News

The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today (20 June) witnessed the signing of two agreements between Macao and Portugal organisations to promote Macanese cuisine in Europe. Mr Chui, on a seven-day official visit to Portugal, also attended Macau Government Tourist Office’s promotional activities in Lisbon. Tomorrow he is scheduled to meet the Vice-President of Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, Dr Guilherme Silva, and the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Development, Dr José Vieira da Silva.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On today said the opening of an exhibition in Lisbon demonstrated the long-existing and cordial co-operation between Macao and Portugal. He said this at the Macao Economic and Trade Office in Lisbon, as he officiated the opening of the “Decade of Achievements Exhibition for the 10th Anniversary of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) in Portugal” in Lisbon. In a speech, Mr Chui said the exhibition displayed the achievements of Macao and the implementation of the principles of ‘One country, two systems’, ‘Macao people governing Macao’ and a high degree of autonomy, as well as the life styles of Macao people since the establishment of the Macao SAR, and Macao’s growing co-operation with Portugal. After the ceremony, Mr Chui met some Macao students studying in Portugal and urged them to study hard and to return and serve Macao after graduation. As for the law students, he urged them to accumulate more experience in their work in order to become excellent law professionals. After the meeting, Mr Chui hosted a reception for the students. Mr Chui and his delegation are on a seven-day official visit to Portugal. They also visited Cape Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, and watched a performance of a Macao dragon dance team.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, and the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Mr Luís Filipe Marques Amado, jointly announced today that Macao and Portugal would hold a meeting in Macau to enhance co-operation towards the end of this year. On arrival in Lisbon, Mr Chui and the high ranking official delegation held a working meeting with Mr Amado and their Portuguese counterparts to exchange opinions on enhancing mutual co-operation. Mr Chui and Mr Marques Amado jointly met the press after the meeting. Mr Chui said the Portuguese had a long history in Macao and that they were one of the most important parts that made up Macao. He said as there was an increasing number of Portuguese enterprises in Macao, the SAR Government would continuously and dedicatedly act as a service platform that would help them open new markets in China. Mr Chui also said the Government would continually give support to the Portuguese School in Macao. The School was very important to the Portuguese community and the Government would invest more resources to support its future development. He re-iterated that the Government would not interfere in its internal affairs. The Foreign Minister said he was happy to receive Mr Chui and the Macao delegation; he said Mr Chui’s maiden trip as Chief Executive would definitely strengthen the relationship between Macao and Portugal. Portugal valued very highly the relationship with China, Mr Amado said, and his country would make use of Macao, which has been performing an important role on economic and political aspects, to strengthen co-operation with China. Under “The Co-operation Framework Agreement between the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Portuguese Republic”, Macao and Portugal would hold a meeting in Macao at the end of this year to discuss bilateral co-operation on business, tourism, education and culture, he said, adding that he hoped the meeting would be held every year. During the visit, Mr Chui officiated the opening of the “Macao week in Lisbon” to promote Macao.
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A partir da tarde do dia 12 até às 18h00 da tarde do dia 18 de Junho, os Serviços de Saúde foram notificados de um total de 24 casos de infecção por enterovírus. Até ao momento, registaram-se em Macau, cumulativamente, 554 casos de infecção por enterovírus. Dos novos casos registados, 12 são de ambos os sexos, com idades entre os 7 meses e os 12 anos e 9 meses. Para além disso, dois casos classificados como casos suspeitos, nomeadamente, um bebé com 1 ano e 4 meses e outro com 1 ano e 10 meses, estão internados no Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário e encontram-se em condição estável. Até ao presente, não se registou nenhum caso com complicações.
Desde o dia 12 até ao dia 18 de Junho, nenhum caso foi notificado de infecção colectiva por enterovírus em estabelecimento de ensino ou creche.
