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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, on 20 June (Brazil time) begins his six-day visit to Brazil meeting with Brazilian entrepreneurs in Sao Paulo, the Brazilian industrial capital. Mr Ho and the Macao delegation attended a luncheon meeting with Brazilian entrepreneurs after arriving at Sao Paulo early in the morning. He said in his speech that being an important industrial city that generated one-thirds of Brazil’s GDP, Sao Paulo is very important in the economic co-operation between Brazil and China. He said he hoped this visit could promote economic and cultural co-operation between Macao and Sao Paulo, and highlighted Macao’s role of being mediator between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. Mr Ho also invited the Brazilian entrepreneurs to visit and explore business opportunities in Macao. During the luncheon, the president of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Lee Peng Hong, gave an account of the recent economic developments in Macao, emphasising on the new opportunities provided by the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the Mainland and Macao (CEPA). He also invited Brazilian entrepreneurs to participate in the Macao International Trade & Investment Fair (MIF) in October, in which a showroom for products of Portuguese-speaking countries will be set up. In the afternoon Mr Ho and the Macao delegation would meet with the Vice-Governor of the State of Sao Paulo, Mr Claudio Lembo, after a meeting with the members of the Casas de Macau in Sao Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that Composite CPI for May 2005 was 97.19, up 0.54% over the previous month. Due to the increase in the rent of housing, rising prices in interior decoration, summer clothing and footwear, and fresh vegetables, the indices of Rent and housing expenses, Clothing and footwear, and Foodstuff and beverages rose 0.97%, 0.89% and 0.84% respectively. On the other hand, lower prices in gasoline, air tickets and outbound package tours led to decline in the indices of Transport and communications (-0.46%) and Other goods and services (-0.17%). Composite CPI in May 2005 recorded a significant year-on-year increase of 3.68%. For the 12 months ended May 2005, the average Composite CPI rose 2.53% over the previous period. Average Composite CPI for January to May 2005 went up 3.31% over the same period of 2004. In comparison with April 2005, CPI(A) and CPI(B) increased 0.66% and 0.51% respectively. CPI(A) relates to 54% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP3,000 - MOP9,999. CPI(B) relates to 26% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 - MOP19,999.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicates that number of visitor arrivals totalled 1,539,534 in May 2005, which represented a year-on-year increase of 16.0%. Compared with May last year, visitors from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China increased 7.3%, 18.8% and 47.8% respectively. Meanwhile, same-day visitors accounted for 52.8% of the total arrivals, at 813,420. The majority of visitors came from Mainland China (56.6% of the total), Hong Kong (28.7%) and Taiwan, China (8.3%). Among the visitors from Mainland China, 446,792 (51.2%) travelled to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme. In the first five months of 2005, visitor arrivals totalled 7,490,248, up 16.4% over the same period of last year. Visitors from Mainland China increased 12.2% to 4,187,576, which accounted for 55.9% of the total; Hong Kong and Taiwan, China shared 29.9% and 8.2% of the total respectively. Furthermore, same-day visitors made up 52.7% of the total, at 3,945,380. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea went up 7.7% year-on-year to 2,661,756 in the first five months of 2005, with 2,590,678 arriving at the Outer Harbour (+7.2%); the majority of these visitors were from Hong Kong (59.3%) and Mainland China (29.7%). Visitor arrivals at the Inner Harbour rose 28.2% to 71,078, of which 69.3% were from Mainland China. Meanwhile, arrivals by land increased 20.3% year-on-year to 4,402,678, with 4,066,845 arriving through the Border Gate. The majority of these visitors came from Mainland China (77.0%) and Hong Kong (16.3%). Visitors arriving through the Checkpoint of CoTai were 335,833. In addition, arrivals by air were 425,814, up 41.3% compared with the same period of last year, with 421,023 arriving at the Macao International Airport (+42.9%). Visitors from Taiwan, China (69.3%) and Mainland China (15.7%) were the major users of this access.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, left for Brazil today on an official visit, with the aim of strengthening economic ties of Macao acting as the trading platform between China and Portuguese-speaking nations. Speaking to the media before his departure, Mr Ho said that during the six-day visit, he would introduce Macao to Brazilian entrepreneurs as well as to further enhance communication with the Brazilian Government. The delegation will also meet with Macanese who have settled in Brazil. “We hope to deepen the relationship between Brazil and Macao by using this specific human resource,” said Mr Ho. Brazil, in terms of economic development, is one of the most important Portuguese-speaking countries Macao would co-operate with. When asked about the question of land resources and real estate, Mr Ho said due to Macao’s rapid economic development recently, over-development might occur. Since Macao has limited land resources, the public would be greatly concerned with land resource and real estates policies. These policies might spur disputes in the future, and the Government ought to study them with caution and seek solutions said Mr Ho. “The Government has a clear position on land resources and real estate policies and will continue to stabilise the original policies which is important to the economic and city development. The Government has the authority to control over-development situations, such as a high price of land.” Howeve, the Government might act differently on the policies according to Macao’s future mode of development and the needs of the society, he said. Mr Ho also said under the principles of fair, just and the match with the entire development of Macao, the Government would take care of the needs of different levels, especially those who have difficulties in buying homes.
