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At the opening of Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition 2012 (2012MIECF), a Canadian environmental expert delivered keynote address to share with the audience his experience in green buildings. He believes that construction is closely related with climate change, and therefore innovative architectural design can improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. Mr. Andrew Bowerbank, a GMF Council Member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities delivered the keynote address. He pointed out that, currently 40% of the energy and another 40% from power generation. He said that the total population in 2008 was 6.5 billion and it is anticipated that by 2050, the global population will increase to 9 billion. Energy demand is therefore expected to be higher and will soon reach the critical point. Faced with growing energy demand and shortage of resources, he believes that every country will have the ability to reverse the current energy situation, by actively developing new energy and adopting the right technology strategy. He said that, since 2008, China has been investing heavily in renewable energy and energy efficiency, with an annual growth of 77%. In addition, Canada successfully implements low-carbon economic policy and is getting satisfactory results. Mr. Bowerbank said that construction and climate change is related to architectural design and we need to make changes in our generation, to make the best use of green buildings. He gave the example of the DCL Medical Centre in Canada, which selected low-carbon construction materials and a design featuring advantages such as low-density, fire and pest control and efficient insulation. He said that the construction is also sturdy and economical. Besides, the external appearance and components of the building also meet environmental protection goals, such as the use of perforated metal, solar panels and green roof. He also introduced several new environmental protection concepts, such as bionics, "vertical" farm and synthetic biology. Mr. Bowerbank is a respected authority on green buildings, smart-grid energy systems, industrial design, and low-carbon economics. He was the founding Executive Director of the World Green Building Council (2007-2010) as well as the founding Executive Director at the Canada Green Building Council - GTA Chapter. During his tenure with the WorldGBC, Mr. Bowerbank acted as Member Representative for the United Nations Environmental Programme with a specific goal to deliver a global framework for major carbon reductions in buildings and infrastructure.
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The Tourism Development Committee, an advisory body for making tourism development policies and strategies, held its inaugural plenary meeting today after the announcement of the appointment of its 47 members. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met with the members, affirmed their contribution and encouraged them to provide constructive suggestions to help make Macao a world leisure tourism centre to achieve substantial development of the society. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Cheong U, who is chairman of the Committee, said in the meeting that the advisory body should endeavour to enhance the competitiveness of Macao's tourism industry. Four task force teams were set up in the meeting, to look at human resources, management on tourism marketing, transportation and infrastructure, and a study team on world leisure tourism centre. The appointed members are from related government departments and the tourism sector.
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Up to 6:00 p.m. on the first day (29 March) of the 2012 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Exhibition and Forum (2012 MIECF), the Organisers have arranged 285 business matching and negotiation sessions, which resulted in the signing of 15 co-operation projects. Agreements signed involved co-operation in green building technology, waster oil recycling, LED lights, green vehicles, and solar energy products. Most of the protocols were signed by Macao and mainland China companies or institutions, while the other signing parties were mostly from Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Brazil. Two forums are planned for tomorrow morning, namely " Why Green Buildings is the Key Player in Developing Sustainable Environments" and " Green Finance and Green Investment/Risk Management", and Mr Chris Zijdeveld, President of Dutch Passive Housing Foundation will give a keynote address themed "A Reachable Sustainable Future And Lessons Learned From Developed Countries", from 11:50 to 12:30. Three forums are schuduled to be held in the afternoon, namely "Environmental Policy and Low Carbon Economic Development", "Techniques and Equipments For Environmental Industry: Business Opportunities", and "Green Chemical Forum - Energy Conservation and Efficiency".
