News

Starting tomorrow, January 15, at 6 pm, at the Pousada de Mong Ha Conference Room (2nd floor), is a Course on Heritage Law and Regulations, as part of the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao. Organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre and the International Law Office, this course will have as speakers Nuno Portas, Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Oporto and renowned international specialist in areas such as urban rehabilitation and heritage protection, Ricardo Rodrigues, architect and member of the Municipal Office of the Historical Centre of Guimarães, Francisca Abreu, architect and town councillor responsible for Culture at the Municipal Council of Guimarães, and Stephan Chan, Vice-President of the Cultural Institute of the MSAR and responsible for the area of heritage protection. The subjects that will be discussed during the six sessions are: The Process of Urban Rehabilitation – Difficulties and Contradictions – Some Portuguese Examples; Talking about Cities: Macao as a Scenario; The Rehabilitation of the City of Guimarães (Introduction, The Local Office for the Historical Centre, The Plan, Criteria for Intervention); Cultural Promotion: City and Citizenship; Macau – A World Heritage City. This course will take place daily, between 6 pm and 8:30 pm, until January 20, and will specifically target legal advisors, specialists in the area of culture, architects, historians and groups of people linked with Heritage, having already an enrolment of more than sixty local participants. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, in which this course is incorporated, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System” and is currently in its fifth and final year, taking place until the end of this coming February. The total budget for the programme is of 1.980.000 euros, shared in equal parts by the European Union and Macao. The co-ordination of the Co-operation Programme is at the responsibility of the International Law Office, being the organisation of the pertaining actions ensured by several other entities of the MSAR’s Government, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services and the Institute of European Studies, other than the International Law Office itself.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 289,626 in November 2006, up slightly by 0.2% year-on-year. Among them, visitors from Mainland China (214,504) dropped 10.6%, while those from Hong Kong (21,720) and Southeast Asia (13,637) reported remarkable growths of 121.4% and 114.2% respectively compared with November 2005. In the first eleven months of 2006, visitor arrivals in package tours grew 6.9% over the same period of 2005 to 2,602,613. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours in November 2006 was 21,754, a year-on-year increase of 12.0%. Mainland China; Thailand; and Taiwan, China were the three most popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 82.2%, 4.9% and 4.4% of the total respectively. In the first eleven months of 2006, Macao residents (245,335) travelling in package tours went down 8.4% compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 30,428 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by travel agencies, a marginal decrease of 0.5% over November 2005. Mainland China (37.8%); Hong Kong (33.1%); and Taiwan, China (12.5%) were the major destinations. In the first eleven months of 2006, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements increased 12.4% to 332,582 over the corresponding period of 2005. At the end of November 2006, number of guest rooms available in the hotel industry registered an increase of 1,860 rooms (+17.2%) over November 2005 to 12,693 rooms. In addition, a total of 443,377 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, representing a year-on-year growth of 14.3%. The average hotel occupancy rate dropped by 5.0 percentage points to 77.6%, with 4-star hotels leading at 85.0%. The average length of stay of hotel guests edged down by 0.01 night to 1.20 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (56.8%), Hong Kong (25.0%) and Taiwan, China (2.5%). In the first eleven months of 2006, number of hotel guests increased 12.4% over the same period of 2005 to 4,198,986. In the first eleven months of 2006, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 41.4% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 43.2% recorded in the same period of 2005.
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The “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign organized by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and sponsored by the Macau Foundation saws its sixth monthly lucky draw and Mega Lucky Draw held today at the lobby of the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC). A visitor from Hong Kong won the Mega Prize – a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000. Officiating the draw were MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes, Deputy Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Deputy Director Manuel Pires, Member of the Administration Council of Macau Foundation, Wu Zhiliang and President of the Executive Committee of Macau Goldsmith’s Guild, Lei Chi Fong. A total of 28 winners of fabulous prizes for the Mega Lucky Draw and 9 for the sixth monthly lucky draw were announced. Heading the list of the prizes was the Mega Prize – a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000, won by a visitor from Hong Kong, while the other 27 winners were from Hong Kong; Mainland; Taiwan, China and Singapore. There were close to 4,000 entry coupons for the Mega Lucky Draw accumulated from the previous 6 monthly lucky draws. The winner of the sixth monthly lucky draw who took away a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000 was also from Hong Kong, while the other 8 winners were from Hong Kong; Mainland; Taiwan, China and Malaysia. The six-month long “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign offering prizes worth MOP $8 million has come to a conclusion. MGTO will notify the winners who have to collect and consume the prizes within 6 months from the day of the lucky draw. The objective of the “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign was to attract more visitors to Macau, enhance their knowledge of “The Historic Centre of Macau” while driving the length of stay and spending of visitors to new heights. From July 1 to December 31 last year, over 23,000 passports have been distributed through MGTO information counters. “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign featured instant lucky draws, monthly lucky draws and a year end Mega Lucky Draw offering fabulous prizes worth a total of MOP$8 million. 3,000 instant lucky draws were held from July 1 to December 31, giving out key chains, magnets, coasters, postcards and paper fans designed with Macau heritage images. A total of more than 1,124 entries were collected for the sixth monthly lucky draw. 9 winners, entitled to 8 Special Prizes and 1 Grand Prize, were drawn at each of the 6 monthly lucky draws. The Grand Prize was a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000, while the 8 Special Prizes featuring 8 one-oz gold coin, 3 nights at a 5-star hotel and “Macau World Heritage Highlight Tour” for 2 persons, were worth a total of MOP$400,000. 28 lucky visitors have been drawn in the Mega Lucky Draw after the 6 monthly lucky draws. The winner of the Mega Prize was entitled to a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000 and each of the 5 Grand Prize winners received a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000. In addition, there were 22 Special Prizes worth over MOP$1.54 million in total, including 8 one-oz gold coins, hotel accommodation, Macau World Heritage Highlight Tours and Beijing Heritage Tours.