Os Serviços de Saúde continuam a acompanhar com estreita atenção o desenvolvimento da situação epidemiológica e sublinham que a maioria dos doentes infectados por enterovírus pode recuperar por si próprio. Contudo, uma parte muito reduzida dos infectados pode sofrer de complicações fatais. Macau nesta altura já se encontra no pico da estação epidémica de enterovírus, motivo pelo qual se apela aos pais, alunos e pessoal das instituições educativas e lares para tomarem as medidas preventivas de enterovírus.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP158.3 billion (USD19.72 billion) at the end of May 2010. The reserves rose by 0.6% from MOP157.3 billion (USD19.66 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP17.6 billion or 12.5%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-May 2010 represented 31 times the currency in circulation or 262.1% of Pataca M2 at end-April 2010. 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, rose by 1.21 points month-to-month and 0.45 points year-on-year to 91.79 in May 2010. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today he hoped his current visit to Portugal would further strengthen the friendship and bilateral co-operations between the two places. Mr Chui, who was leading a 60-member delegation to Lisboa, was speaking to reporters at the ferry terminal before he left for Hong Kong for his flight to Portugal. He said that based on the good foundation of a co-operation agreement inked in 2001 between Macao and Portugal, this visit would help step up co-operation, as well as reinforcing Macao’s function as a platform for Portugal and Portuguese-speaking nations. During the seven-day visit, Mr Chui will meet the President of Portugal, Mr Aníbal Cavaco Silva, and the Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr José Sócrates.
Members of the delegation included the President of the Legislative Assembly, Mr Lau Cheok Va, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Cheong U, and a number of local entrepreneur.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan will be the acting Chief Executive while Mr Chui is away.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money
supply M2 witnessed a slight increase in April. As loans grew at a faster pace than deposits, the loan-to-
deposit ratio continued to rise. Money supply
Currency in circulation decreased 1.2% whereas demand deposits increased 1.5%. M1 thus rose 1.1% compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, quasi-monetary liabilities increased slightly by 0.3%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, grew 0.4% to MOP216.9 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 26.2% and 9.9% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 27.8%, down 0.3 percentage points over a month ago or 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Concurrently, the share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.6%, unchanged from the previous month but up 1.1 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits
Resident deposits rose 0.5% from the previous month to MOP211.8 billion. Of which, MOP deposits declined 0.8% while HKD deposits and other foreign currency deposits grew at respective rates of 0.5% and 2.2%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits increased by 0.5% to MOP73.3 billion while public sector deposits with the banking sector dropped 2.0% to MOP15.7 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector rose 0.3% from the previous month to MOP300.8 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 22.3% and 46.4% respectively. Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector expanded 1.1% in April to MOP106.2 billion. Among which, MOP31.6 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP67.9 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 29.7% and 63.9% of the total respectively. Meanwhile, external loans grew 1.7% to MOP108.0 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.8% (MOP0.9 billion) and 40.2% (MOP43.4 billion) of the total respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios
As domestic loans to the private sector rose at a faster pace than resident deposits, the loan-to-deposit ratio
for the resident sector at end-April 2010 rose 0.4 percentage points month-to-month to 46.7%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors stood at 71.2%, up 0.7 percentage points.
