News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first quarter of 2005, construction of 14 buildings was started. They included residential, residential & other uses, industrial and buildings for other uses. The gross floor area was 80,901m², up 70.8% and down 65.6% in comparison with the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2004 respectively. The total number of units was 652, up 346.6% and 129.6% over the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2004 respectively. In the first quarter of 2005, 9 buildings were completed or extended. They included residential, residential & other uses, commercial, offices and buildings for others uses. The gross floor area was 82,574 m², up 101.7% and down 19.0% in comparison with the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2004 respectively. The total number of units was 49, down 71.3% and 92.4% compared with the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2004 respectively. According to the information supplied by the Finance Services Bureau, 8,350 units with a total value of MOP 5.52 billion were transacted in the first quarter of 2005. Among them, 4,882 were residential units, with a value of MOP 3.74 billion. Among all the building units transacted, 1,214 units were exempt from property tax (i.e. they were new buildings) with their value amounting to MOP 1.54 billion. In the first quarter of 2005, the average transaction price of residential units per square meter of usable area was MOP9,190, up 25.2% and 6.4% respectively over the first quarter (MOP7,343) and the fourth quarter of 2004 (MOP8,635). Meanwhile, the average transaction prices of residential units in the Macao Peninsula and Taipa were MOP7,911 and MOP11,949 per square meter respectively, higher than the levels recorded in the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2004. Moreover, the average transaction price of residential units in Coloane was MOP12,146 per square meter, up from MOP7,648 of the first quarter of 2004 and from MOP11,128 of the fourth quarter of 2004. In terms of year of building completion, in the first quarter of 2005, the overall average transaction price per square meter in Macao was MOP16,108 for the residential units completed in “2000 and after”, up 34.1% and 3.5% compared with the first quarter of 2004 (MOP12,008) and the fourth quarter of 2004 (MOP15,566) respectively. For those completed “From 1990 to 1999”, the average price was MOP9,402, up 29.4% and 7.7% over the first quarter of 2004 (MOP7,267) and the fourth quarter of 2004 (MOP8,728) respectively. The average price for those completed in “1989 and before” was MOP5,282, up 22.9% over the first quarter of 2004 (MOP4,297) and 5.2% over the fourth quarter of 2004 (MOP5,022).
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and his delegation continued on their four-day visit in Guangxi today with visits to infrastructure projects. In the morning, they arrived in Fangchenggang city and visited Dongxing port, a checkpoint between the Mainland and Vietnam. Accompanying the delegation were the Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr Lei Jinzao, the Secretary of the CPC of the city, Mr Zhu Jun, and the Mayor, Ms Fan Xiaoli. They also visited a port and a company in Fangchenggang in the afternoon. In the evening, on behalf of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government, Mr Ho hosted a banquet in Nanning and thanked their hosts for the hospitality accorded to them on the visit. The Secretary of the CPC Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Committee, Mr Cao Bochun, and the Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr Lu Bing, attended the banquet together with representatives of the relevant departments. The Secretary for Economy and Finance of the MSAR, Mr Francis Tam, said the visit would further enhance co-operation between Macao and Guangxi. He said he hoped businesses in Macao and the autonomous region would continue to strengthen bilateral co-operation. The delegation is scheduled to visit Liuzhou tomorrow.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicates that in March 2005, visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 216,093, down 17.9% over March 2004. Visitors from Mainland China (162,130) decreased 32.0% year-on-year while visitors from Taiwan, China (28,267) and Hong Kong (9,473) surged 132.3% and 46.1% respectively. In the first quarter of 2005, visitors arrived in Macao in package tours grew 9.8% over the same period of 2004 to 596,860. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours totalled 19,512 in March 2005, a year-on-year increase of 62.1%. Mainland China, Thailand and Taiwan, China were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 86.5%, 3.4% and 2.4% of the total respectively. In the first quarter of 2005, Macao residents travelling in package tours went up 59.0% compared with the same period of 2004. Meanwhile, 22,781 Macao residents travelled under own arrangements with the assistance of travel agencies, a slight increase of 1.2% over March 2004; Mainland China (40.3%), Taiwan, China (20.9%) and Hong Kong (16.9%) were the major destinations. In the first quarter of 2005, Macao residents travelling under such arrangements fell 10.5% compared with the same period of 2004. Subsequent to the operation of several new hotels, number of rooms available in hotels and similar establishments increased to 10,585 as at the end of March 2005, which corresponded to a significant growth of 13.8% over March 2004. In March 2005, a total of 318,745 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, a decrease of 9.5% over March 2004. The average hotel occupancy rate fell 13.2 percentage points to 64.9% compared with the same month of 2004. The highest occupancy rate was in 3-star hotels, at 74.2%. The average length of stay of hotel guests was the same as March 2004, with 1.19 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (54.3%), Hong Kong (29.8%) and Taiwan, China (3.1%). In the first quarter of 2005, number of hotel guests showed a marginal increase of 0.1% to 909,768 over the same period of 2004. In the first quarter of 2005, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 40.4% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 46.1% recorded in the same period of 2004.