News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 7,422 building units were purchased and sold at MOP17.67 billion in the first quarter of 2011 per Stamp Duty record, down by 15.8% and 8.8% respectively quarter-to-quarter. There were 4,554 residential units amounting to MOP13.41 billion, down by 10.4% and 16.2% respectively over the previous quarter, of which 1,701 residential units were purchased and sold under Intermediate Transfer of Title, up by 8.6% quarter-to-quarter but the total value decreased by 19.0% to MOP8.07 billion. Analyzed by year of completion of building, 2,130 residential units purchased and sold in this quarter were completed in 2000 and after, 1,435 units in 1990-1999 and 989 units in 1989 and before. As regards floor area of the unit, 1,977 units (43.4% of total) had an area of 50 to 99.9 square metres. According to the information per Stamp Duty record, the average transaction price of all residential units amounted to MOP38,261 per square metre of usable area, up by 14.6% quarter-to-quarter. The average price of those in the Macao Peninsula and Coloane increased by 25.3% and 4.8% from the previous quarter to MOP37,159 and MOP67,484 per square metre respectively, while the average price of those in Taipa decreased by 16.2% to MOP33,402 per square metre. With regard to transaction of residential units under Intermediate Transfer of Title, the average price stood at MOP51,969 per square metre, up by 5.4% from the preceding quarter. Meanwhile, the average price of small residential units registered notable increase, with those having an area smaller than 50 square metres soaring by 51.3% quarter-to-quarter to MOP35,110 per square metre; the average of those having 50 to 99.9 square metres increased by 33.8% to MOP40,225 per square metre. In addition, the average price of industrial units increased by 31.3% quarter-to-quarter to MOP10,572 per square metre, and that of office units rose by 2.3% to MOP27,700 per square metre. In the first quarter of 2011, a total of 3,181 cases of real estate sale and purchase contracts were made, down by 2.6% quarter-to-quarter, while the number of units rose by 10.6% to 4,382. Moreover, there were 2,016 cases of residential mortgage contracts signed, a decrease of 5.7% quarter-to-quarter. In the first quarter of 2011, gross floor area of buildings completed totalled 163,989 square metres, altogether providing 567 units (346 are residential units), 820 parking spaces for cars and 327 parking spaces for motorcycles.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (16th May 10:01 till 17th May 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1422μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13 2010, the Cross-departmental Working Team has sealed a total of 124 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally. Inspections conducted by the Cross-departmental Working Team involved investigations to a total of 566 occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, including 33 overstayers and 25 illegal immigrants, whose cases are being follow up by police authorities. The Cross-departmental Working Team will carry on its operation to crack down illegal accommodation. Staff of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) continues to check the premises to ensure they remain sealed and supply of water and electricity suspended. MGTO stressed that damaging the seal and resuming supply of water and electricity is a criminal offence which will be submitted to judicial entity for follow up. Macau Government Tourist Office has waged a total of 124 sanctions and 19 operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas each according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". For those who failed to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP to deny reentry of the involved persons into Macau if they are non-residents.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (15th May 16:01 till 16th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1160 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP208.4 billion (USD26.04 billion) at the end of April 2011. The reserves rose by 2.1% from the revised value of MOP204.1 billion (USD25.45 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP51.2 billion or 32.5%. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-April 2011 represented 37 times the currency in circulation or 297.1% of Pataca M2 at end-March 2011. 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, fell by 0.57 points month-to-month and 3.42 points year-on-year to 87.15 in April 2011.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total land area of Macao measured 29.7 km2 at the end of 2010, up by 0.7% year-on-year; the population density remained unchanged from 2009, at 18,000 people per km2. Total lane length of public roads was 413.4 km, and the motor vehicle density was 476 vehicles per km. Observation results of the 5 monitoring stations revealed that the air quality level was classified as Good for most of the days in 2010. Of which, the Rua do Campo roadside air quality monitoring station recorded 289 days of good air quality in 2010. However, the monitoring stations at the Northern District and Rua do Campo each registered 7 days when the observed value of respirable suspended particulates exceeded the standard value. In 2010, the lowest pH value of rainwater was 3.4 (precipitation with pH value lower than 5.6 is classified as acid rain). The quality of potable water from the distribution network and Water Treatment Plants of Macao conformed to the standard according to the results of the analysis carried out by the Laboratory of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau. The salinity level of potable water was classified as Low in 2010. The approval rate of water samples taken from the 10 public swimming pools ranged from 83% to 100%. In addition, water quality of the Hac Sa and Cheoc Van beaches was acceptable. Macau Waste Systems Company Limited (CSR) collected 165,000 tonnes of domestic garbage and 89,000 tonnes of garbage from the business sector, up by 3.2% and 2.0% respectively over 2009, volume of construction waste increased notably by 24.7% to 1,954,000 m3. Moreover, 321,000 tonnes of garbage were processed in the Incineration Plant, down slightly by 1.0% year-on-year. In 2010, the average capacity of waste water treated was 188,000 m3 per day, up by 3.4% over 2009. A total of 5,661 cases of noise complaints were reported in 2010, up by 24.9% year-on-year, mostly about noise from disturbance from neighbours and construction works. With regard to educational activities on environmental protection, the Environmental Protection Bureau and the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau organized 514 promotional activities in 2010, with approximately 475,000 participants.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (15th May 10:01 till 16th May 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1160 and 0.1291μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau would like to inform our esteemed public that, due to the current inclement weather conditions, the nightly performances of "Encounters: St. Paul's Ruins Audiovisual Mapping", featured in the 22nd Macao Arts Festival, scheduled for 8pm and 9pm on the 13th through the 22nd of May, outdoors at the Ruins of St. Paul's, will be cancelled in the event that it is raining at 6pm on the evening in question. We apologise for the inconvenience.
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To allow the graduating class of Heritage Management Programme to gain further international exposure to heritage management practices and situations, a fieldtrip to the Historic Town of Vigan, one of the four UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Philippines was organised by Institute for Tourism Studies. Thirty-one students of IFT's Heritage Management Programme and two faculty members took part in the fieldtrip from 10 to 16 April 2011. Established in 2005, the IFT Bachelor of Science in Heritage Management is a pioneer in the region in the delivery of heritage management focused training to future leaders and managers in the heritage field. According to UNESCO documents, Vigan was established in the 16th century by the Spanish colonial powers as a trading post and it is today "the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia". Vigan's architecture expresses the fusion of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines, from China and from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that "have no parallel anywhere in East and South-East Asia". Macao and Vigan have many things in common: both have similar colonial past, were trading ports and are similar in scale. Moreover, both of them have urban cores that have been inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List. The field study trip comprised of five full days of workshop and fieldwork. IFT students and faculty members were warmly welcomed and received by the University of Northern Philippines (UNP). Faculty members and students from the tourism and architecture programmes of UNP worked jointly with the IFT students and faculty members. For the five field study days, students alternated between indoor workshop discussion with their IFT and UNP teammates, local resource people and facilitators drawn from the local tourism council, Mayor's office, conservation council and their instructors, and independent fieldwork at their respective study sites. Some students revealed that the field study trip helped them develop deep understanding of the complex issues of World Heritage management in general and the management process of a World Heritage Town in particular. Moreover, being in a foreign country, the involvement of local students in the learning process and extended interactions with stakeholders helped the students learn how to deal with heritage issues in an unfamiliar place and culture, a situation often encountered by professionals working in the heritage management field.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (12th May 16:01 till 13th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1335μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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