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Over 1 million people crossed border during the New Year Holidays. Immigration authorities recorded a total of 1,027,452
crossing the six immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR over the holidays ( 30 December 2006 to 1 January 2007 ). Total number of arrivals stood at 518,477 with Border-gate: 407,059
Lotus Bridge: 1,846
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal: 89,162
Inner Harbour Wharf Nº14: 6,750
Macao International Airport: 13,608
Zhuhai-Macao Crossborder Industrial Zone: 52 Total of departures stood at 508,975 with Border-gate: 397,525
Lotus Bridge: 2,068
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal: 91,758
Inner Harbour Wharf Nº14: 4,166
Macao International Airport: 13,403
Zhuhai-Macao Crossborder Industrial Zone: 55 Meanwhile, total number of tourist arrivals in that period stood at 256,301,with a growth of 27.50% over the same period of last year.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today encouraged Macao's residents to continue to strive and work together for the prosperity and stability of the Special Administrative Region (SAR). In his New Year's Message to the community, Mr Ho extended his greetings to everyone in Macao and wished them a fruitful year ahead. Mr Ho said that three factors - competition, advancement and harmony - would become the main backdrops during the course of Macao's development. Witnessing all the changes in the SAR in recent years, residents could appreciate that Macao's achievements in the past few years were hard to accomplish, and that we should continue to strive and work together for the prosperity and stability of the SAR, said Mr Ho. The inclusion of Macao's industrial development and co-operation with the Mainland in China's eleventh Five-Year Plan, which had started in 2006, offered new opportunities for the SAR's sustainable development. He expected that this year the tourism and leisure industries would further integrate, promoting domestic consumption and revitalising some of Macao's traditional industries, said Mr Ho. He said he believed that the year ahead would facilitate the streamlining of Macao's industrial structures.
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President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have urged Macao's residents to cherish the society's precious developments and stability, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said in Beijing today. The Chief Executive, who was in Beijing for his annual duty visit, met with the President and the Premier respectively and briefed them on the latest developments in Macao and the initiatives he had outlined in his Policy Address. Meeting the press after these meetings, he disclosed that the state leaders had encouraged Macao's residents to work together for sustainable development and harmony of the society. Moreover, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated the Central Government's full support to Macao under the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems', said Mr Ho. Speaking on Macao's economy, Mr Ho said he expected the gaming tax this year would amount to about 19 billion patacas, a growth of approximately 20 per cent over the previous year. He said the gaming tax used to make up about 80 per cent of total government revenue, but its share would dip to about 70 per cent this year, showing that the other industries were growing healthily after a series of tax cuts. The gaming sector would continue to act as the mainstay industry of the SAR while the government would spare no efforts in diversifying its industrial portfolio, Mr Ho said. He said he expected retailing, catering, hotel, exhibition and conference industries would continue to grow significantly in the next few years. Regarding government spending in next year, the Chief Executive said the SAR Government would review the social security system and carry out the public housing scheme to satisfy the needs of about 5,000 to 6,000 households. As for the case of Mr Ao Man Long, Mr Ho said that state leaders had urged the SAR Government to learn the experience and lessons from the incident, and continue its efforts in fighting corruption and building a clean team of civil servants, and this was especially important as Macao's economy was growing rapidly.
