News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that Total Receipts and Total Expenditure of the Gaming Sector amounted to MOP 121.58 billion and MOP 63.32 billion, up by 9% each year-on-year. Moreover, Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy rose by 7% to MOP 71.75 billion; Gross Fixed Capital Formation surged by 220% to MOP 2.95 billion on account of rising investment in gaming facilities. Total Receipts stood at MOP 121.58 billion in 2009, of which receipts from Gaming & Related Services (e.g. food & beverages, currency exchange, etc.) amounted to MOP 121.40 billion, up by 9% from 2008; besides, Interest Receipts also went up by 9% to MOP 176 million. Total Expenditure amounted to MOP 63.32 billion, with Purchase of Goods, Commission Paid and Customer Rebate increasing by 17% over 2008 to MOP 39.33 billion (62% of total); Operating Expenses (MOP 10.35 billion) was similar to that of 2008, while Compensation of Employees decreased by 5% to MOP 10.22 billion.
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Consumer Council released its November ‘Supermarket Price Survey Report’. Average prices of cooking oil and dairy products have both increased. Certain cooking oil brands recorded price increases of over 17 per cent. Average price of rice has also increased while beverage items and seasonings recorded a drop in prices. The Council conducted its latest price survey on 8th November, collecting price information of over 200 items in 14 local supermarkets. Prices of cooking oil recorded an increase after continuing to drop for several months. Out of 18 brands surveyed, 14 recorded price increases ranging from 5 per cent to over 17 per cent. Prices of dairy products also recorded price increase of less than 1 per cent to 11 per cent. Price rise was also observed in oral cleansing products, average price of ‘Colgate Total 12 Whitening Gel (160g)’ has increased almost 6 per cent since last month. Last month, only 70 kinds of products were found to have price rises, but 90 kinds of products recorded price rises in November. Half of the 22 beverage items surveyed showed decrease in average selling price while a total of 10 seasoning products recorded price drop. The Council will continue to check with the price trend in local market. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey Report’ is now accessible on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) It is also available free of charge at the two offices of the Consumer Council, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources online at the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo) or through WAP channels on their mobile phones.
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The International Conference on the Heritage Preservation and Urban Renewal, being part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, will take place from 9:30 to 17:30, on both 11 and 12 of November, in the Handover Gifts Museum of Macau, located at Avenida Xian Xing Hai, NAPE. It is organized by Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM) and by the International Law Bureau of the Macau SAR (GADI). Under the motto “Re-ordering of the Old Districts of Macau: Legal Framework and Sustainable Development”, this conference aims at providing a mutual platform for professional experts and scholars from Macau, the region and Europe to share their knowledge on urban renewal and its legal implications, as well as the best practices in the field, in order to incessantly contribute to a sustainable heritage preservation and urban renewal that is currently taking place in Macau. This initiative also intends to, especially taking into consideration the enlistment in 2005 of the "Macau Historic Centre" in UNESCO’s World Heritage list, enhance the role of old districts re-ordering in harmonization with the preservation of existing heritage infrastructure in place. This conference will focus on the following topics: I) Macau urban re-ordering: current status, planning and perspectives; II) Comparative regional experiences from Asia and European perspectives; III) Policy Rationale of Urban Renewal and Impacts on Society; IV) Legal and Social Framework for Re-ordering of Old Districts of Macau. This initiative will have eleven exchange sessions / discussions as well as experts coming from Mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong, England, Spain, Italy and Holland. The conference will be conducted in English, with simultaneous translation to Cantonese, and has about 100 participants enrolled. The 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, which incorporates this conference, has the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System” as its main objective and will extend until December 2012,. The total budget for the programme is 1.500.000 euros (approximately 16.500.000 patacas), being it co-financed by the European Union and the Macao Foundation, with the remaining costs being supported by the MSAR’s budget. