News

The University of Macau—University of Toronto Joint Symposium on "China's Macao SAR: 12 Years of Breakthrough & Transformation", jointly organized by the University of Macau (UM) and the University of Toronto (UT), took place at UT on 19 March 2012. The symposium mainly discussed a wide range of topics, including "Overview of the Macao SAR's First 12 Years", "University of Macau Cross-Border New Campus as PRD Integration Breakthrough", "Macao SAR Governance & Economy", "Macao SAR Identity, Culture & Heritage" and "Macao SAR/Macanese External Links". Deputy Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Toronto Zhang Meifang, Consul General of Portugal in Toronto Júlio Vilela, UM Vice Rector Simon Ho, and UT Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Misak attended the symposium. In his speech, Simon Ho mentioned that this was the first symposium co-organized by UM in North America, and represented the first step towards establishing a bridge of communication and cooperation between UM and top universities in Canada. Simon Ho voiced his hope that this symposium could offer an opportunity for UM to promote to North America and the world its educational philosophy and the new opportunities brought by the new campus, and also to strengthen ties between UM and UT to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation. He stressed that UM is about to enter a new era; and with the support of the Macao SAR government, a new campus will be built by the end of this year, and when that happens, UM will have far better facilities for teaching and research. He added that on the new campus UM will establish more academic units and research projects, and will introduce residential colleges in order to make the campus a living-and-learning community for students. Simon Ho added that Macao has a rich Chinese cultural heritage and Euro-continental traditions, serves as a bridge of communication between China and the world, and enjoys extensive networks of international partnerships. He expressed confidence that with the unique cultural and geographical advantages of Macao, the great support of the Macao SAR government, and the continuous efforts of all UM members, the goal of developing UM into a world-class university with regional characteristics can one day be achieved. In her welcome remarks, UT Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Misak said that Macao is similar to Toronto as an ethnically and culturally diverse pluralistic community characterized by tolerance and harmony. She added that this symposium enabled Toronto to learn more about Macao society. She also thanked relevant organizations involved in this symposium for their efforts. At the opening ceremony, UM donated books to UT Libraries. A total of twenty-three experts and scholars from around the world presented academic reports at the symposium. Attendees first discussed the topic of "Overview of the Macao SAR's First 12 Years", and then exchanged ideas on "University of Macau Cross-Border New Campus as PRD Integration Breakthrough". Attendees also held in-depth discussions on "Macao SAR Governance & Economy", "Macao SAR Identity, Culture & Heritage" and "Macao SAR/Macanese External Links". UM scholars present at the symposium included Lam Ming Ki, Hao Zhidong, Chou Kwok Ping, Lam Iok Fong, Yu Wing Yat, Ho Chiew Siang, Zhang Yang, Ngo Tak-Wing, Choi Kai Yan, and Antonio Saldanha. Ming Chan from Stanford University, and Rufino Ramos from the International Institute of Macau also attended the symposium. On the occasion of the annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies, which was held in Toronto from 15 March to 18 March, UM Rector Wei Zhao and Vice Rector Simon Ho held a reception for over three hundred and fifty guests from around the world, enabling them to have a better understanding of Macao and UM.
…

Consumer Council released its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' dated 16th March. In comparison with last month's record, prices of oil and food products remained stable or recorded slight decrease. Survey result revealed that price differences of up to 38% existed for the same product being sold in different supermarket chain stores located in different areas of Macao. A total of 305 items were surveyed in the Council's latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' in which average prices of 125 items from 12 categories had been raised lightly but most of them recorded an increase of less than 10%, only two items, 'Anlene High Calcium Reduced Fat Processed Cheese (250g)' and 'Chesdale Processed Cheese – Trim (250g)', had an increase of more than 10%. For the 109 items which recorded price decrease, the average price drop recorded was minimal, only 'Swanson Concentrated Chicken Stock (300g)' recorded an obvious price drop of 10.59% due to special promotion at two retail spots. Prices of the rest of 71 items, mainly including cooking oil, rice and cereal products, snacks and oral care products, remained stable or recorded slight decrease. The Council indicated that among the various supermarket chain stores surveyed by the Council, selling prices of the same product are found to vary for up to 38% in different branches located in different areas in Macao. 'Mr. Juicy Orange (2L)', which was on sale in one chain store in Taipa, was sold at a price 50% lower than that in another store under the same chain in Macao. Consumers are advised to check with the data provided by the Council, especially the 'Top Ten Price Differences' function on its website, and to download the new 'Supermarket price platform' iPhone app for easy reference. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone app. 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 inquiries, please call 8988 9315.
