News

“Macau Slow Food Awards 2010” and “Macau Slow Food Gala Dinner 2010” were held today at Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). The event was open to public; students, lecturers and VIPs were in attendance to support this meaningful event. This event which included Cocktail Party, Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner was organized by Tourism and Event Management Year 2 students of IFT. Purpose of the event was to promote the Slow Food Philosophy – Organic food, clean producing method and fair trade to general public. Another purpose of the event was to educate public to respect traditional cooking methods and food sources; and to help them build up a healthy dining attitude. The event was first started by non-profit organization in 1989 in Italy, named the Slow Food Association. Being the highlight of the event, “Macau Slow Food Awards 2010” presented 15 awards to local restaurants, pastries, cake shops and food suppliers as recognition of their contribution on slow food culture. The 15 awards included “The Best Slow Food Western Restaurant”, “The Best Slow Food Chinese Restaurant”, “The Best Slow Food Asian Restaurant”, “The Best Slow Food Pastry/Cake Shop” and “The Best Slow Food Supplier”. The Gold, Silver, Bronze Awardees were as follow respectively: Western Restaurant: Clube Militar de Macau, Solman Restaurant, Westin Panorama; Chinese Restaurant: Long Wa Restaurant, Wong Chi Kei Congee & Noodle, Casa de Pasto Seng Cheong; Asian Restaurant : Nagoyaka Tei, Mango Tree, Hon Seng Korean Restaurant; Pastry/ Cake Shop: Goz Café, Café e Nata Margaret’s, MGM Patisserie; Food Supplier: Hop Yick Foods Company Limited, Akiyama Food Company Limited, Cheang Chong Kei Frozen Food Company Ltd. The awardees said that they would try their best to contribute to Slow Food Philosophy. Award presenters were President of Macau Slow Food Association - Dr. Baudouin Neirynck, Head of Division of Cultural Facilities – Mr. Lui Chi Pang, Director of Caritas Macau – Mr. Pun Chi Ming, Paul, General Association of Chinese Students of Macau – Mr. Iao Tin, and Head of Macao Civil Power – Ms Agnes Lam. After the Award Ceremony, the Gala Dinner was held at Educational Restaurant, IFT. All food materials were imported from China or produced locally; Also, the cooking methods of the food was in accordance to the Slow Food Philosophy and with Macanese local culture. Local singers, bands, dancers as well as magician were invited to perform at the event which makes the night as enjoyable and memorable one. In spite of this Award Ceremony, Slow Food Association Macau Section is going to be set up in Macau this year, with the mission of promoting Slow Food Culture in Macau.
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Consumer Council releases its December ‘Supermarket Price Survey Report’ and specific price survey report on rice. In comparison with November’s record, average prices of most Thai rice brands, cooking oil and dairy products have risen while that of canned food remains stable. Both survey reports show that prices of many Thai rice brands have risen from 7 per cent to over 12 per cent, average price have increase by almost 5 per cent. Prices of 13 out of 20 surveyed samples of cooking oil have risen, with the highest increase of up to 7 per cent. Prices of cooking oil remained stable in the first 3 quarters but continued to rise in the past 2 months. In comparison with November’s record, obvious price increases are noticed in dairy products this month. Milk powder, condensed milk, etc, have all risen in prices with an increase of over 11 per cent. In the current ‘Supermarket Price Survey Report’, 72 out of over 200 samples record an increase in price and 66 samples record no change in price in the last two months. Aside from rice, average prices of other commodities have been stable in the last few months. Price decreases are more likely to be found in sanitary & hygienic products. Consumer Council states that prices of most commodities tend to rise in recent months, especially for rice and cooking oil. The Council will continue to keep an eye on the current price trend and provide information to consumers for reference. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey Report’ is now accessible on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) It is also available free of charge at the two offices of the Consumer Council, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources online at the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo) or through WAP channels on their mobile phones. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315