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The Chief Executive, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, will lead a delegation to Brazil next Sunday for a six-day visit, during which he will pay a visit to the Brazilian President, Mr Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Mr Ho and the delegation are scheduled to visit four cities in Brazil, namely Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Manaus and Rio de Janeiro, and pay visits to Presidents of Federal Senate and Chamber of Deputies, various ministers, state governors and the 'Casa de Macau', a worldwide Macanese organisation. Moreover, they are scheduled to visit a free trade zone in Manaus and meet with Brazilian commercial representatives. The purpose of the visit is to enhance bilateral co-operation between Brazil and Macao, especially in areas such as business and tourism. Mr Ho had visited two Portuguese-speaking countries -- Portugal and Mozambique. Brazil would be his third. Members of the delegation include President of the Legislative Assembly, Ms Susana Chou, Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, Deputy Director of Government Information Bureau, Ms Ho Wai Heng, and more than 10 representatives of commercial and industrial sectors.
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The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) was informed by the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Cape Verde in Macao that, the holders of the Macao SAR Passport or Travel Permit are able to enter the Republic of Cape Verde without a visa for a stay not exceeding 90 days. The above-mentioned arrangement has been effective since 15 June 2005. On the basis of reciprocity, nationals of the Republic of Cape Verde are also able to enter the Macao SAR without a visa for a stay not exceeding 90 days, effective from today. There are now 65 countries and territories granting the visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to the holders of the Macao SAR Passport; 6 countries granting visa-free access to the holders of Macao SAR Travel Permit.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today extended his congratulations to Mr Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, on his election to the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In a letter to Mr Tsang, Mr Ho conveyed his congratulation and wished him well on behalf of the MSAR Government. Mr Ho said in the letter that the co-operation between Hong Kong and Macao had been increasing at a steady pace with the establishment of the Special Administrative Regions and said he anticipated co-operation between the two SARs to develop further with joint efforts.
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Using live ammunition in exercises for the tactical police unit could better prepare them for various situations and protect the public, the Commissioner-General of the Unitary Police Service, Mr Jose Proenca Branco, said today. The Commissioner was speaking after an officer of the unit was injured during a routine target practice session the day before yesterday. Mr Branco said they were investigating the incident and would introduce necessary measures to enhance safety in target training. He said exercises with live ammunition was the accepted practice in many countries in training their officers for real life situations, and that he supported any training that could enhance the quality of the police force. The tactical police unit, comprising about 500 officers, is the special unit trained for operations including the protection of VIPs and important facilities.
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The survey coverage for the first quarter of 2005 includes Manufacturing, Electricity, gas & water supply, Hotels & restaurants; and Financial intermediation, but excludes all own-account workers and intermediary not directly employed by insurance companies. Information on the number of employees, vacancies and earnings was extrapolated based on the results from 636 statistical units successfully interviewed. The results are as follows. At the end of the first quarter of 2005, the Manufacturing sector had 33,838 paid employees, with 24,673 working in the manufacture of wearing apparel. Compared with the same period of 2004, number of paid employees in the Manufacturing sector decreased 2.7%. In March 2005, average monthly earnings (excluding year-end bonuses, holiday allowances, profit-sharing bonuses and other similar bonuses) for full time employees in the Manufacturing sector was MOP 4,281, up 2.8% over the same period of 2004. Electricity, gas & water supply sector had 1,026 paid employees, down 2.9% over the first quarter of 2004. Average monthly earnings for employees in this sector rose slightly by 0.3% over March 2004 to MOP 18,425. Hotels & restaurants sector had 21,368 paid employees, with 12,380 working in the restaurant industry. Compared with the first quarter of 2004, number of paid employees in Hotels & restaurants sector surged 18.6%; average monthly earnings increased 4.7% to MOP 5,593. Financial intermediation sector had 4,224 paid employees, with 3,625 working in banking. Compared with the first quarter of 2004, number of paid employees in the Financial intermediation sector increased 3.9%; average monthly earnings went up 3.0% to MOP 13,189. At the end of March 2005, the Manufacturing sector had 6,694 vacancies, of which 5,281 were in the manufacture of wearing apparel. Hotels & restaurants sector had 2,796 vacancies, Financial intermediation sector and Electricity, gas & water supply sector had 151 and 24 vacant posts respectively. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, over 90% of the vacant posts in the Manufacturing sector required working experience. Over 90% of the vacant posts in Electricity, gas & water supply sector and Financial intermediation sector required senior secondary or higher in educational attainment. Besides Cantonese, Mandarin was the more preferable language skill in both Hotels & restaurants (40.4%) and Financial intermediation (82.3%) sectors, while all vacancies in Electricity, gas & water supply sector required English.
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The survey coverage of the 2004 Health Care Survey includes two hospitals that provide hospital care services, 409 private clinics and health care centres that provide primary health care services, as well as 209 establishments that provide Chinese medicine and therapy services. Results of the survey are as follows. In 2004, there were 1,397 persons engaged in primary health care services, 524 were doctors and 297 were nurses. Number of consultations administered totalled 1,935,000, up 9.2% over 2003. In addition, 96.8% of the 409 establishments providing primary health care were run by the private sector and the majority (322) were private clinics. In hospital care services, there were 2,432 persons engaged, 834 were nurses and 464 were doctors. The two hospitals in Macao provided 984 in-patient hospital beds and the occupancy rate of hospital beds increased by 9.1 percentage points to 72.8% over 2003. Number of deliveries and surgical operations carried out were 3,317 and 10,999 cases respectively. With respect to the entire health care system, the resident / doctor ratio (excluding dentist) was 454:1 and the resident / nurse ratio was 438:1. In 2004, there were 7,873 blood donors, an increase of 23.5% compared with 2003; the median age of the blood donors was 27.9. Meanwhile, the Blood Donation Centre provided 17,618 units of blood and blood components to the two hospitals. Within the 374 persons engaged in Chinese medicine and therapy services in 2004, 44 were doctors of Chinese medicine, 185 were Chinese herbalists, 20 were acupuncturists and masseurs. Number of consultations in Chinese medicine and therapy services totalled 621,000.
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