…

On 18 March, 53 IFT students, staff and their families visited the Ecological Zone of Cotai Strip to feel and experience the beauty of nature. IFT has always been emphasising on the health care of students and staff, also the environmental protection of Macao. After the "Green and Healthy Week" which was held at the end of February, IFT once again encouraged students and staff to get close to the nature. The Ecological Zone of Macao is located next to the Cotai landfill area and 4 artificial islands are built inside the zone, where you can find four species of mangrove. Many permanent and migratory birds have chosen this zone as a place of rest or foraging as a result of the wealth of biological diversity and food available there. There are 72 species of plants, 20 species of fish, 11 species of molluscs, 25 species of insects and 13 species of crustaceans. There are a total of 129 species of migratory birds, including some rare species like Platalea Minor. During this visit, participants might gain some valuable experience and know more about the living habits of one of the migratory birds, name as Platalea Minor, which usually stay in Macao in March. This activity also gave a chance for students and staff who are fond of photography to shoot the exquisite scenery, to exchange their knowledge in this area and enhance their friendship with each other. This activity not only letting students and staff discover the beauty and tranquility of Macao, but also to step out of the classrooms and offices, feeling and enjoying the lovely nature and thus inspiring them for importance of protecting our nature. IFT puts in large effort to promote healthy life style and reinforce students and staffs' consciousness for environmental protection. IFT hopes to gather this green forces from them, spread this green message to their family and the society, and at the mean time, it also hopes that people can practice this with real action and thus using different ways to show their support for environmental protection and to stay healthy.
…

The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the fourth quarter of 2011. Survey coverage comprised the Gaming sector; Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications sector; Security Activities and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities, excluding own-account workers and junket promoters & junket associates. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, the Gaming sector had 50,198 employees, up by 12.0% year-on-year, of which 22,345 were dealers, an increase of 16.7%. In December 2011, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees rose by 6.5% year-on-year to MOP 16,720, with dealers earning MOP 14,700 in average. Wholesale & Retail Trade had 32,956 paid employees, up by 7.1% year-on-year, with 20,339 working in Retail trade. In December 2011, average earnings of full-time employees rose by 2.4% year-on-year to MOP10,170, with Sales representatives and Salespersons earning MOP12,560 and MOP9,530 respectively in average. The Transport, Storage & Communications sector took on 8,112 paid employees, up by 10.5% year-on-year, attributable to the substantial increase in Land Transport employees upon the commencement of new bus service model in August. In December, average earnings of full-time employees increased by 8.7% year-on-year to MOP16,230. Drivers of passenger/cargo transport by land earned an average of MOP17,430. Security Activities had 4,779 paid employees, up slightly by 0.9% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in December rose by 5.3% year-on-year to MOP8,360, with Security guards earning MOP8,060 in average. Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had 663 paid employees, up by 2.0% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in December increased by 8.6% year-on-year to MOP11,920. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, number of vacancies in the Gaming sector reached 2,274 (1,504 for dealers); besides, vacancies in Retail trade went up drastically by 43.0% to 2,913. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 67.1% of the vacancies in the Gaming sector and 60.3% of those in Wholesale & Retail Trade required working experience. As regards educational attainment, 71.2% of the vacancies in the Gaming sector and 60.0% of those in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities required senior secondary education or higher, while 78.8% of the vacancies in Security Activities and 56.7% of those in Wholesale & Retail Trade required junior secondary education or lower. Besides Cantonese, Mandarin and English were the more preferable language skills for the vacancies in Wholesale & Retail Trade at 65.9% and 43.4% respectively; for those in the Gaming sector, 92.0% required knowledge of Mandarin and 71.9% required English. In the fourth quarter of 2011, employee turnover rate of all the surveyed industries registered year-on-year increase, indicating the conditions of high staff turnover and labour shortage have not yet improved. Among them, Security Activities had the most rapid turnover of employees, with the highest vacancy rate, employee turnover rate and recruitment rate of 15.1%, 12.8% and 12.3% respectively.
