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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam, said today that it was necessary for the Government to allocate a funds reserve sufficient to cope with the short-term shortage of cash flow of Banco Delta Asia. He said the measure would help stabilise the operation of the bank and the financial system of Macao. Mr Tam described the cash flow of the bank as and temporary, caused by the unusual withdrawal of money by customers. For this reason it was necessary for the Government to take measures to stabilise the situation. He said the Government decided to take this step after taking over the operation of the bank: the reserve had exceeded MOP500 million in the last couple of days and might be increased, according to the cash flow situation. He said that according to the Government’s understanding to date, the bank would be able to fulfill its long-term financial liabilities, but short-term fluctuations in cash flow was inevitable. The Government had adequate reserve to cope with the bank’s need, he said.
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Included in the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao and starting tomorrow, October 3, at 9:30 am, at the Conference Room of the Institute for Tourism Studies, is a General Course on Foreign Direct Investment. The course is structured into two modules, each unit having a duration of one week. The first module is entitled “The Fundamentals of the Foreign Direct Investment: An Economic Perspective” and will be lectured by Daniel Van den Bulcke, Professor of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. It takes place until Saturday, October 8. The second module, on “Foreign Direct Investment: Laws, Treaties and the Settlement of Disputes”, will be held from October 17 to 21 and will be presented by David Smith, former Vice-Dean at Harvard Law School and Professor at the Macao University of Science and Technology, and Rajesh Sharma, Associate Director of the Hong Kong WTO Research Institute and also Professor at the Macao University of Science and Technology. This course is jointly organised by the Institute of European Studies of Macau and the International Law Office and will be attended by around forty local participants. The sessions will be conducted in English and there is a foreseen awarding of course attendance certificates to participants who finish this activity within the required attendance limits. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, in which this course is integrated, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System”. Currently in its fourth year of execution, the Co-operation Programme will proceed until February 2007. 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 activities 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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Japan’s Tamaya Art Pyro Technics took the top prize in the 17th International Fireworks Display Contest at a ceremony held at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center on 1 October. The winners received US$6,000, a trophy, and a certificate. Runner-up prizes of US$3,200 were awarded to France’s Brezac-Artifices and US$1,800 to China Taiwan’s San Tai Fireworks Ind. Co., Ltd. Mr. Antunes noted in his speech that this spectacular event not only brought joy to the citizens and tourists, but also played an important role to promote Macau to the world.
For the first time in its 17-year history, the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest introduced a new feature to the event, in which each participating team complemented their display with music to enthrall the audience with light and sound spectacular. The organizer installed the sound system at the Macau Tower Outdoor Plaza seaside, Macau Tower Street seaside and the square in front of Kun Iam Statue on Ave. Dr Sun Yat Sen to have the public enjoy synchronized music to the spectacular displays. In order to add further festive atmosphere to the fireworks display contest, Macau Government Tourist Office organized The "Fireworks Carnival" with the General Union of Neighbors Association of Macau. Held between 5:00 - 11:00 p.m. on each of the fireworks display nights, at Rua da Torre de Macau. The Carnival presents a series of fantastic events, including food stalls that provide delicious cuisine, souvenirs stalls and performances for tourists and local residents. Ten teams from the enjoyment of - Australia, Korea, United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, the Philippines, Portugal, Taiwan China, France and China, displayed their unique style of pyrotechnic skills at this year’s contest.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today that it was necessary, under the principal of democracy and openness, to let more talented and responsible young people enhance themselves and eventually take over the responsibility of “Patriotism and Love for Macao”. Speaking to more then 1,100 guests who attended the National Day celebration reception hosted by the Macao SAR Government today, Mr Ho said: “Since Macao returned to the motherland, the tradition of “Patriotism and Love for Macao”, together with the Chinese humanist spirit, which are characterised by assiduousness, self-enhancement, consideration and solidarity, has been the pillar of Macao’s development. He said that the advancement of cross-Taiwan Strait relations, the progress of “One country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong and Macao, and the all-round development outlook of the country have compounded the profound meaning to our celebration of National Day. “It is important to emphasis on the political meaning and spiritual value of Patriotism and Love for Macao. “ He said the development of “One Country, Two Systems” required a strong team of patriots; meanwhile, the practice of the general public was the foundation of the spirit of “Patriotism and Love for Macao”. Mr Ho said the MSAR Government must strengthen the awareness of “Patriotism and Love for Macao” among its member, and that all officials and elites in the society should demonstrate the will to put this into practice. In addition to the reception, the Government also held a variety of events for the 56th National Day celebrations. These included a flag-raising ceremony followed by a National Day marathon. A fireworks display was also scheduled in the evening to put a closing touch to the celebrations.