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the International Law Bureau (GADI), with the participation of several other MSAR’s entities and public departments, namely, the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (CFJJ), the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ), the Macau SAR Economic Services (DSE), the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) and the Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the population of Macao was estimated at 549,500 as at 30 September 2010, up by 4,900 from end-June, attributable to the increase in Mainland immigrants and non-resident workers. In the third quarter of 2010, there were 1,381 live births, up by 23.1% quarter-to-quarter. Gender ratio of the newborn was 103.7, with 703 male babies. Number of mortality cases totalled 417 and the major underlying causes of death were Neoplasms and Diseases of the Circulatory System. Meanwhile, 3 cases of fetal mortality were recorded. There were 1,474 cases of Notifiable diseases reported in this quarter, consisting mainly of Influenza (825 cases), Enterovirus Infection (205 cases) and Chickenpox (174 cases). In addition, 707 cases of marriage registration were recorded, down by 1.4% over the second quarter of 2010. In the third quarter of 2010, there were 2,845 Chinese immigrants with One-way Exit Permit moving to Macao, an increase of 836 quarter-to-quarter; meanwhile, 365 illegal immigrants were repatriated. Moreover, a total of 937 individuals were authorized to reside in Macao, up by 90 quarter-to-quarter. Total number of non-resident workers stood at 74,525 at the end of the third quarter, up by 2,383 quarter-to-quarter.
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The Macau Government Tourist Office is exhibiting once again at London’s World Travel Market which opened yesterday (8th November), to showcase the exciting developments that have taken place in Macau in 2010 and others in the pipeline, to encourage increased tourism to the destination from the UK and around the world. Held at London’s ExCel exhibition venue from 8th to 11th November, World Travel Market is one of the global events for the travel industry. Staged annually in London, WTM is a four day business to business event, showcasing destinations and travel suppliers from around the world to industry buyers and media. It is a unique opportunity for the travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business under one roof and to keep abreast of the latest developments within the industry. The 2009 show played host to an amazing 45,571 travel industry professionals from every corner of the globe. The 25.5m² MGTO booth is located within the Asia section. Representatives for the MGTO include: Deputy Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and MGTO’s UK representative Sue Whitehead, among others. The MGTO hosted an on-stand lunch reception on 8th November for travel trade and media guests. The event provided a great networking opportunity for travel trade professionals and members of the press to learn more about Macau in an informal environment, with a selection of Chinese and Portuguese food. Deputy Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes says, “For Macau to be an international destination, it is essential to maintain a diverse market structure. World Travel Market, as a leading travel fair in the world, is a perfect platform for Macau to increase its exposure on a global perspective and attract more visitors from the UK as well as other long haul markets. It also gives us an opportunity to forge direct contact and relationships with the travel trade in the region.” The MGTO is unveiling a new “How To Sell Macau” guide at WTM 2010. With so much interest and excitement about Macau moving into 2011, the MGTO has produced a new guide in association with the Travel Trade Gazette to help the UK trade capitalise upon it. UK agents will be encouraged to visit the stand throughout the show to find out what puts the wow into Macau. 2010’s World Travel Market is set to be a rewarding and exciting show for Macau, showcasing the best of the destination on a truly global platform.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money supply M2 continued to grow in September. As deposits grew at a faster pace than loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio dropped slightly from a month earlier.
Money supply
Currency in circulation grew 3.4% whereas demand deposits dropped 2.6%. M1 thus decreased 1.7% when compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, as quasi-monetary liabilities rose 3.7%, M2 grew at a faster pace of 2.9%, amounting to MOP237.0 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 18.8% and 13.7% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 28.5%, down 0.2 percentage points over a month ago or up 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Concurrently, the share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.6%, up 0.7 percentage points month-to-month or 1.2 percentage points year-on-year.
Deposits
Resident deposits grew at a faster pace when compared with the preceding month. The value increased 2.8% from the previous month to MOP231.5 billion. Of which, MOP deposits and HKD deposits increased at respective rates of 2.2% and 4.1%, while other foreign currency deposits dropped slightly by 0.2%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits grew 2.1% to MOP72.9 billion and public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 0.9% to MOP20.2 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector grew 2.5% from the previous month to MOP324.7 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 24.1% and 46.5% respectively.
Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector grew 2.4% in September to MOP119.6 billion. Among which, MOP36.6 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP74.1 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 30.6% and 62.0% of the total respectively. Loans to “gaming” and “restaurants, hotels and similar” increased quarter-to-quarter at respective rates of 72.1% and 31.5% whereas those to “transport, warehouse and communications” dropped 8.5%. Meanwhile, external loans increased 2.3% to MOP113.3 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.7% (MOP0.7 billion) and 41.4% (MOP46.9 billion) respectively.
Loan-to-deposit ratios
As resident deposits (including public sector deposits) rose at a faster pace than domestic loans to the private sector, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-September 2010 dropped slightly by 0.1 percentage point month-to-month to 47.5%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors stood at 71.7%, down simultaneously by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
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The Institute for Tourism Studies’ Bachelor Degree Programme design emphasise the balance between theory and practice. Students are required to complete certain hours of practical tasks related to their majors every year. One of the tasks given to the Tourism Business Management students is to provide free guided tour to tourists and local residents. The activity, with the theme of “Tour around Macao with IFT students”, is organised by year two students of Tourism Business Management Degree Programme. With the assistance from the instructors, four different itineraries have been designed and each lasts about one hour and thirty minutes. This free guided tour service will be provided to all tourists and local residents on Saturday and Sunday, from 13 – 21 November. The main objectives of the activity: I. It allows the students to put what they have learnt about tourism into practice. The whole project, from itinerary design to time control to the actual tour guiding, is planned by the students themselves with assistance from instructors. By coordinating the activity, their communication skills can also be enhanced. II. To promote Macao to the visitors by offering the free guiding service at the city centre and tourist attractions. Residents will also be made aware of the importance of tourism to Macao. The Institute For Tourism Studies is the only public higher education institution in Macao that provides training for tourism and service industry. It endeavours to promote Macao through various activities and to leave a good image to everyone who visits the place.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Construction Sector registered year-on-year decline in all of its principal indicators in 2009, attributable to the prolonged suspension regarding the construction of some major tourism and gaming facilities. In 2009, a total of 1,293 establishments were operating in the Construction Sector, down by 217 (-14.4%) over 2008; number of persons engaged decreased by 28.6% to 18,732. Total Value of Construction amounted to MOP30.92 billion, down substantially by 41.2% year-on-year; Gross Output (sum of Value of Construction Work and Other Receipts) decreased notably by 41.5% to MOP31.16 billion; Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy (MOP5.35 billion) also registered significant decrease of 53.7%; besides, Intermediate Consumption (MOP25.80 billion) and Labour Cost (MOP3.40 billion) went down by 38.1% and 44.6% respectively. There were 1,450 construction projects carried out in 2009, of which 874 were private construction projects, with the total value falling by 47.2% year-on-year to MOP26.34 billion; value of construction of tourism and gaming facilities and hotels amounted to MOP20.80 billion (79.0% of total value of private construction project), down by 51.1% over 2008. Private residential projects totalled 535 (including 426 were government-funded Scheme for Common Parts Maintenance of Low-Rise Building) and the total value of construction decreased by 21.6% to MOP4.10 billion. There were 576 public construction projects in 2009 and the total value soared by 69.3% year-on-year to MOP4.59 billion. Furthermore, construction of public housing has been readily underway, pushing the value of construction up by 2.9 times to MOP1.28 billion; besides, value of infrastructural construction increased by 46.4% to MOP1.52 billion, with construction of piers and roads accounting for 76.1% of the total value of infrastructural construction. Coverage of the Construction Survey comprised the construction establishments engaging in licensed construction work in 2009.