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President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao told the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, in Beijing today that the Central Government would continue to give its all-out support to the Special Administrative Region (SAR). President Hu met with Mr Ho, who was in Beijing for an annual duty visit, when the Chief Executive briefed him on the latest developments in Macao. President Hu said that since Macao's return to the motherland, its economy had grown rapidly and its public order improved significantly. Moreover, it had continued to co-operate with the Mainland and developed links with other countries and regions, said Mr Hu. The President said that the Central Government would continue to give its all-out support to Macao, as well as the policies and plans that would be of benefit to the long-term stability and prosperity of the SAR. He urged the SAR Government and people from all sectors to work together and continue to make Macao an even better society. Answering the President, Mr Ho expressed his gratitude for the Central Government's support and confidence in the SAR Government, and said that Macao’s economy had developed steadily in recent years, yet there were some issues that remained to be tackled. Also attending the meeting were the Vice President, Mr Zeng Qinghong; the Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, Mr Wang Gang; State Councilor of State Council, Mr Tang Jiaxuan, and Vice-Chairman of the 10th CPPCC National Committee and the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Liao Hui. Earlier in the morning, Premier Wen Jiabao met with Mr Ho and was also briefed on developments. On hearing Mr Ho's brief, the Premier said the general situation for Macao's development was beneficial, after steady economic growth in recent years. The Central Government had affirmed the work of Mr Ho and the SAR Government, said Premier Wen, and he urged the SAR Government to unite different sectors of Macao and work towards a co-ordinated development of Macao’s economy and society. Mr Wen also expressed his concern over the possible increase in salinity of Macao's potable water in the next few months, and said that the Central Government and Guangdong Province were developing measures to tackle the problem on a long-term basis. Mr Ho expressed his gratitude to the Central Government’s concern over the issue and said he was confident the problem would be fully solved after several measures are put into effect in the next two years. Also attending the meeting were Vice Premier, Ms Wu Yi; State Councilor of State Council, Mr Tang Jiaxuan; State Councilor of State Council and the Secretary-General of State Council, Mr Hua Jianmin, and Vice-Chairman of the 10th CPPCC National Committee and the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Liao Hui.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that, in November 2006, Macao’s total value of exports amounted to MOP1.45 billion, down 33.2% over the same month of 2005. Among this, the value of domestic exports dropped 42.0% to MOP908 million, and the value of re-exports decreased 10.5% to MOP544 million. Total value of imports amounted to MOP3.25 billion, up 9.8% over the same period of 2005. A trade deficit of MOP1.80 billion was recorded. During the period of January – November 2006, the value of total exports expanded 6.8% year-on-year to MOP18.88 billion. Both the values of domestic exports and re-exports registered increases, up by 5.5% and 10.0% respectively. Moreover, the value of imports grew 17.1% to MOP33.13 billion. In the first eleven months of 2006, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP14.25 billion. The exports/imports ratio decreased from 62.5% in the corresponding period of 2005 to 57.0%. During these eleven months, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 72.3% of the total exports, grew 0.4% over the same period of 2005, while the value of Non-textile exports rose 27.8%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof and Footwear expanded 3.8% and 425.0% respectively year-on-year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 64.1% of the total value of exports. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 44.8% of the total value of exports, decreased 1.8%, while exports to the EU, which took up 19.3% of the total, increased 28.7% over the same period of 2005. During the period of January – November 2006, Macao’s total value of imports grew 17.1% year-on-year, mainly due to increases in import values of, by broad economic categories, Fuels & lubricants (+33.8%), Consumer goods (+19.7%), Raw materials & semi-manufactures (+14.8%) and Capital goods (+7.5%). Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong, which together constituted 55.4% of the total import value, rose 23.5% and 22.1% respectively compared with the same period of 2005.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is scheduled to brief state leaders tomorrow on his initiatives and developments in Macao. Mr Ho, who arrived in Beijing today on his annual duty visit, will tell them about recent developments in Macao and the initiatives he had outlined in his Policy Address. On his departure at the Macau International Airport, Mr Ho was asked by reporters who the next Secretary for Transport and Public Works would be. He said he had not yet considered this, but he hoped he would be able to find a suitable candidate to propose to the Central Government after January next year. Welcoming Mr Ho at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Mr Chen Zuoer, told reporters that the incident of Mr Ao Man Long demonstrated the efficiency of Macao's Commission Against Corruption. He said this was an isolated case and urged Macao's residents to be confident in the Macao Special Administrative Regional Government, as their standard of living continued to rise after the establishment of the SAR. Mr Chen said that the Central Government would continue to support the governance of the SAR Government and its efforts in fighting corruption. While Mr Ho is in Beijing, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, is acting as the Chief Executive.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for September - November 2006 was held stable at 3.6%, as in August - October 2006, but decreased by 0.4 percentage point over the same period of 2005. The underemployment rate stood at 0.9%, which remained unchanged from the previous period, but down by 0.6 percentage point year-on-year. About 1,300 unemployed persons were searching for their first job, representing 12.7% of the total unemployed population, a decline of 1.0 percentage point over the preceding period. Compared with August - October 2006, the unemployment situation was improved in Manufacturing; Transport, storage & communications; and Real estate, renting & business activities, while the situation in other sectors remained stable. Total labour force was estimated at 285,000 in September - November 2006, of which the employed and the unemployed populations were 275,000 and 10,000 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 66.2%, same as that in August - October 2006, but up by 2.7 percentage points over the same period of 2005.
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