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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam, said today the appointment of a new management committee for Banco Delta Asia is positive to the stabilisation of Macao’s financial system and the benefit of the bank’s clients. The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Hau Wah, appointed a new management committee for Banco Delta Asia two days ago. “The takeover of the bank’s management by the Government will help fortify its operation and development,” Said Mr Tam. He said the new management committee would appoint the consultant firm Ernst and Young to conduct an independent investigation on the incident, in addition to the investigation being carried out by the Macao SAR Monetary Authority. He said according to the law, the new management committee would summit a report to the Government within 45 days and the consultant would submit their report to the committee before then.
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Statistics and Census Service released the results of the Manpower Needs and Wages Survey of the Gaming Industry. Survey coverage for the second quarter of 2005 excluded junket promoters and junket associates. At the end of the second quarter of 2005, there were 23,368 paid employees working in the Gaming Industry, an increase of 18.2% compared with the second quarter of 2004. Analyzed by occupation, 13,560 were engaged in positions that are directly related to betting services, such as hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, dealers, betting service operators, etc., while 4,085 were engaged as services and sales workers, including casino and slot machine attendants/hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc., up 27.4% and 13.8% respectively, compared with the second quarter of 2004. In June 2005, average earnings (excluding year-end bonuses, holiday allowances, profit-sharing bonuses and other similar bonuses) for full-time paid employees rose slightly by 0.5% over June 2004 to MOP 10,931. Average earnings for positions that are directly related to betting services, such as hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, dealers, betting service operators, etc. was MOP 11,303, which fell by 5.8% over June 2004. The average earnings of casino and slot machine attendants/hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc. increased by 5.0% compared with June 2004 to MOP 6,492. At the end of June 2005, there were 13,046 vacant posts in the Gaming Industry, a remarkable increase of 164.9% over June 2004. Within these vacancies, 7,240 were related to hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, dealers, betting service operators, etc., while services and sales workers had 4,572 vacancies. As regards recruitment prerequisites, 10.6% of the vacant posts required working experience; 58.9% required senior secondary or higher education. Besides Cantonese, other preferred language skills were Mandarin (88.8%) and English (54.5%).
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(Macao—29 September 2005) The MSAR Government will hold a series of celebrations in commemoration of the 56th National Day on 1st October. The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah will officiate a rising national flag ceremony in Lotus Flower Square at eight in the morning. Representatives from the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the MSAR, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the MSAR, the Macao Garrioson of the People's Liberation Army, Macao's chief officials and celebratities will attend the live-broadcasting ceremony. In the afternoon, the MSAR Government will hold a reception at Macao Tower to mark the national day. Some governmental departments will hold different activities to sparkle the national day, such as the National Day Marathon with over 16 thousand runners will participate in the three-kilometer run starting at Lotus Park; commemoration covers will be available for at a special counter in front of the Post Office and hand-back service will be provided; song and dance performance, as well as firework display during the night time.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for June - August 2005 dropped slightly by 0.1 percentage point over May - July 2005 to 4.1%, down 0.8 percentage point compared with the same period of 2004. Underemployment rate went up 0.1 percentage point over May - July 2005 to 1.6%, down 0.2 percentage point compared with the same period of 2004. Number of the unemployed searching for their first job was about 1,700, which represented 16.2% of the total unemployed population, up 4.1 percentage points over May - July 2005. Compared with May - July 2005, unemployment situation continued to improve in Construction sector. Recreational, cultural, gaming & other service activities and Manufacturing sectors also showed improvement, while the situation in Wholesale & retail trade was worse. Total labour force was estimated at 250,000 in June - August 2005; the employed and the unemployed populations were 240,000 and 10,000 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 63.4%, up by 0.8 and 1.3 percentage point compared with May - July 2005 and the same period of 2004 respectively.