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first quarter of 2005, 713 companies were newly incorporated, with MOP108.28 million in registered capital. Compared with the first quarter of 2004, the number of newly incorporated companies and their registered capital increased 51.7% and 29.5% respectively. These newly incorporated companies were mostly in Wholesale and Retail sector (163), followed by Real Estate (145), Construction (134) and Business Services (132). On the other hand, 61 companies were dissolved in the first quarter of 2005, with MOP10.92 million in registered capital. Among them, most had been in Wholesale and Retail (20), followed by Real Estate (14). Among the stockholders of the newly incorporated companies, 60.8% were Macao residents. In addition, newly incorporated companies with a capital of 50 thousand Patacas or less accounted for 63.5% (453 companies) of the total number, whereas their capital only made up 12.3% of the total. Meanwhile 665 of the newly incorporated companies were limited companies. Based on the place of residence of the stockholders, the capital of the newly incorporated companies in the first quarter of 2005 mostly came from Macao (MOP69.73 million), followed by Hong Kong (MOP19.29 million) and the British Virgin Islands (MOP11.14 million). Guangdong province (MOP 2.35 million) topped the list of capital coming from the provinces within the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region. According to the combination of the place of residence of stockholders, 560 of the newly incorporated companies were established by stockholders from a single country/region, the majority of which (341 companies) were established solely by Macao stockholders, followed by those from Hong Kong (132 companies). The number of the newly incorporated companies with stockholders from Macao and other countries/regions was 137, of which 73 were joint ventures of Macao and Hong Kong stockholders and 40 were of Macao and Mainland China stockholders. The newly incorporated companies with stockholders solely from countries/regions other than Macao totalled 16, of which 8 were joint ventures of Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands and 3 were of Hong Kong and Mainland China.
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Starting tomorrow, May 9, and taking place during the period of five days, is a Seminar on “EU Economic Integration and CEPA Agreements” integrated in the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao. Organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, this seminar is divided into eight sessions, spread out along the five days, which will have as speakers Zhang Lei, Lecturer of Law of the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Lawyer of the Zhengping Tiancheng Law Firm in China; António José Marques-Mendes, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics of Coimbra University, Portugal; Ieong Pou Yee, Deputy Director of the Economic Services of the MSAR; and Cheng Kam Vong, Head of the Regional Economic Affairs Division of the Foreign Economic Relations Department of the Economic Services of the MSAR. From Monday to Friday the subjects approached will be “An overview of Macao’s economic situation and CEPA agreements”, “Some new trends in China’s economic legislation”, “EU Integration – An overview of the last 45 years”, “China’s foreign investment encouraging and protective measures”, “Foreign direct investment and TRIMs, TRIPs”, “The implementation of CEPA and its impact on Macao economy”, “CEPA’s impact on trade and investment in Macao and Hong Kong” and “The Euro, the Yuan and the liberalisation of portfolio investment in China and Europe”. This training course takes place daily between 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm and will be conducted in English. This seminar mainly targets holders of a Law degree. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, in which this seminar is integrated, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System”. Currently in its fourth and last year, it will proceed until February 2006. 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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The Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuok Va, said today that the police would make crime prevention and combating theft one of the priorities in the fight against crime this year. Mr Cheong said this when he announced the crime statistics for the first quarter of 2005, which showed a drop in offences against the persons and violent crime, compared with the same quarter last year. Latest statistics showed a total of 2,461 crimes were recorded in the first three months of 2005, an 11% increase (+258 cases) over the same period last year. Mr Cheong said that was mainly due to a 22.7% increase (+249 cases) in property related offences, namely theft and loan sharking, which went up by 21.9% and 76.9% respectively. Meanwhile, offences against the person, violation of social lives and violent crime had dropped by 1.9% (-10 cases), 10.4% (-22 cases) and 9.2% (-20 cases) respectively. Among the offences against the persons, 308 cases were physical offences, a drop of 6.4% (-26 cases). Criminal intimidation had dropped by 4.9% (-4 cases) while serious physical offences had increased from five cases to seven. Violent crimes continued to drop in the first three month of this year, Mr Cheong said – there were a total of 197 cases; a drop of 9.2% (-20 cases) was recorded, with a 12.6% drop in robbery (-11 cases), a 21.7% drop in extortion (-5 cases) and a 33.3% drop in murder, with two cases (-1 case). He said that the police had solved all four murder cases this year. On the other hand, juvenile crimes increased by 18.8% to 38 cases (+6 cases); and the number of underage people involved also increases by 36 people, to 86. Mr Cheong had the police would respond to the new crime trend and take the initiative in introducing more patrols, act and work more closely with the public and social organisations to promote awareness of crime prevention.
