News

Consumer Council released its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey'. In comparison with data from last month, average prices of 26 percent of the surveyed products had been decreased, prices of 43 percent of products had been increased and 30 percent of products recorded no change in price. Survey result also showed that prices of rice remained stable in recent months.
Consumer Council collected prices of about 350 products in its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' dated 20th February. Prices of about 90 products had been decreased slightly and mostly included rice, cheese, and boxed tissue paper. About 150 products, namely beverages, canned food, infant products, personal hygienic and cleansing products such as shampoo and shower gel, recorded minimal to about 5 percent of price increases. Prices of 105 products recorded no change in price in both last and current surveys.
Survey result showed that prices of rice remained stable. 12 out of the 20 surveyed rice brands in the current survey recorded no change in price, other brands recorded price changes of about 1 percent. The Council also analyzed the percentage of lowest price products available in the 11 fixed choices of supermarkets. Tai Fung supermarket in Taipa recorded the highest percentage of on-shelf lowest price items in which almost 60 percent of over 240 items sold at Taipa Tai Fung recorded the lowest price among all surveyed supermarkets in the current survey. Park'n Shop at R. Areia Preta came next, with 24 percent of its over 200 on-shelf items having the lowest price. 22 percent of the over 250 items sold at Lee Fong supermarket at Almirante Costa Cabral also recorded the lowest price.
Consumer Council reminds consumers that among the various supermarket chain stores surveyed, selling prices were found to vary in different branches in different regions. In this month's survey, price discrepancies were observed mainly in branches of San Miu supermarket in which about half of the surveyed products sold at its R. dos Mercadores branch and Iao Hon Nam Fai branch were found to have different selling prices, price differences ranged from 5 to 10 percent were observed and found mainly in cooking oil, canned food and dairy products. Prices of the same cooking oil brand sold at the two branches differed for 3 to 13 percent; prices of 'Hong Mei Brand Ox Tail Soup/298g' differed for 12.2 percent and other canned food brands recorded price difference of 2 percent. Prices of around 20 products were also found to differ up to 34 percent in different branches of both Royal Supermarket and Park'n Shop.
Consumers are advised to check with the information available on the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform', especially the function of 'Top Ten Price Differences' for the surveyed products. Consumers can also download the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps to make price comparisons.
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. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Macao Post announces that the issue date of the stamp issue "130th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Fire Brigade" will be changed from 26th April 2013 to 25th April 2013.
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Macao Post will update its website (www.macaupost.gov.mo) on 1st March 2013, the 129th Anniversary Date of Macao Post. The web pages of Postal Savings Bank, EMS and Philately will also be updated to improve the information provision service. The new website, following the principles of ease of use, allows users, through a simpler and clearer design, to access more conveniently the services provided by Macao Post and to search information more quickly.
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Arrangements for the exchange of the Lunar New Year Snake Banknotes (Snake Notes)
Starting from 1 March 2013 till 30 August 2013, registered Macao residents can proceed to exchange for the Snake notes in person on the selected day and at the chosen bank during the bank's business hours. Each registered resident should bring along his/her ID card and the required cash to exchange for 30 Snake Notes issued by each Issuing Bank. The Snake Notes will be exchanged on random basis such that the serial number of the exchanged banknotes cannot be selected. Arrangements for the prolonged exchange of the Lunar New Year Dragon Banknotes (Dragon Notes)
For Dragon Note registrants who have not conducted note exchange by end of January can have a second chance by bringing along their ID cards to exchange for their subscribed Dragon notes at their previously selected bank(s) during the bank's business hours between 3 June and 31 July 2013. For further enquiry, registered residents can log onto the system of the Macau Branch of Bank of China Limited and Banco Nacional Ultramarino S.A. via the webpage of the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) (www.amcm.gov.mo). Appointment of representative to conduct the Note Exchange
As previously communicated, an authorized representative will only need to bring along his / her ID card and submit the following documents to conduct the exchange on the selected date (for the exchange of the Dragon Notes during the bank's business hours between 3 June and 31 July 2013) and location:
1. Authorization form (downloaded from AMCM's website (www.amcm.gov.mo)) signed by the registrant
2. Registrant's ID copy bearing his / her signature
3. Representative's ID copy bearing his / her signature
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for November 2012-January 2013 held stable at 1.9% in comparison with the previous period (October-December 2012); the underemployment rate was 0.6%, down by 0.1 percentage point. Total labour force was 358,000; the labour force participation rate stood at 72.5%, up by 0.1 percentage point. Total employment increased continuously, reaching 351,000 in November 2012-January 2013, an increase of 1,400 from the previous period. Analysed by industry, employment in Retail Trade and Real Estate & Business Activities saw notable increase. Number of the unemployed was similar to the previous period, at 6,600; fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 11.6% of the total unemployed, down by 4.5 percentage points. In comparison with November 2011-January 2012, the labour force participation rate went down by 0.7 percentage points; both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points.