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Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and supported by the Macao Health Bureau, the workshop on “Appropriate and Safe Clinical Blood Transfusion” is convened on 27 to 30 September 2005 at the Macau World Trade Center. First time ever held in Macao, the workshop includes representatives from WHO, guest speakers who are blood transfusion experts from Australia, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as some 30 participants coming from the western Pacific region and local medical practitioners. The objectives of this workshop are to update on various elements of appropriate and safe blood transfusion; to review the current status of and to share experiences in improving appropriate and safe clinical blood transfusion, in addition to develop strategies and national action plans to establish policy, systems and mechanisms to improve appropriate and safe blood transfusion. The Opening Ceremony of the Workshop will be held on 27 September at 9:00am on the 5th floor of the Macau World Trade Center. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Dr. Chui Sai On and Director of Health Bureau Dr. Koi Kuok Ieng will be the guests of honor inaugurating the ceremony. During the 4-day workshop, representatives of WHO will present topics on global and regional overview of blood safety, inappropriate transfusion practice – magnitude of the problem as well as the WHO strategy on appropriate clinical use of blood and safe transfusion practice. Advisor from Luxembourg Dr. Jean-Claude Faber will conduct an overview of establishing systems in that area. Besides, advisors from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia will share their experiences in developing haemovigilance program. 10 Country/regional reports on clinical use of blood will be presented. In addition, the workshop will also invite experts from South Korea, Malaysia and Australia to share their experiences in developing policy and establishing systems for ensuring appropriate clinical use of blood and safe transfusion practice. Other topics include roles of transfusion services, national and hospital transfusion committees; strategies/effective interventions in promoting and changing the prescribing habit of blood transfusion. Group discussion sessions will be held for participants to exchange problems encountered and the measures taken to set up appropriate practices. Director of Health Bureau Dr. Koi, in his welcoming speech, says that the Macao Government has imposed stringent standards on blood safety and has been very supportive in promoting voluntary and non-remunerated blood transfusion. Since Macao is only at the early stage of implementing appropriate and safe clinical blood transfusion practices, this workshop organized by the WHO will provide our local medical practitioners the perfect opportunity to understand the importance of appropriate and safe clinical transfusion. At the same time, they will acquire knowledge to develop and establish a system for Macao’s setting through group discussion and experience sharing with other participants.
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The Health Bureau of Macao SAR government and the Polytechnic Institute of Macao are jointly conducting a pilot study for first regional health survey in Macao on October 8th and 9th, 2005. The aims of the Health Survey are to look at the distribution of common health problems and their risk factors in the Macao residences at the ages over 18. Results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the health needs and to define the public health policies. The pilot study will be conducted in health centers during the weekend. The survey includes three parts: 1) specimens (blood and urine samples) collection; 2) health assessment, and 3) individual questionnaire interview. An information letter will be sent to the address randomly selected by DSEC and two research assistants with badges will visit the family to verify the eligibility of the residents in the house, and to answer questions about the survey. Confidentiality about the personal information of participants will be strictly ensured. Participation is entirely on a voluntary basis. Participants have the right to refuse answering any question that they feel uncomfortable and even to withdraw from the Survey at any stage. When the residents in the house fully understand the survey procedure and agree to participate in the survey, they would need to sign a consent form in two copies. Then the research assistants will help to arrange the appointment for the health center visit. In order to appreciate their contribution, participants would receive a participation certificate and a souvenir when they have completed the survey. .
Should there be any questions, please feel free to call: the School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of Macao at 3998600 or the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Bureau of MSAR at 5041506.
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