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The 2012 Macao International Environmental Cooperation Exhibition and Forum (MIECF) opened today, bringing together several thousand exhibitors and delegates from around the world. In a welcome speech at the opening ceremony in Macao, Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On said Macao was aiming to become a distinctive green channel in the West Bank of the Pearl River Delta 'The Macao SAR Government would fulfill her international obligations and actively cope with the national targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases in combating the climate change,' he said. 'Macao will also strengthen environmental protection work in order to avoid the negative impacts on social and economic development caused by environmental pollution. 'The MIECF is an important green exchange platform and channel for regional environmental protection industry. The co-operation and participation of different parties has made a great success for four consecutive years. 'Last year, this success has been recognised by the General Assembly of the Global Association of Exhibition Industry and awarded with the international exhibition certification. The Macao SAR Government wishes that this activity can promote further regional exchanges and co-operation on environmental protection technology.' Mr Chui extended his gratitude to the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China for being the Special Supporting Organisations, as well as the Governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region for co-organising MIECF. MIECF is a three-day annual event which brings together the world's top environmental government officials and experts and academics in the field to discuss the latest environmental issues and is a meeting point for leading and well-known domestic and overseas exhibitors to create opportunities in the environmental business.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today met with the Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr Jiang Zengwei, and exchanged views on boosting Macao as a trading and service platform for China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Mr Chui started by having expressed his appreciation for Mr Jiang's presence at the presentation session of a special fund for co-operation and development between China and Portuguese-speaking countries held yesterday. He said the setting up of the special fund could further consolidate Macao as a trading and service platform for China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and that would enable Macao to co-operate better with these countries. Mr Chui also expressed gratitude for the Ministry of Commerce's long term support, especially in the diversification of Macao's economy. Mr Jiang said that with the joint effort of the Macao Government and the people, Macao's overall development was encouraging. He said that the aim of this visit was to enhance the co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and he believed the special fund could foster bilateral trading relations. He said that according to the instruction from Premier Wen Jiabao, China and Portuguese-speaking countries could further promote trading co-operation by using the advantage of Macao's traditional relationship with Portuguese-speaking countries. The Secretary for Economy and Finance Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam also attended the meeting.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate for December 2011-February 2012 held stable as the previous period (November 2011-January 2012), at 2.1% and 0.8% respectively. Total labour force was 346,000 in December 2011-February 2012 and the labour force participation rate stood at 73.2%, same as the previous period. Total employment reached 339,000, up by 900 over the previous period. Analyzed by industry, employment of the Retail Trade, Hotel, and Gaming saw increase, while that of Wholesale Trade; and Restaurants & Similar Activities registered decrease. Number of the unemployed decreased by 300 from the previous period to 7,100, with 11.9% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 0.8 percentage point. In comparison with December 2010-February 2011, both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate decreased by 0.7 percentage point; however, the labour force participation rate increased by 1.1 percentage points.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) signed an agreement with the People's Bank of China (PBOC) which enables AMCM to acquire RMB bonds to achieve diversification in investment. In order to enhance investment management for reserves and to achieve the long term goal of appropriate diversification for its asset portfolio, AMCM proposed to relevant government agencies of the Mainland to acquire assets denominated in RMB. The proposal had a positive response of PBOC. After a few rounds of negotiation, the application of the MSAR Government for quota of the RMB bond market to invest part of its funds was successful and confirmed. The AMCM representatives signed the "Chinese (Mainland) Inter-bank Bond Market Agency Agreement" with the PBOC on 28 March 2012. In accordance with the provisions therein, AMCM can purchase RMB bonds up to RMB 10 billion via the bond transaction platforms under the jurisdiction of the PBOC. AMCM can directly invest in the Mainland inter-bank bond market in a timely manner according to the strategy formulated for its reserves. After the signing of the above mentioned agreement which is in principle by nature, AMCM will shortly formulate detailed market operation arrangement with the responsible units of the PBOC. It is generally believed that the move can broaden investment channel. Simultaneously, AMCM will be able to make use of the opportunity offered by the rise of the capital market of the Mainland. Through the introduction of a series of stable and secure RMB financial products, AMCM is able to further fine tune its function in fund management.
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Macau Government Tourist Office Representative in Indonesia is participating at TTC Travel Mart in three major cities in Indonesia, namely Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali on 26, 28 and 30 March respectively. Taking part for the 6th time, MGTO promotes Macau tourism and its latest development to the trade partners in Indonesia, especially the travel agents/buyers from those three cities in this B2B travel mart. Through this event, travel trade representatives from Macau are able to meet and encourage Indonesian buyers to create unique Macau packages for the needs of Indonesian market. Indonesia is a key potential source market for Macau and MGTO will continue to explore more international source markets to diversify market portfolio. In 2011, Macau welcomed over 220,000 Indonesian visitors, a growth of 5.7%. In the first two months of 2012, visitors from Indonesia registered an increase of 6.9%. There are 527 travel agents and 679 visitors participating in this year's TTC travel mart. Among which, 276 agents are from Jakarta, 145 from Surabaya, 67 from Bali and 39 from other cities. The number of participating sellers has increased by 20% compared to last year.