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The opening ceremony of On Set in the City – Works by Yu Cheng-ta is scheduled for Friday 8th March 2013 at 6:30pm in Tap Seac Gallery. The exhibition, organised by the Macao S.A.R. Cultural Affairs Bureau, features video installation works created by the young Taiwanese artist Yu Cheng-ta in a number of cities in which he has had artistic residencies since 2008. These works, recording his journey from Taipei to Aomori in Japan, to Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, and to Macao, employ a humorous and facetious artistic language as a means of interpreting the thoughts of a foreigner encountering an alien culture. Yu currently resides and works in Taipei and has participated in numerous international exhibitions, winning awards on many occasions, including First Place in the Taipei Arts Awards (2008) and Beacon Prize in Art Fair Tokyo (2012). Following the screening of his work at the 6th Taipei Biennial, he was chosen to participate in the Taiwan Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale, on behalf of Taiwan. In 2009, he was invited to participate in the Biennial Cuvée in Austria. In 2012, he participated in the 5th International Biennale of Media Art in Melbourne, Australia and the Made in Asia Festival in Toulouse, France. Yu has developed a keen interest in the inaccuracies and nuance of language that arise from cultural differences. He also seeks to explore the identity, rights, recreation and translation issues deriving from language fractures through the preview of physical performance and language repetition that is regularly presented in his works, with a view to unveiling the seemingly pre-scheduled context of reality. The exhibition will also showcase work that was created in Macao at the invitation of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. This Macao work seeks to interpret his reflections upon the contemporary world as an outsider. On Set in the City – Works by Yu Cheng-ta will run from 8th March to 28th April 2013 in the Tap Seac Gallery, open daily from 10am to 7pm. Admission is free. All residents are welcome to attend the opening ceremony, enjoy the unique video installation works on show and experience the creativity and joy of this artist's works.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is scheduled to visit Beijing from 4 to 7 March to attend the opening of the First Plenary Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress on 5 March. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chun Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam and the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping will take part in the visit. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Chui is away.
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Regarding to the hot air balloon crash that has killed 19 tourists today (February 26) in Luxor, Egypt, GGCT would like to inform the public that there is no any Macau residents involved in the accident. So far GGCT has not received any calls for assistance or information. Macao residents may call the 24-hour Tourism Hotline at (853) 2833 3000 for assistance if necessary.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals totalled 2,312,321 in January 2013, down by 6.1% year-on-year and same-day visitors (1,195,450) accounted for 51.7% of the total. In January 2013, visitors from Mainland China decreased by 1.4% year-on-year to 1,473,785; those from Guangdong Province, Fujian Province and Shanghai totalled 683,776; 67,180 and 51,033 respectively. Meanwhile, there were 616,066 Mainland visitors travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Moreover, visitor arrivals from Hong Kong (509,826); Taiwan, China (76,841) and Japan (26,904) decreased by 20.1%, 10.2% and 15.0% year-on-year respectively; while those from the Republic of Korea (52,668) and Thailand (21,810) increased by 14.1% and 81.0%. As regards long-haul visitors, those from the US (14,630), Australia (12,203), Canada (5,992) and the UK (4,317) decreased by 5.1%, 8.8%, 11.7% and 9.0% respectively in January 2013. The average length of stay of visitors stood at 1.0 day in January 2013, up by 0.1 day year-on-year, with overnight visitors and same-day visitors staying 1.9 days and 0.2 day respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 294 MICE events were held in the fourth quarter of 2012, an increase of 22 events year-on-year, of which 263 events were held in paid venues. Total number of participants and attendees increased by 22% year-on-year to 621,359. There were 19 exhibitions held in the fourth quarter of 2012, an increase of 3 exhibitions year-on-year; number of attendees increased by 22% to 586,489. Meanwhile, the other 275 meetings and conferences had 34,870 participants. In accordance with the information collected from 15 exhibition organizers, in the fourth quarter of 2012, there were 11 repeated exhibitions that were previously held in Macao. The major reasons for selecting Macao as the exhibition destination were "business operation in Macao" (73%) and "expanding local market" (40%). The 15 exhibitions held in the fourth quarter attracted 1,967 exhibitors and 19,720 professional visitors. In the fourth quarter of 2012, revenue of the exhibition organizers decreased by 4% year-on-year to MOP85.16 million, mostly from the Financial Support from Government and Other Organizations (89% of total). Expenditure amounted to MOP130.67 million, up by 19% year-on-year, with expenses on Production, Construction & Decoration Services; and Advertising, Promotion & Public Relations accounting for 26% and 13% of the total respectively. Information from 247 exhibitors interviewed showed that revenue of the exhibitors amounted to MOP28.37 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, with 98% coming from Sales of Products. Expenditure amounted to MOP8.43 million, of which Rental for Exhibition Booth and Construction & Decoration accounted for 43% and 33%, respectively. For the whole year of 2012, a total of 1,022 MICE events were held, down by 23 events year-on-year. Total number of participants and attendees increased by 26% year-on-year to 1,612,961, of which 1,489,933 attendees were attracted by the 61 exhibitions, up by 28%. In 2012, revenue and expenditure of the exhibition organizers amounted to MOP155.09 million and MOP234.00 million respectively; meanwhile, revenue and expenditure of the interviewed exhibitors totalled MOP53.76 million and MOP18.08 million respectively.
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