News

In accordance with the provisions of the “Administrative Rules on Pilot Programme of Renminbi Settlement of Cross-Border Trade Transactions”, jointly promulgated by the People’s Bank of China and relevant ministries of the State Council earlier, banks of Macao are authorized to, via the clearing bank in Macao for RMB business and/or their correspondent banks on the Mainland, handle the settlement of cross-border trade transactions denominated in RMB between Macao companies and the pilot enterprises on the Mainland. Simultaneously, to further satisfy the demand arising from development of Macao individual RMB business, as sanctioned by the State Council, the People’s Bank of China announced on 14 December 2009 further widening the restrictions and scope imposed on RMB business conducted by Macao Banks as follows: 1. Increase the quota on the value of RMB exchange for each individual each time from RMB6,000 to RMB20,000 equivalent;
2. Extend designated merchants who are allowed to exchange RMB for Pataca from Macao banks to include institutions that provide telecommunication services, education and exhibition/convention services; and 3. Allow Macao residents to use RMB cheques to pay for consumer spending in the Guangdong Province up to RMB50,000 per account per diem. To support and coordinate the inauguration and development of RMB settlement mechanism for cross-border trade, and the implementation of the three aforementioned measures relating to widened RMB business, Mr. Zhu Min, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China Head Office made a special trip to Macao and jointly signed the Memorandum of Supplementary Cooperation Relating to Macao RMB Business with Mr. Anselmo Teng, Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Macao, on the same day. The document extends the relevant supervisory cooperative measures established in 2004 to cover the “Administrative Rules on Pilot Programme of Renminbi Settlement of Cross-Border Trade Transactions” which include arrangements involving Macao, and the three aforementioned measures relating to widened RMB business. The signing ceremony took place at the Macao SAR Government Headquarters, Mr. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive; Ms. Gao Yan, Deputy Director of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government; Mr. Lu Shumin, Special Envoy of the Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Francis Tam, Secretary for Economy and Finance; Mr. Xing Yujing, Deputy Director General of Monetary Policy Department II; Mr. Zhu Jun, Deputy Director General of International Department of People’s Bank of China; Mr. Luo Bochuan, President of Guangzhou Regional Branch of People’s Bank of China; Mr. Li Canyu, President of Zhuhai Branch of People’s Bank of China; representatives from Macao banking sector and from relevant sectors of the community witnessed the signing ceremony. The signing of the aforementioned supplementary memorandum will further promote the RMB settlement business for cross-border trade, and the widened business scope and extension of individual RMB transactions, which will certainly facilitate communication between Macao and the Mainland, deepen economic and financial cooperation and integration of the two areas, which is conducive to the long term stable development of Macao banking industry.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao released today the credit card statistics for the third quarter of 2009. The total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 351,420 at the end of September 2009, up 4.28% from the previous quarter. The numbers of Pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) cards and Renminbi (RMB) cards were 281,616, 55,561 and 14,243 respectively. MOP cards, HKD cards and RMB cards witnessed respective increases of 3.20%, 0.54% and 61.10% quarter-to-quarter. Compared with the same period last year, RMB cards surged 71.35% while MOP cards and HKD cards grew 9.66% and 0.97% respectively. The introduction of MOP/RMB dual currency credit cards by local banks partly accounted for the marked increase of RMB cards during the quarter. As at the end of September 2009, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao amounted to MOP6.41 billion, up 4.09% from end-June 2009. Credit card receivables reached MOP1.03 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP0.45 billion, accounting for 43.48% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, was 1.32%. In the third quarter of 2009, the credit card turnover rose by 5.63% quarter-to-quarter to MOP1.61 billion. The cash advance turnover amounted to MOP0.12 billion, accounting for 7.34% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, grew 13.37% from last quarter to MOP1.68 billion.
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In compliance with the development of the Macao SAR electronic government to enhance administrative efficiency and transparency, and in continuous implementation of the policy of developing electronic services, the Immigration Department of the Public Security Police introduces an online progress query system regarding “Non-resident Worker’s Permit”. Any person may go to the “Non-resident Worker’s Permit Application Progress Query System” at the official website of the Public Security Police (http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/sm/default.htm). After entering the “Non-resident Worker’s Permit Number”, “Receipt Number” or the date of issue of the receipt, one can easily check the approval progress and collection date of the Non-resident Worker’s Permit. For any inquiry, feel free to call the Immigration Department during office hours at 2872 5488.