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A special fund with a start-up capital of US$200 million has been set up today to further promote co-operation and development between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. The signing ceremony was attended by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr Jiang Zengwei, and other guests. Representatives from the Secretariat of China and Portuguese - Speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macao), and the China Development Bank signed the memorandum. The fund, with US$50 million dedicated by the Macao Government, will be registered in the Cayman Islands and will be managed by the China Development Bank Capital Corporation Ltd. Mr Tam said he expected the registration process to be completed within this year. The total scale of the fund is US$1 billion and was firstly proposed by Premier Wen Jiabao at the Third Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries held in 2010. This is one of the six important measures suggested by China, aimed at providing preferential loans for participating countries from Asia and Africa, as well as training for their officials and technical staff. Participating Portuguese-speaking countries are Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Monzambique, Timor Leste, Cabo-Verde and Guiner-Bissau. Together in 2011 their exports to Macao totalled MOP3,660,387, with imports from Macao at MOP417, 934, 437.
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Hosted by the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region, the Green Public Day, an activity under the 2012 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2012MIECF), will open to the public for free admission on 31 March (Saturday), from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. A variety of green activities and performances are designed for children and their parents, aiming to disseminate the green message to the public in a lively and interesting manner. In this connection, a "Funny Green Award" site will be set up at the venue, to enable more people to know about this environmental reward points scheme and also engage in the green lifestyle. The Green Public Day, being the last day of MIECF, aims to continuously enhance public awareness in environmental protection through this annual event, and encourage the general public to actively support and put into practice various environmental works. The theme of this year´s Green Public Day is Environmental Protection – A Way of Life and an Attitude. Similar to last year, the Organiser will organise a series of children´s programme involving the participation of their parents, such as environmental workshops, GreenArt, parent-child game booths and educational electronic games. By means of interactive and interesting means, it aims to encourage the public to make good use of the resources and understand that environmentally-friendly habits start with everyday lifestyle. To enable the general public to gain better understanding of MIECF, the Organiser has also arranged guided tours, with special guides to introduce MIECF´s philosophy and the features of each exhibition zone, with information concerning waste reduction at source and green living, to promote public awareness in environmental protection. This year´s MIECF will also provide green vehicles test drives, so that the public can experience the characteristics of the electric vehicles. On the other hand, a fuel-efficient driver competition will be held to test on the eco-driving habits of the participants. In order to increase the excitement and the festive atmosphere of the venue, a number of stage performances including singing, dancing, magic shows and interactive games will also be held. To promote good environmental protection habits and sustain a greener lifestyle, the Environmental Protection Bureau has launched a "Funny Green Reward" scheme, which involves various aspects of environmental protection. Last year, it has launched for the first time the waste reduction and recycling activities, to encourage the habits of waste separation and recycling. Members of the "Funny Green Reward" will receive bonus points by providing a certain number of recyclable items. The points can be redeemed for supermarket coupons. The responsible government authorities intend to upgrade the scheme in the future by expanding the recycling network and promoting different forms of environmental behaviour. In order to encourage participation, DSPA will set-up a "Funny Green Award" site at the venue for membership application on the Green Public Day. New members as well as existing members visiting the Green Public Day venue will receive 50 points. Furthermore, the Organiser also plans to use the waste materials collected under the "Funny Green Award", such as newspapers, magazines and aluminium cans and recycle the materials into environmentally-friendly souvenirs. Admission tickets to the Green Public Day are available at the venue. Ticket holders will also receive a green souvenir, on a first-come first-served basis, while stock lasts. Free shuttle bus service will be provided, both for the convenience of the visitors to the venue and as a way to promote green travel. Three shuttle bus routes are available from Avenida do Dr. Mario Soares (Macau Square), Avenida Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida (bus stop at Pak Vai Building) and Estrada Marginal do Hipodromo (Royal Supermarket, Iao Hon) to the venue (the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel) respectively. Free shuttle bus service runs from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm at a thirty-minute interval. In addition, 4-hour free parking is also available for the MIECF visitors. It is recommended that several passengers can share a car ride as a mean to support green travel. For enquiries about the content of this press release, please contact the 2012MIECF Secretariat, tel.: (853) 8798-9675, fax: (853) 2872 3332, e-mail: miecf@koelnmesse.com.hk or visit the official website: www.macaomiecf.com
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