.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that in the first quarter of 2007, a total of 797 companies were newly incorporated, with MOP77.71 million in registered capital. Compared with the same quarter of 2006, the number of newly incorporated companies increased by 6.6%, while their registered capital went down by 59.4%. These newly incorporated companies engaged mostly in Wholesale and Retail (258), followed by Construction (160), Business Services (121) and Real Estate (100). On the other hand, 99 companies were dissolved in the first quarter of 2007, with MOP14.66 million in registered capital. Most of them had engaged in Wholesale and Retail (28), and Real Estate (19). Among the stockholders of the newly incorporated companies, 59.4% were Macao residents. In addition, the newly incorporated companies with capital of MOP50 thousand or less accounted for 69.1% (551 companies) of the total, whereas their capital only made up 19.9% of the total. Meanwhile, 711 newly incorporated companies were limited companies. Based on the residence of the stockholders, the capital newly incorporated companies in the first quarter of 2007 mostly came from Macao (MOP38.69 million), followed by Mainland China (MOP13.38 million) and Hong Kong (MOP8.75 million). Guangdong Province (MOP8.90 million) topped the list of the capital coming from the Pan-Pearl River Delta provinces. According to the combination of the residence of stockholders, 648 newly incorporated companies were established by stockholders from a single country/region, the majority of which (402 companies) were established solely by Macao stockholders, followed by those from Hong Kong (146 companies). The number of the newly incorporated companies with stockholders from Macao and other countries/regions was 120, of which 49 were joint ventures of Macao and Hong Kong stockholders and 44 were of Macao and Mainland China stockholders. The newly incorporated companies with stockholders solely from countries/regions other than Macao totalled 29, of which 10 were joint ventures of Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands and 5 were of Hong Kong and Mainland China.
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