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The Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), together with its Japan Representation Team, participated in the 19th International Meeting Exhibition (IME2009) held at the Tokyo International Forum on December 8-9. In order to showcase the exciting MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibition) developments of the recent Macau, as well as to work collaboratively with the Industry to build a stronger presence of Macau’s MICE Product at similar events around the globe. 6 representatives among them tour operators, hotels and airline from Macau joined MBTC to co-exhibit at the IME2009. The International Meeting Exhibition is the only major MICE tradeshow for meetings and incentive travel held in Japan once every year since 1990. The event is co-organized by the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan National Tourist Organization and Japan Congress and Convention Bureau, in hope of promoting MICE as one of the growing sector in Japan. It is also an ideal networking platform for international MICE buyers and sellers to do business. Some 3,000 selected key organizers and planners participated in the IME2009, and among which over 300 business partners were invited by the MGTO Japan Representation Team. The Macau pavilion was the largest in terms of exhibition space out of 64 exhibiters in the trade show, drawing lots of potential event planners’ and organizers’ attention and requests for more information about having incentive tours in Macau. Taking the convenience of time and location, MGTO also conducted a seminar on Macau’s MICE development during the IME. The seminar brought together 22 key agents and event organizers from Japan for service and product updates and business discussions. It was well received by the participants and their response to the program was very positive.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a quarterly basis, new mortgage lending approved increased notably in the third quarter while the outstanding balance of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) rose at a faster pace than commercial real estate loans (CRELs). New Lending Approved For the third quarter of 2009, new RMLs approved by Macao banks increased notably by 58.0% quarter-to-quarter to MOP6.2 billion. Of which, 81.5% was extended to residents. In terms of approved value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents grew at respective rates of 53.2% and 83.4%. Meanwhile, new CRELs approved increased by 35.1% to MOP3.4 billion. Of which, 98.1% was granted to residents. In terms of approved value, new CRELs to residents rose 44.7%, while those to non-residents fell 69.3%. Outstanding Balances As at end-September 2009, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP40.7 billion, an increase of 10.8% compared with the previous quarter. 86.7% of the loans was extended to residents. RMLs to residents and non-residents grew at respective rates of 9.0% and 23.6% during the third quarter of 2009. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs rose 2.9% to MOP36.5 billion. Residents accounted for 86.3% of the loans. During the third quarter of 2009, CRELs to residents and to non-residents both grew by 2.9%. Delinquency Ratios At the end of September 2009, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stayed at 0.23%, while the ratio for CRELs fell 0.18 percentage points to 0.33%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 11.9% year-on-year to 380,419 in October 2009. Visitors in package tours from Mainland China (264,826); Taiwan, China (25,047); and Hong Kong (19,679) fell by 9.8%, 24.6% and 35.3% respectively, while those from Japan (16,905) increased by 6.7%. In the first ten months of 2009, visitor arrivals in package tours dropped by 6.7% year-on-year to 3,665,078. In October 2009, the number of Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours decreased by 2.0% year-on-year to 15,986, with Mainland China (75.0% of total); Taiwan, China (7.3%); and Japan (4.8%) being the most popular tour itineraries. In the first ten months of 2009, residents travelling outbound in package tours dropped by 13.8% year-on-year to 160,778. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies surged by 56.4% year-on-year to 46,580; the main destinations were Hong Kong (34.2% of total); Mainland China (33.0%); and Taiwan, China (14.5%). In the first ten months of 2009, outbound residents travelling under such arrangements rose by 19.1% year-on-year to 376,308. At the end of October 2009, total number of guest rooms available at the hotel sector increased by 1,467 (+8.6%) from a year earlier to 18,447 rooms. In October 2009, a total of 581,192 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses, up by 8.3% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (49.7% of total) and Hong Kong (22.4%). The average hotel occupancy rate rose by 2.5 percentage points year-on-year to 74.0%, with 3-star hotels leading at 78.7%. The average length of stay of hotel guests increased by 0.05 night to 1.5 nights. The cumulative number of hotel guests increased slightly by 0.6% in the first ten months of 2009 to 5,386,282. In the first ten months of 2009, visitor-guests of hotels accounted for 61.0% of the total number of tourists, up from 57.5% in the corresponding period of 2008.