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In recent years, the business model of “franchising” has grown rapidly in Macao and elsewhere. There has been a significant increase in the number of franchising business opportunities in food and beverages, retail and tourism related industries. In view of this trend, the International Tourism Research Centre, IFT is collaborating with Oxford Brookes University, UK to do a joint research on identifying factors that can help current and potential Macao franchisees to be successful in this field.. The seminar on “Successful International Franchise Partnerships” was held at IFT today and attended by more than 30 participants comprising of business men, entrepreneurs and representatives from the small business sector of Macao. In attendance were also representatives from the Macao Economic Services and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. Two speakers of the seminar, Drs Levent Altinay and Maureen Brookes, both from Oxford Brookes University, have been involved in franchising and entrepreneurship research over a long period. They are among the foremost scholars in the area of franchising and entrepreneurship as well as service management. Altinay’s research is concerned with socio-cultural issues associated with the management of strategic alliances and has contributed to the understanding of identifying and selecting franchise partners in different country markets. Brookes’ research has focused on international market entry strategies, including franchise and alliance agreements and the design and relational issues that underpin the management of the inter-organisational forms created. Both have expertise in using mixed methods. Their research expertise and skills will be crucial in the conceptualisation of ideas, the development of research instruments and in the analysis of the findings. A third speaker of the seminar, Dr. Ruth Yeung, Assistant Professor of IFT, spoke about the current status and needs of the franchise business sector of Macao. The seminar covered introduction of franchising, types of international business format franchises, advantages and disadvantages analysis on franchising, and case studies of international successful franchising examples etc. Furthermore, the speakers shared the results of their research and hosted an in-depth discussion involving the audience in order to bring interactions to the seminar. The seminar is one of the celebration activities of IFT’s 15th Anniversary. The purpose is to promote franchising business model, and to create a platform for the franchising operators in various industries to gather ideas and exchange experiences, as a result helping franchising business development in Macao, which in turns helps to promote Macao as an international tourism city.
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Organised by South African Consulate-General in Hong Kong and Macao SAR and SME Service Center of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), the Catalogue Show of South African Products and Services will be held from 6-10 December 2010 (9 am to 6 pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays) at Macao Business Support Center of IPIM (Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpçao No. 263, Edif. China Civil Plaza, 19 Andar, Macau). The Show is the second time cooperation between the organizers since the debut South African Catalogue Show held in November 2008. South Africa is famous for its rich mineral resources, with platinum, gold and chromium reserves ranking the first in the world. Macao has been maintaining close trade ties with South Africa in recent years. With the momentum in development of tourism and gaming industries, import figures from South Africa has risen since 2006. Imports from South Africa in 2009, reached 181 million Macau patacas - a 32.2% year-on-year increase compared with that of 2008. Total import value from South Africa in the first three-quarters of 2010 is two times that of the same period in 2009, amounting 900 million patacas. Import commodities include diamonds, gold jewellery, motor vehicles, red wines, down, abalones and different kinds of fruits. The catalogue show will be another industry promotion activity subsequent to South African Consulate General’s participation in the 15th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) in October this year. The organizer hope that the event could further strengthen the economic ties of Macau and South Africa, while providing leads for local enterprises to source for South African product information production distribution rights. The Show will showcase more than 50 types of catalogues, ranging from agro-processing, wines, cosmetics, craft, jewellery and metal, ICT, business, investment and tourism information. Local SMEs in search for partners from South Africa are cordially invited to visit the Show at MBSC during office hours. For more information, please contact Mr Ho or Ms Leong of Small and Medium Enterprise Service Center (28728212) or visit IPIM’s website (www.ipim.gov.mo).