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The Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Election Commission, Judge Fong Man Chong, has pledged to keep the election lawful, fair and orderly. He was speaking today as the Legislative Assembly Election Commission was sworn in, marking the beginning of preparations for the Legislative Assembly Election, to be held in 25 September. Judge Fong, said that after working together in the last election four years ago, stable and firm bonds have been established in the Commission and with other related agencies, which was helpful in all proceeding related to the election this year. However, he said, the commission will spend more time in preparation this year as both registered voters had increased and more election candidate groups were expected to take part in the election. The Commission will hold its first meeting tomorrow. The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, who appointed members of the Commission by Executive Order, presided at today’s ceremony. The Chief Executive’s order also stipulated that the maximum expenditure of each election candidate group in the coming legislative election to be MOP 4,320,357.28. This is the second Legislative Assembly election after the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region in 1999. The previous election was held in 2001. The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region has provided for a steady increase in the number of elected seats in the Legislative Assembly. In the coming legislature, directly elected seats will be increased from 10 to 12 while the number of indirectly elected seats and appointed seats will remain at 10 and seven respectively.
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A Macau Grand Prix delegation of 10 representatives attended the first ever Chinese FIM MotoGP held in Shanghai. The mission of the delegation was to study and learn the organizational arrangements for a major international sporting event to further enhance Macau’s qualities and capabilities in this area.
During the visit, the Macau Grand Prix Committee delegation studied and observed in detail elements such as the organization of the race meeting, logistical arrangements (particularly technical support for competing teams), equipment and facilities at the event, security arrangements, and rescue and medical support, as well as media centre facilities. It is anticipated that the information learned by the delegation will result in further improvements to the organization and quality of the Macau Grand Prix.
The members of the Macau Grand Prix delegation included: Engineer João Manuel Costa Antunes, Coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee (Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office); Ms. Davina Chu, Deputy Coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee; Mr. Lo Keng Chio, Coordinator of the Marketing and Advertising Subcommittee (Chairman of China – Macau Autosports Club); Mr. Chong Coc Veng, Coordinator of the Sporting Subcommittee (President of China – Macau Autosports Club); Mr. Chum Pak Tak, Chairman of the Board of Stewards of the 51st Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix); Mr. Carlos Barreto, Clerk of the Course of the 51st Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix; Mr. Lai Chi Kit and Mr. Herculano Ribeiro, Members of the Sporting Subcommittee; Mr. Mario Ferreira Sin and Mr. Lyman Wong Chi Hong,Technical Assistants.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicates that at the end of March 2005, there were 144,708 licensed vehicles in Macao, of which 51% (73,570) were motorcycles and 45% (64,919) were light vehicles. New registration of vehicles in the first quarter of 2005 increased 15% year-on-year to 4,121 and the majority were motorcycles (58%) and light vehicles (39%). In the first quarter of 2005, there were 3,063 cases of traffic accident, an increase of 4% over the same period of 2004, resulting in 957 casualties, among which 2 persons were killed. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China increased 15% to 721,022. The Border Gate was the major passage with 78% of the total and the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 157,711 vehicles. In this quarter, arrivals and departures of commercial flight at the Macao International Airport totalled 9,915 flights, a jump of 23% over the same period of 2004. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 53% and 36% of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, 3,487 helicopter flights were recorded (-21% year-on-year) between Macao and Hong Kong and 583 flights were recorded between Macao and Mainland China. Passenger transport by sea between Hong Kong and Macao increased 9% to 19,576 ferry trips compared with the first quarter of 2004; passenger ferry trips between Macao and Mainland China dropped 4% to 2,634. Number of cargo vessel departures was 3,024 with a total capacity of 682,000 net registered tons, among which 2,150 vessels (71%) were flying the Chinese flag. In the first quarter of 2005, total seaborne container throughput was 23,057 TEUs, or 17,030 seaborne containers handled, which fell 9% and 6% compared with the same period of 2004. Number of container flow by land expanded 53% year-on-year to 2,485. In addition, gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo in the first two months of 2005 increased 19% over the same period of 2004 to 43,119 tonnes, of which 16,538 tonnes were transshipment goods. Meanwhile, containerized cargo by land rose 65% to 17,150 tonnes, including 14,424 tonnes of transshipment goods. Compared with the first quarter of 2004, total weight of outward cargo handled at the Macao International Airport surged 11% to 20,974 tonnes in the first quarter of 2005 whereas inward cargo decreased 1% to 6,125 tonnes. At the end of March 2005, there were 173,627 fixed telephone lines and 458,799 mobile telephone and stored value GSM card users. Besides, number of internet subscribers increased to 80,154 and total hour of usage reached 15.86 million hours, up 19% and 39% over the first quarter of 2004.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first quarter of 2005, the average daily nominal wage of construction workers was MOP370, of which the average daily nominal wage of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers was MOP398 and unskilled workers MOP243. As several large-scale construction projects started in the first quarter of 2005, the overall nominal wage index increased 8.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2004. Nominal wage index of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers rose 7.2%, and that of unskilled workers went up 18.0%. The overall real wage index increased 7.2% compared with the fourth quarter of 2004. Real wage index of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers rose 6.0%, and that of unskilled workers went up 16.6%. Among the various occupations of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers, the real wage index of plant operators (excavator, road roller & crane operators) rose the most, up 16.2%. Compared with the first quarter of 2004, the overall real wage index increased 14.0%, of which the index of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers rose 11.4%, and that of unskilled workers went up 36.9%.
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