…

Following the worldwide trend of developing energy saving, carbon emission reduction and low carbon economies, there is enormous potential for the environmental industry market. The Green Business Co-operation Day will be held at 2:30pm on 29 March, the first day of 2012 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF), in the Sicily Room of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. Representatives from senior management of world renowned enterprises are invited to take part in a thematic discussion of the development and prospects of e-mobility and related technology. Mr. Francis Tam Pak Yuen, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, have been invited to officiate over the launching ceremony of the Green Business Co-operation Day and give speeches. Mr. Liu Fenghua, Deputy Secretary General of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Mr. Mao Iao Lai, President of Macao Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Waldemar Coutts, Deputy Director of Environmental Policy Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile and Durban Round Negotiator will give thematic speeches. Panel discussions will be held on the two major topics namely energy-efficiency and e-mobility. Government officials, leaders of chambers of commerce and experts from the Mainland, Europe, Portuguese-speaking countries, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as senior management from world renowned automobile enterprises and major corporations will conduct discussions on the two major topics of Energy-Efficiency and E-Mobility. One of the speakers is Mr. Zhang Jingxin, Chairman of Shenzhen Wuzhoulong Motors Group. The company manufactures environmentally friendly vehicles which are sold in nearly 20 Mainland provinces, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as Chile, Saudi Arabia, Togo and the United States. At the end of 2005, Macao started to introduce a hybrid bus manufactured by the company, and maintained networking and co-operation with the local automobile industry. Another speaker, Mr. José Carlos Quadrado, President of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL), is one of the developers of an e-mobility project, Veeco RT. Veeco RT is the first e-mobility concept car with full intellectual property rights in Portugal. It is jointly developed by the Portuguese VE-Fabricao de Veculos de Tracao Eletrica and ISEL and was first launched worldwide in February this year. The Green business forum is in two sessions. The panel discussion on energy efficiency will be chaired by Mr. Antonio Trindade, President of Macao Association of Environmental Protection Industry and speakers include Mr. Ou Jun, Acting Secretary –General, Guangdong Association of Environmental Protection Industry, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Wallaert, Chair of PRD Environment Working Group, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Mr. Renato Roldão, Chief Representative Officer (CRO), Ecoprogresso in Beijing, Mr. Wilfred Chan, Asia Pacific Sustainability Portfolio Manager, British Standards Institution (BSI). Another panel discussion will focus on e-mobility. The panel will be chaired by Mr. Daniel M. Cheng, President of Hong Kong Environmental Industry Association, with speakers including Mr. Zhang Jingxin, Chairman of Shenzhen Wuzhoulong Motors Group, Mr. Bill Reinert, National Manager of Advanced Technology for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Dr. Stefan Ferber, Director for Communities & Partner Networks in the Internet of Things and Services at Bosch Software Innovations GmbH, Mr. Paul Lin, Senior Manager of Overseas Marketing Department, BYD, Professor José Carlos Quadrado, President of ISEL – Lisbon Superior Engineering Institute, Portugal. The Green Business Networking Cocktail Reception will be held at 5:30pm on the same day in Exhibition Hall A of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. Contracts for a number of environmental co-operation projects will be signed involving professional visitors from Pan-PRD region, the EU, PSCs, South East Asia and various regions. Business networking and market information will be share at the event to further promote co-operation of environmental industry between Macao, local and overseas enterprises. Green Business Co-operation Day is jointly organised by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), AICEP Portugal Global, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Macao Chamber of Commerce, European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the American Chamber of Commerce in Macau and the European Union Business Information Programme (EUBIP). It is one of the series activities of 2012 MIECF. Over the years there have been distinguished guests from Mainland China (particularly the Pan-PRD region), Macao, Europe, PSCs taking part in the event. This year's Green Business Co-operation Day will include a Green Forum, Networking cocktail and contract-signing ceremony. The event is open to all including local enterprises and professionals. Places are limited, interested parties may contact Ms. Kuok of Research and Information Division, IPIM on 853 87989127 or by email: winnievai@ipim.gov.mo. For further information on 2012 MIECF Green Business Co-operation Day, please visit the official website: www.macaomiecf.com. 2012 MIECF, hosted by the Macao SAR Government and co-ordinated by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), will be held from 29 to 31 March