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) declined in the third quarter. On outstanding balance, increases were observed in both RMLs and CRELs. New Lending Approved For the third quarter of 2010, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 22.3% quarter-to-quarter to MOP6.6 billion; of which, 92.8% was extended to residents. In terms of approved value, new RMLs to residents and to non-residents dropped 22.2% and 23.5% respectively. When compared with the same period last year, new approvals of RMLs increased by 5.8%. After rising notably in the previous quarter, new CRELs approved decreased by 12.4% quarter-to-quarter to MOP10.1 billion in the third quarter of 2010; of which, 98.3% was granted to residents. In terms of approved value, new CRELs to residents and to non-residents dropped by 4.1% and 85.7% respectively. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs surged by 198.4%. Outstanding Balances As at end-September 2010, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP55.1 billion, an increase of 1.8% from three months earlier or 35.3% from a year ago. The resident component made up 89.0% of the total. Outstanding RMLs to residents grew by 3.0% whereas outstanding RMLs to non-residents went down by 6.9% during the third quarter of 2010. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs rose 8.5% from end-June 2010 or 20.8% from end-September 2009 to MOP44.1 billion. Residents accounted for 89.2% of the loans. Outstanding CRELs to residents rose 12.3% whereas those to non-residents fell 15.0% in the third quarter of 2010. Delinquency Ratios At the end of September 2010, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.11%, down 0.02 percentage points from three months earlier or 0.13 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs went down 0.19 percentage points from end-June 2010 or 0.13 percentage points from end-September 2009, to 0.19%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the rate of usage of Information Technology (IT) in the business sector stood at 46% in 2009, down by 1 percentage point from 2008. Analyzed by industry, usage of IT has been fully adopted in the Gaming Sector, and that of Travel Agencies and the Service Sector reached 98% and 82% respectively, while the Restaurant Sector had a lower rate of 32%. In addition, rate of IT usage of Hotel (70%) and Construction (67%) Sectors both went up 6 percentage points year-on-year. Analyzed by size of establishment or enterprise, rate of IT usage of the large establishments or enterprises with 100 or more persons reached 99%, while the usage rate of those with less than 10 persons was 40%. With regard to Internet usage, 82% of the establishments or enterprises using IT had Internet connection and the major purposes of accessing the Internet included information search (40%), purchasing (16%) and sales (14%). In 2009, about 79% of the households in Macao possessed IT equipment such as computers, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), etc., up by 3 percentage points over 2008. Rate of computer and internet usage for male aged 3 or above was 60% and 57% respectively; however, the rates for female were lower, at 53% and 51%. Analyzed by age group, the rate of computer (95%) and Internet usage (94%) were highest among those aged 15-24, both rates increased by 5 percentage points over 2008. Analyzed by educational attainment, the rate of computer and Internet usage for those with tertiary education was 92% and 90% respectively, both up by 4 percentage points year-on-year. In respect of the location of accessing the Internet, the majority were at home (93%) or at work place (24%). Major purposes of accessing the Internet included information search (87%), communication (83%) and government services (35%). Data on IT usage in the business sector is obtained from the annual survey on different economic activities and data on IT possession and usage of the households are collected by using a supplementary questionnaire in the Employment Survey, covering all individuals aged 3 or above. Respective data on IT usage facilitate a better understanding of the popularity and development of IT in the community.
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The Macao Historical Archives operates under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and is responsible for the preservation of records of historic value. Given Macao’s geographical location in a sub-tropical zone, it is essential to actively protect paper records in order to avoid deterioration and ensure their correct preservation. Such measures include regular pest control. The next scheduled pest control in the Macao Historical Archives will take place on 3th and 4th of December. The Reading Room will be closed to the public from 2.30pm on Friday 3th December, and throughout the day on Saturday 4th December. It will re-open to the public on Monday 6th December.