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To cope with the Opening Ceremony of the Philatelic Exhibition of China’s Diplomacy on the Celebration of Macao’s Return to the Motherland, Macao Post announced that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at The Exhibition Hall of IACM at 09H00 to 17H00 on 17th December 2009 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Opening Ceremony of the Philatelic Exhibition of China’s Diplomacy on the Celebration of Macao’s Return to the Motherland”. A commemorative envelope priced at MOP2.00 will be issued, together with the various philatelic products available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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To encourage lifetime education advocated by the Macao SAR Government, the Institute For Tourism Studies has set up a series of tourism service related courses under the “Community Education and Development Programme (CEDP)”. The Programme opens up opportunities for continuous learning and is free of charge to all Macao BIR holders. The augural ceremony of the CEDP Training Centre was hosted on 10 December at IFT Taipa Campus and representatives from the Programme’s 21 community and industry partners officiated the augural ceremony. Macao as a international tourism destination calls for more qualified personnel to join various sectors of the tourism industry. To meet the demand of the industry, IFT has established the “Community Education and Development Programme”. The objective of the Programme is to provide vocational trainings to all Macao residents who are interested to pursue a career in the tourism industry. Courses provided by CEDP include: events, hospitality, retailing, advertisement designing, paper modeling for commercial display, computer simulation, IT, recreational activities, elementary English and Mandarin. In order to allow more people to benefit from the “Community Education Development Programme”, IFT has invited 21 associations and industry partners to join in this meaningful programme to build an extensive network, including União Geral das Associações dos Moradores de Macau, The Women's Association of Macau, Macao Federation of Trade Unions, The Chinese Educators Association of Macau and General Association of Chinese Students. In addition, CEDP also enjoys cooperation with: Association of Macao Tourist Agents, Travel Industry Council of Macau, Macau Travel Agency Association, Macau Tourist Guide Association, Associação dos Profissionais da Indústria de Viagens e Turismo de Macau, Associação de Hotéis de Macau, Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, The United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao, Associação Culinária de Macau, Macau Chinese-Style Refreshment Chefs' Association, Association of Bartenders and Sommeliers Macau, Macau Association of Retailers & Tourism Services, Macau Retail Management Association(MRMA), Macao Convention & Exhibition Association, Associação de Comércio e Exposições de Macau and Association of Advertising Agents of Macau. Through the extensive network of the associations and encouraging the members to take part in the various training programmes, the general service quality of Macao can be enhanced. In additional to general course, CEDP and its training partners will co-organised tailor-made courses, such as the collaboration plan with Centro Ngai Chon of the União Geral das Associações dos Moradores de Macau. Under this collaboration plan, 8 courses will be provided for internal training and 10 courses on advertisement designing, paper modeling for commercial display, and organising recreational activities will be available for public applications. It is hope that through the cooperation with the training partners, the message on lifetime education and training opportunities can be spread to all Macao residents. Since September 2009, CEDP has trained almost 650 students. A new series of courses with topics on events, advertisement design, paper modeling for commercial display, computer skills, recreational activities, elementary English and Mandarin will 825 training placements. Through these opportunities of free training, the general quality of residents will be enhanced, which will facilitate the prosperity and sustainability of Macao economy. For information about course application, please visit the website http://www.ift.edu.mo/news/cedp/ad.pdf.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the third quarter of 2009. Survey coverage included Manufacturing; Hotels & Restaurants; Financial; and Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sectors, excluding own-account workers, as well as insurance agents and brokers not directly employed by insurance companies. Survey results were extrapolated according to the information collected from 551 statistical units successfully interviewed. At the end of the third quarter of 2009, the Manufacturing sector had 16,321 paid employees, down significantly by 31.8% year-on-year, with those working in Manufacture of Wearing Apparel decreasing by 43.3% to 8,686. In September 2009, the average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees rose by 4.8% year-on-year to MOP5,630, with Sewing machine operators earning MOP3,190 in average. Hotels & Restaurants sector took on 47,345 paid employees, down by 4.4% year-on-year, with 30,595 working in hotels. In September, the average earnings of full-time employees dropped by 1.4% to MOP9,960; average earnings of hotel employees amounted to MOP11,480, with Housekeeping staff earning an average of MOP6,080. The Financial sector had 5,475 paid employees, down by 3.0% year-on-year, with 4,640 working in banks. The average earnings for full-time employees in September rose marginally by 0.1% year-on-year to MOP17,470 and that of Bank tellers was MOP10,270. Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector had 1,061 paid employees, up slightly by 0.4% over the third quarter of 2008. The average earnings for full-time employees in September went up slightly by 0.6% year-on-year to MOP22,270. At the end of September 2009, the Manufacturing; Hotels & Restaurants and Financial sectors reported 1,534, 3,790 and 163 vacancies respectively, down by 15.8%, 5.7% and 8.9% year-on-year. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 62.2% of the vacancies in Hotels & Restaurants sector and 60.8% of those in the Manufacturing sector required working experience. As regards educational attainment, 98.7% of the vacancies in the Financial sector and 72.2% of those in the Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector required senior secondary education or higher. Besides Cantonese, Mandarin (63.1%) and English (41.2%) were the more preferable language skills of the vacancies in Hotels & Restaurants sector, while 92.9% of those in the Financial sector required knowledge of English.