at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2011 increased by 17.5% in real terms from a year earlier. The increment is powered by the rise in exports of services, investment and private consumption expenditure, of which exports of gaming services surged by 25.2%, visitors' spending by 10.4%, investment by 16.7%, private consumption expenditure and government final consumption expenditure by 12.1% and 16.3% respectively, even exports of merchandise registered an increase of 7.7% as well. For the whole year of 2011, GDP expanded by 20.7% in real terms to MOP 292.1 billion; per-capita GDP amounted to MOP 531,723 (about USD 66,311). Principal driving forces of the economic expansion are robust growth in exports of services and the escalating domestic demand, in particular, exports of gaming services surged by 34.6%, total spending of visitors increased by 7.2%. In respect of domestic demand, rising total employment and earnings rendered support to a 10.2% growth in private consumption expenditure; besides, government final consumption expenditure rose by 9.4%; gross fixed capital formation expanded by 14.5% on account of an upsurge in government investment. On the contrary, merchandise export remained sluggish, yet the decline narrowed to 2.9%. Favourable factors contributed to the economic growth of Macao include:  an increase of 41.9% in gross gaming revenue;
 a rise of 12.2% in visitor arrivals; a 20.0% growth in total spending of visitors;
 an increase of 11.0% in hotel guests and a 4.3 percentage points growth in hotel occupancy rate;
 a substantial surge of 79.4% in public investment;
 an increase of 41.7% in value of retail sales;
 median employment earnings posted quarterly increase, ranging between 6.7% and 12.9%. For the first three quarters of 2011, GDP growth in real terms is revised, from 20.9%, 23.4% and 21.1% to 20.8%, 23.8% and 21.4% respectively; economic growth for 2010 is also revised from 27.1% to 27.0%. Moreover, the implicit deflator of GDP that measures overall changes in prices increased by 7.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 6.9% for the whole year of 2011. Please read attachment! Regarding changes in GDP structure, net exports of goods and services (exports less imports of goods and services) increased by 27.9% upon an upsurge in exports of tourism and gaming services, higher than the rate economic growth; therefore, its relative importance to GDP climbed noticeably to 58.8%, as against 55.9% in 2010. Consequently, relative importance of the other GDP components registered decrease, for instance, relative importance of total investment shrank marginally to 13.2%, private consumption expenditure slid from 22.7% to 20.7%, and government final consumption expenditure fell from 8.1% to 7.4%. Please read attachment!
…

According to the Fiscal Reserve Act that came into effect at the outset of this year, the fiscal reserves and foreign exchange reserves are managed under separate accounts. The assets allocated from the foreign exchange reserves to the fiscal reserves will be reflected in fiscal reserve accounts, which will be disseminated regularly in the future. Due to the official transfer of the relevant assets last month, the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves fell to MOP126.7 billion (USD15.86 billion) at the end of February 2012, as against the revised value of MOP283.3 billion (USD35.46 billion) at end-January. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-February 2012 represented 18 times the currency in circulation or 152.5% of Pataca M2 at end-January 2012. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, fell by 0.52 points month-to-month and 0.13 points year-on-year to 88.08 in February 2012. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
…

In 2011, a total of 490 applications for temporary residency for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders were received by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) (an decrease of 52 compared with last year), 65 applications for major investment and major investment plans (an increase of 29 compared with last year), representing 88.29% and 11.71% of the total of 555 new applications in 2011. Approved cases for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders amounted to 412 (a decrease of 126 compared with last year), approved applications for major investment and major investment plans totalled 10 (a decrease of 12 compared with last year). In accordance with the Administrative Regulation No. 7/2007, temporary residency applications for fixed asset purchases have been suspended since 4 April 2007. There were over 4,000 applications lodged before the closing date of the policy and are still being processed. Therefore, there were no new residency applications for fixed assets purchases in 2011 while all of the 38 already approved cases were lodged before 4 April 2007. Statistics of Temporary Residency Applications and the Cases and Number of People Approved in 2011 See attachment! Remarks：Figures of fixed assets approved applications only include those registered cases as of 4 April 2007 when the Administrative Rules were in effect, figures of approved cases in other categories include all applications submitted during and before 2011. For further enquiries on the residency application guidelines, please contact IPIM by visiting the website: www.ipim.gov.mo, email: gjfr@ipim.gov.mo, tel: 28712055 or fax: 28713950. Applicants may also visit the website and enquire about the progress of their residency application status.
