News

The MSAR Government has received an application from Smartone – Mobile Communications (Macau), Limited (“Smartone”) to forgo the 4G license and plans to cease renewing the 3G license after expiration. Smartone informed that it has reached a collaborative consensus on operation with Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau S.A.R.L. (CTM) and will accomplish the transition of users in an orderly manner. On the other hand, SmarTone is committed to handling employee arrangements in accordance with the Labour Relations Law and employment contracts, and will coordinate with CTM on providing employment opportunities to suitable current employees in order to retain talent for the telecommunications industry. Users can visit Smartone and CTM shops or contact the customer service hotline in case of any inquiries during the transition period. CTT will closely monitor and supervise the smooth completion of the entire transition work.
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Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) held its 2024/2025 academic year opening ceremony today (August 20) and delivered the first lecture to the new students. The ceremony included a flag-raising and singing of the national anthem, welcoming 2,700 new undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students from the Macao SAR, the Greater Bay Area, various regions across the country, Portuguese-speaking countries, and other countries and regions. Rector Im Sio Kei urged the new students to cherish our homeland, value our nation, uphold the core principles of patriotism and love for Macao, and actively contribute to the development and progress of both the country and the region.
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To deepen educational exchanges and cooperation between universities in Macao and Shanghai, students and faculty from the University of Macau (UM) and Fudan University participated in a summer service learning programme in Jiangcun, Jiangsu Province, known as ‘the window for the world to understand China’s rural areas’. The programme aimed to inject new wisdom and vitality into the development of rural education and future rural development practitioners.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 52,518 full-time employees in the Gaming Sector at the end of the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 825 (+1.6%) year-on-year. Among them, dealers totalled 23,467, down by 208 (-0.9%).
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The Macao SAR Government is progressing vigorously with the “1 + 4” development strategy for adequate economic diversification, which, fueled by the array of favorable measures implemented by the Central Government for Macao this year, has opened up a wider landscape of possibilities for Macao’s tourism industry to move forward. In accord with the ever-changing external environment and latest tourism development, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has commissioned a research institution to conduct a second-phase review study on the implementation progress of the Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan (referred to as the “Master Plan”). The study will reexamine the new environment, re-clarify the new policies, readjust the new requirements and re-appraise the new trends. An analysis will be conducted upon the current tourism situation and trends in Macao after the pandemic. The study will also include retrospective overview of the action plans in progress from 2021 to 2024.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals increased by 9.5% year-on-year to 3,021,189 in July 2024, recovering to 85.6% of the number in July 2019; besides, the figure represented a rise of 18.4% month-on-month. Same-day visitors (1,596,662) went up by 20.2% year-on-year while overnight visitors (1,424,527) dropped by 0.5%. The average length of stay of visitors shortened by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.2 days, with that of overnight visitors rising by 0.1 day to 2.4 days.
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Xi’an, Shaanxi, a new mainland city approved by the State Council for the “Individual Visit Scheme” to Macao in 2024, becomes the first stop of the “Macao Week” this year. The Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) of the Macao Special Administrative Region will organise 28 Macao small- and medium-sized enterprises, including ten enterprises that have obtained the Halal certification, to participate in the “Shaanxi‧Xi’an Macao Week”. The event will be held at the Zhonghe Plaza of Qujiang Pool Heritage Park, Xi’an from 22 to 26 August, presenting a five-day roadshow of “MinM”, “Macao Brands” and products from Portuguese-speaking countries to local residents and visitors.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments went down by 2.1% month-on-month in June 2024; receipts of Chinese Restaurants fell by 6.4% whereas those of Western Restaurants rose by 11.5%. In addition, sales of the interviewed retailers decreased by 7.8% month-on-month in June; sales of retailers of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery, Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles and Adults' Clothing dropped by 16.1%, 13.3% and 12.4% respectively, whereas sales of Motor Vehicle Retailers grew by 21.3%.
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Following the 2024 Macao-Hengqin MICE Promotion Seminar, which was held in Shenzhen jointly by the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Economic Development Bureau of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Co-operation Zone in Hengqin, IPIM invited corporate representatives from Shenzhen, Huizhou and Dongguan to join IPIM to visit cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 14 to 16 August, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan. In this period, IPIM and the Economic Development Bureau of the Co-operation Zone in Hengqin jointly held the 2024 Macao-Hengqin Promotion Seminar in Guangzhou and Foshan, presenting the advantages of MICE software and hardware facilities in Macao and Hengqin to local MICE practitioners, such as the brand “MICE² Macao x Hengqin” and the “Multi-venue Event” pattern. According to some MICE operators who attended in the promotion seminar, “MICE² Macao x Hengqin” is not only a brand, but also an advantageous measure for the joint development of the MICE industry. It is believed that the unconventional positioning and the new pattern of “Multi-venue Event” will attract more MICE organisers to host conventions and exhibitions in Macao and Hengqin.
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The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Chief Executive Election published today, in the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Official Gazette, the list of names of the 400 members of the Chief Executive Election Committee.
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