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The Macao Museum, responding to the need for docent services by the public, students, educators and visitors, will offer the ‘Cultural Affairs Bureau’s Fourth Docent Training Course’ this September and October. Applications for registration can be submitted from now until July 16th . In recent years, the docent training course has enabled the museum to train a stream of promising and talented docents that provide guide services to Macao residents and visitors. The course is instructed in mandarin and cantonese by noted academics and professors from Hong Kong and Macao as well as specialists attached to the Cultural Affairs Bureau. They instruct students in different fields of knowledge, and lead them in practical training and discussion in the domain of docent services including museum knowledge, docent techniques, Chinese and western cultural history, arts and culture, the Historic Centre of Macao, archaeology, restoration of cultural relics, painting and calligraphy of the Lingnan region, and western painting. The course prepares docents for the Macao Museum and a wide variety of specialized exhibitions. There is no tuition for the course. Application is open to Macao residents that have graduated from senior middle school or higher who possess a desire to work in the field of docent services and with the public. A total of 38 students (including ten audient students) will be admitted to the course. Those who complete the course and pass the examination will receive a certificate of docent training issued by the Cultural Affairs Bureau. The course is also open (subject to a limited number of audient students) to individuals currently working as docents or individuals that have previously taken the docent training course. These students will be exempt from some practical training and certain classes on basic knowledge. After completing the designated specialized classes and exams, auditing students will be issued a certificate of advanced study in docent services issued by the Cultural Affairs Bureau. The course will be held from September 18th to October 31st on Saturdays and Sundays (Saturday 14:30 to 17:30, Sunday 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 17:30). Application forms, registration brochures can be obtained from the ticket office of the Macao Museum and the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre or downloaded from the websites of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (www.icm.gov.mo) and Macao Museum (www.macaumuseum.gov.mo). Applicants should return the completed application form, proof of identity, a copy of each academic credential document and a recent 1.5 inch colour photo in a sealed document envelope to the Macao Museum ticket office or the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre during open hours. The deadline for submission of applications is July 16th, 2010. The deadline for the submission of applications mailed to the Macao Museum (Praceta do Museu de Macau, No. 112) is July 16th , 2010 (based on the postmark). The organizer will select applicants based on educational background and experience. Preference will be given to candidates fluent in multiple languages, or Mandarin, English or Portuguese. Final selection of applicants will be determined based on an interview. The list of selected applicants and alternate applicants will be released on August 13th , 2010 and posted on the websites of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (www.icm.gov.mo) and the Macao Museum (www.macaumuseum.gov.mo). The list will also be posted at the Macao Museum ticket office and at the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre. Registration inquiries can be made during office hours by contacting Ms. Becky (83941231) or Ms. Joana (83941205).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 560 doctors and 1,169 nurses engaging in the 3 hospitals of Macao in 2009. Number of in-patient beds totalled 1,109 and the occupancy rate of in-patient beds stood at 73.8%, down by 4.6 percentage points over 2008. Besides, a total of 14,000 surgical operations and 306,000 emergency treatments were carried out in 2009. Meanwhile, there were 495 establishments providing primary health care services, with 383 being private clinics, engaging 723 doctors and 450 nurses. A total of 2,100,000 medical consultations were provided in 2009, up by 8.0% year-on-year, attributable to the pandemic of H1N1 (Swine Influenza) and the implementation of the Healthcare Subsidy Scheme that induced medical consultations at private clinics to soar by 16.2%. In 2009, ratio of health professionals to the population saw improvement compared with 2008, with number of doctors per 1,000 population reaching 2.4 and that of nurses reaching 2.8, up by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point respectively year-on-year. Number of in-patient beds per 1,000 population rose from 1.9 in 2008 to 2.0 in 2009. Number of blood donors increased by 1.5% year-on-year to 9,308 and the median age was 24.3. Moreover, the Blood Donation Centre provided 20,000 units of blood and blood components to the hospitals. In addition, there were 228 establishments providing Chinese medicine and therapy services, engaging 182 doctors of Chinese medicine and 160 Chinese herbalists, providing 923,000 consultations of Chinese medicine and therapy services.
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Starting from 10 December 2009, eligible Macao Permanent Residents, aged eleven or above, can voluntarily enrol in advance for using the Automated Passenger Clearance System (e-Channel) to enter and exit the Hong Kong SAR with their valid Electronic Macao SAR Permanent Resident Identity Card. At present, over 100,000 Macao Permanent Residents have enrolled for using Hong Kong e-Channel, including 92,000 people registered at the Identification Services Bureau’s self-service kiosks and 12,000 people registered at the enrolment counter of the Hong Kong Immigration Department.
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