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From November 2 until 5p.m. today (8) the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed one more premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has waged a total of 85 sanctions, among which one sanction proceeding has been completed and an operator who provided accommodation illegally was fined 200 000 patacas. Other cases are in different stages of sanction proceedings. Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, to date, 1047 premise-checks were conducted, involving 729 premises, of which 85 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 112 were normal residences. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will continue investigation on unanswered doors, which are suspected to be used to provide accommodation illegally. Meanwhile, during investigations to other cases, PSP has found 18 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases. To date, the operations involved more than 867 occupants, among whom 379 were occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 17 overstayers and 14 illegal immigrants. 12 operators, 12 touts, 12 persons who manage the premises that provide accommodation illegally (managing staff) and six occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were seized on site. MGTO has begun sanction proceedings on offenders according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". If the operator who provided accommodation illegally, who was fined 200 000 patacas, does not pay within the statutory period, the Financial Services Bureau will enforce the collection of fine. Meanwhile, the six occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each, among which three have paid the fine. For those who fail to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP that the involved persons should pay the fine or their reentry into Macau will be denied. According to the law, operators and persons who manage the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) incur a penalty up to 800 000 patacas, touts can be fined up to 100 000 patacas, persons who fail to cooperate can be fined up to 20 000 patacas and occupants who fail to cooperate are fined 3 000 patacas.
Following the raid to premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, MGTO began sanction proceedings on involved operators, touts and managing staff, and adopted provisional measures to cut the supply of water and electricity to the concerned premises and sealed the doors. Public can also call 2833 3000 to report suspected premises.
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A research project on the Internet of Things (IOT), headed by the University of Macau (UM) Rector Wei Zhao, has been approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China as a project under the “973 Programme”. The “973 Programme” is otherwise known as the “National Key Fundamental Research Development Programme”. It is launched by the Chinese government in March 1997, hence the name “973”. The strategic objective of this programme is to address major scientific issues encountered in the economic and societal development of China, thereby providing technological support for the country’s long-term development and gaining a head start in the fierce international competition. The majority of the research team members are from UM, with the rest coming from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Tongji University, and East China Normal University. UM enjoys some unparalleled advantages in carrying out IOT research. First and foremost, Prof. Wei Zhao, rector of UM and chief scientist of this project, is a world-renowned expert in the field of IOT. During his tenure as the director of the Division of Computer and Network Systems at the National Science Foundation of the United States, he initiated the first IOT research programme in the US and was in charge of approving funds for the first projects. Besides Prof. Wei Zhao, the team consists of more than 30 other world-renowned experts, including one academician, three chair professors, five members of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and three winners of the National Outstanding Young Scientist Award. These experts specialize in various fields, such as sensor network, real-time system, telecommunication system, software system, electric power system, and so on. The composition of the team represents the highest IOT research level in China. UM Rector Wei Zhao noted that this project, by far the highest-level IOT project in China, will not only go a long way towards enhancing UM’s research capability, but also offers a chance for UM to leave a mark on Macao, China and even the entire human society in economic, cultural, scientific, technological, and cultural arenas. The term “Internet of Things (IOT)” made its first appearance in a report issued by the International Telecommunication Union in 2005. According to the report, networks not only can connect people and allow people to obtain information about objects, but also can realize the communication between objects. When technologies are ready, IOT will have a sweeping influence on the world. By then, almost anything one can conceive of can be connected to a computer, from the most state-of-the-art satellites to a most mundane coffee machine. A novel concept, IOT is a worldwide focus of interest. China has already identified “IOT” as a component of the “12th 5-Year Plan”. In 2009 Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put forward the idea of “sensing China” and explicitly encouraged the development of “IOT” technology. In the same year, Japan, whose high-and-new-tech industries are highly developed, devised a strategy known as “i-Japan”. In 2010 Chinese President Hu Jintao increased the profile of IOT to an unprecedented degree when he instructed attendees of the 15th conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the 10th conference of the Chinese Academy of Engineering to “accelerate the development of IOT”.
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