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Macau Tourism Promotion and Information Center in Portugal has been organizing a series of activities about Macanese food, as a means to promote Macau. Last Monday (22) the Center hosted in Lisbon an “Experience Macau” talk about Macanese gastronomy with Macanese Graça Pacheco Jorge, an author and workshop conductor on Macau’s traditional cuisine. The following day, the Center’s coordinator Rodolfo Faustino spoke to tourism students in a training school in Lisbon about Macau’s tourism infrastructures, while Graça Pacheco Jorge joined hands with a chef and students of the school to cook a Macanese menu. This coming December 14, Macau Tourism Promotion and Information Center will organize a Macanese Food Week at the historical city of Guimarães, in the north of Portugal. The program of the Macanese Food Weeks, which the Center has been organizing in Portugal, also includes a workshop for the travel trade from that city and region, with training provided by the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies, a presentation about Macau’s new infrastructures by the Center coordinator and a Macanese food dinner or lunch. This press release is available at: www.macautourism.gov.mo
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Macao will conduct the 15th Population Census and the 5th Housing Census in August 2011 to collect the latest information on the demographic and housing aspects. Population Census, conducted every 10 years, requires considerable human resources to assist in all stages of work. The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) is recruiting temporary staff from 6 December 2010 to 17 June 2011. More than 2,000 enumerators and internal staff are needed in the 2011 Population Census. The enumerators will be responsible to conduct interviews with households to gather information; meanwhile, internal staff will help in collating data, filing, answering phone enquiries, arranging appointments, etc. at the Census stations. Applying for the temporary job of the Population Census is easy and quick. All Macao permanent residents (including those studying aboard) with secondary education or higher who reach 18 years old before 1 July 2011 are eligible to apply. Those who are interested can browse the 2011 Population Census website (www.dsec.gov.mo/censos2011) and complete a simple quiz online. Applicants who pass the quiz can advance to the interview phase that will take place from end-December 2010 to June 2011; the applicants can select a convenient date for the interview (e.g. before or after Christmas, Lunar New Year, Easter holidays, etc.). Successful applicants will be selected as candidates or alternates to the training according to the results. Those who have completed the training course in July may have the opportunity to join the 2011 Population Census team. Population Census offers a great opportunity to work this meaningful operation. All permanent residents in Macao or studying abroad are most welcome to work for the Census, contribute to the future of Macao while making good use of the Summer holidays. Please browse DSEC website for details.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total merchandise export for October 2010 decreased by 3.2% year-on-year to MOP568 million; value of domestic exports rose by 31.4% to MOP237 million, the first rebound since March 2008, while value of re-exports decreased by 18.5% to MOP331 million. The value of total merchandise import amounted to MOP3.76 billion, up by 17.5% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP3.19 billion was recorded for October 2010. In the first ten months of 2010, total value of merchandise export fell by 7.9% year-on-year to MOP5.86 billion, of which the value of domestic exports declined by 22.4%, but that of re-exports rose by 2.0%; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import grew by 19.4% to MOP35.63 billion. The trade deficit from January to October 2010 widened by 26.8% year-on-year to MOP29.77 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 4.9 percentage points year-on-year to 16.4%. Analyzed by destination of exported goods, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP2.52 billion) and Mainland China (MOP936 million) in the first ten months of 2010 increased by 3.9% and 1.6% respectively year-on-year, while that to the USA (MOP688 million) and the EU (MOP331 million) decreased substantially by 41.4% and 40.3% respectively. Exports of Textile & garment amounted to MOP1.37 billion, down by 37.5% year-on-year to account for 23.4% of the total merchandise export; however, value of Non-textile exports (MOP4.48 billion) grew by 7.7%, with that of Copper & articles thereof and Clocks & watches rising notably by 54.5% and 40.3% respectively. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, in the first ten months of 2010, value of merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP11.05 billion) and the EU (MOP7.85 billion) expanded by 16.6% and 26.9% respectively year-on-year. The value of imports of Consumer goods rose by 35.2% year-on-year, with that of Motor cars & motorcycles growing significantly by 82.0%; nevertheless, the value of imports of Capital goods and Raw materials & semi-manufactures fell by 2.3% and 0.9% respectively. From January to October 2010, total value of merchandise import and export amounted to MOP41.48 billion, up by 14.6% compared with MOP36.20 billion in the first ten months of 2009.
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