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The tourism industry of Macao has been developing rapidly in recent year, while hotel industry is one of the key elements, management team of hotel industry must equipped with strategic thinking and advance vision, thus IFT and CNI co-organised the “CNI-IFT Advanced Certification in Strategic Hospitality Management” aim to provide industry executives an all-rounded training in Strategic Hospitality Management. This certification programme consists of four modules to be offered in 2010 and 2011. Individuals can attend one of the following modules:
Module 1 - Strategic Hospitality Operations (open for application)
Module 2 - Strategic Hospitality Marketing
Module 3 - Strategic Thinking
Module 4 - Strategic Financial Management
and earn a certificate of “CNI-IFT Executive Development Programme”, OR accomplish all of the four to achieve the “CNI-IFT Advanced Certification in Strategic Hospitality Management”. The “Strategic Hospitality Operations Executive Development Programme” is one of the four modules of the “CNI-IFT Advanced Certification in Strategic Hospitality Management”, purpose of this programme if to provide the participants with an understanding of the state-of-the-art tools and techniques for strategically managing service operations in a competitive and dynamic marketplace. IFT gladly invited Prof. Rohit Verma, Executive Director of the Centre for Hospitality Research of Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management as speaker. Prof. Verma has received several teaching and research awards and published over 50 articles in prestigious business journals, his research interests include new product/design, quality management and process improvement, and operations/marketing interrelated issues. The 2-day “Strategic Hospitality Operations Executive Development Programme” includes the following topics:
- Understanding the tradeoffs between different competitive priorities (e.g. cost vs. quality vs. delivery performance vs. flexibility vs. innovation)
- Discuss concepts, tools and techniques for quality and process improvement such as Six Sigma
- Learn quantitative decision-making approaches to find the optimum (or best) operating configuration
- Learn state-of-the-art techniques for translating customer needs into operations requirements
- Discuss contemporary topics in new product and service development
- Understand the key concepts for process improvement such as lean production, and supply chain management Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT), Macao and Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI), Singapore started co-organising executive development programmes and public lectures since 2007 providing advancement opportunities for industry professionals. The Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI) is a partnership between world-renowned Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Business School (NBS). This alliance brings together the world’s leading hotel management school and one of Asia’s elite business schools. Singapore-based Nanyang Business School was ranked the top 24th school worldwide in the Financial Times’ business school raking this year. Please visit www.cni.ntu.edu.sg for more information. IFT has always strived to seek diversified development and expansion of international networks. Collaboration with many overseas organisations and universities help to ensure that our programmes meet international standards. By organising executive development programmes and public lectures providing opportunities for senior executives to probe into the development of Macao’s tourism industry and challenges it has to face. “Strategic Hospitality Operations Executive Development Programme” – the first modules of the four modules of the “CNI-IFT Advanced Certification in Strategic Hospitality Management” is now open for application, registration deadline is 18 December, 2009. For details information, please visit www.ift.edu.mo/edp/operation2010 or contact Ms. Sandi U at Tel: (853)85061-281, Fax: (853)85061-283, or mailto:sandiu@ift.edu.mo.
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