…

The theme of the International Museum Day this year is "Museums in a Changing World: New challenges, new inspirations." Communications Museums is organizing the "Seminars of International Museum Day 2012" in May. The objective is not only to allow local museum professionals to acquire new knowledge, broaden their vision in museum management and service provision, but also to provide a platform for the general public, especially teachers and students, to have a deeper understanding of museums' roles and, therefore, increase their influence in the community. The first seminar, which is for Museum professionals, will be held at the Auditorium of Communications Museum in the afternoon of May 4. The organizer has invited Ms. SIU Kai Kuen, Chief Curator of Hong Kong Museum of History and Mr. SZETO Yuen Kit, Curator (Xubaizhai) of Hong Kong Museum of Art to deliver speeches on "Hong Kong Museum of History under new thoughts" and "Beyond exhibition – The curatorial concept of modern museum", respectively. The second seminar, which is for the general public, is co-organized by the Macao Polytechnic Institute and the Education & Youth Bureau. It will be held at at the Auditorium of Macao Polytechnic Institute in the afternoon of May 5,. Citizens, teachers and students are welcome to attend the seminar. The organizer has invited Professor LI Wen Ru, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, Beijing to introduce the "Development trend of museums in China"; Professor SUN Wei Hsin, Ph.D., Director General of the National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung to discuss "Life is short, why don't we explore the interest of knowledge? – The role of museums in lifetime education for the general public."; and Associate Professor VAI Mang I, Ph.D. to talk about "A life of science popularization – How to develop interest in science?". The seminar is free of charge, and it is also recognized as a "Training Programme for Educators". Registration will be accepted from now till April 30. Seats are limited and first-come-first-served. For more information of the seminars and registration, please visit http://macao.communications.museum or contact Communications Museum for details (Telephone: 28718063 / 28718570; Fax: 28718018; Email: info@macao.communications.museum).
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours surged by 43.6% year-on-year to 634,993 in January 2012, attributable to the Lunar New Year holidays. Visitors from Mainland China (424,234) increased by 34.1%, with 176,498 from Guangdong Province. Moreover, visitors from Taiwan, China (60,273); Hong Kong (41,877); and the Republic of Korea (34,428) soared by 151.5%, 139.0% and 43.2% respectively year-on-year. Outbound residents travelling in package tours increased by 44.1% year-on-year to 26,272 in January 2012. The most popular tour itineraries were Mainland China (69.5% of total); Malaysia (6.4%); and Taiwan, China (5.1%), with 13,532 travelling to Guangdong Province. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies soared by 56.5% year-on-year to 67,383; the main destinations were Mainland China (59.4% of total); Hong Kong (21.2%); and Taiwan, China (7.5%). Number of available guest rooms of the 95 hotels and guest-houses reached 22,338 at the end of January 2012, an increase of 2,239 rooms (+11.1%) year-on-year, with those of the 5-star hotels accounting for 63.5% of the total. Hotels and guest-houses received 699,233 guests in January 2012, an increase of 9.1% year-on-year; the average length of stay increased by 0.02 night to 1.5 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses stood at 79.1%, down by 0.4 percentage point year-on-year; average occupancy rate of the hotels was 79.6%, with 5-star hotels reaching 81.3%. In January 2012, visitor-guests accounted for 59.1% of the total number of tourists (overnight visitors), lower than 63.7% in January 2011.
…