News

Regarding the rumour currently being spread by text messages to mobile phones and on the Internet saying that investment residency in Macao will be re-opened for applications and an administrative fee will be charged to process the application, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) wishes to clarify that such information is untrue. Such untrue and misleading information may have violated Macao's criminal law. IPIM urges all those intending to lodge investment residency applications not to believe in such misleading text. IPIM confirms that the Administrative Regulation No. 7/2007, effective from 4 April 2007, is still in force and that temporary residency applications for investment in local real estate are still suspended. IPIM urges anyone who has paid this illegal administrative fee and therefore has been defrauded should report it to the Macao Judiciary Police immediately on the Crime Reporting Hotline 993.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (21th March 10:01 till 22nd March 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1300μGy/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 this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on 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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From March 12 until 5p.m. of March 21, the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed three more premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally. To date, the Cross-departmental Working Team has closed 116 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally. Staff of 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.
Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, 1,305 premise-checks were conducted, involving 855 premises, of which 116 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 136 were normal residences, 251 were dormitories for labor and vacant or commercial units. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will continue investigation on unanswered doors, which are suspected to be used to provide accommodation illegally. Meanwhile, during investigations to other cases, PSP has found 27 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases.
Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has waged a total of 116 sanctions and nine operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". Other cases are in different stages of sanction proceedings.
To date, 534 occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 29 overstayers and 21 illegal immigrants. 21 operators, 14 touts, 19 persons who managed the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) and 11 occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were seized on site.
MGTO has begun sanction proceedings on offenders according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". If the nine operators who provided accommodation illegally, who were fined 200 000 patacas, do not pay within the statutory period, the Financial Services Bureau will enforce the collection of fine. Meanwhile, the 10 occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each, among which four have paid the fine. For those who fail to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP that the involved persons should pay the fine or their reentry into Macau will be denied.
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The 58th Macau Grand Prix will be held from November 17 to 20 this year. Practice and qualifying sessions will take place on November 17th and 18th (Thursday and Friday), while races are held on November 19th and 20th (Saturday and Sunday). Seven races including the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix; the FIA World Touring Car Championship - Guia Race of Macau and the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, and four support races are in the programme. The Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix, the only one named Formula 3 intercontinental Cup in the world, will be included this year in the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy, with the Macau Grand Prix amongst the planned six-round debut season. The 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship once again takes place at the Guia Circuit, for the seventh successive year, crowning its Champion in Macau, in its final races of the season. International road racing and endurance riders from across Europe, North America and Asia will line-up on the grid for the 45th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, which once again has become the latest prestigious event to count towards the Duke Road Race Rankings series. Aside from the three main races, there are four exciting support races this year. Macau GT Cup, with a large series of GT cars will show up in this invitational race, has become a popular race in Hong Kong, Macau and Asia Pacific. The Macau Touring Car Cup, the Macau Road Sport Challenge and the Macau / Hong Kong Interport Race will once again be in the programme. Local drivers who would like to join these races in the MGP will fight in the Macau Touring Car Championship organised by Automobile General Association Macao-China, held at the Guangdong International Circuit in Zhaoqing in May and June. Tickets of this year's 58th Macau Grand Prix are on sale, ranging from MOP50.00 on practice day to MOP900.00 at the Lisboa Stand on race day. Book your tickets now at the Macau Grand Prix Committee at (853) 87962210 / (853) 87962242 or email: macaugp@cgpm.gov.mo. For details, please visit the Committee official website: http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (20th March 16:01 till 21st March 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 0.1309μGy/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 this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI (108.13) for February 2011 rose by 4.70% year-on-year; the increment was attributable to rising indices of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages; Housing & Fuels; and Transport. Among the different sections, notable increase was observed in the price index of Clothing & Footwear (+8.02%), Transport (+7.31%), Health (+6.59%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.98%) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+5.61%) on account of dearer prices of women's clothing and footwear, gold jewellery, gasoline, LP-gas and airfare, as well as higher charges for meals bought away from home. On the contrary, the price index of Communication decreased by 8.29% year-on-year. The CPI-A (107.49) and CPI-B (108.34) for February 2011 rose by 4.36% and 4.91% year-on-year respectively. The Composite CPI for February 2011 increased by 0.90% month-to-month, with marked increase in the price index of Recreation & Culture (+4.79%); Transport (+1.58%); and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+1.52%), which was caused by higher charges for outbound package tours, rising prices of gasoline, airfare, as well as fresh fish and seafood. However, price index of Clothing & Footwear registered a decrease of 1.65%. Meanwhile, the CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.94% and 0.91% respectively month-to-month. The average Composite CPI for the first two months of 2011 increased by 4.81% year-on-year. For the 12 months ended February 2011, the average Composite CPI rose by 3.39% from the preceding period. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
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Upon the radiation leak occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (20th March 10:01 till 21st March 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 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on 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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Upon the radiation leak occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (19th March 16:01 till 20th March 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1195 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on 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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Upon the radiation leak occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (19th March 10:01 till 20th March 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1195 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on 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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In order to promote exchanges and co-operation between enterprises and investors, as well as to seize upcoming green business opportunities, the Green Business Co-operation Day will be held in the afternoon of 31 March, the first day of the 2011 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF). A series of related activities will be held including the Green Business Forum as well as the Green Business Networking Cocktail Reception and Signing Ceremony. Leaders from the governments and chambers of commerce on Mainland China, European Union, Portuguese-speaking countries, Hong Kong and Macao, experts and senior representatives of world-renowned enterprises will participate in the event to discuss market situation and development opportunities of the environmental protection industry. Following the rise in global environmental awareness, electric vehicles have become the major development trend of the automotive industry. A new format of parallel meeting has been introduced this year. Representatives from reputable automobile enterprises and multi-national companies will participate in the discussion of topics such as future development of the electric vehicle industry and related technology for the fuel-cell vehicle industry. Mr. Francis Tam, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, will be the officiating guest of the Green Business Co-operation Day and give a speech at the event. Other speakers of the Launching Ceremony include Mr. Dong Jiayang, Chief Representative of Hong Kong and Macao Representative Office of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Mr. Ma Iao Lai, President of Macao Chamber of Commerce. The Green Business Forum will be held at 2:30pm on Thursday, 31 March 2011, in the Sicily and Florence Room of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. The Green Business Forum will be conducted under two themes, namely Exploring Green Business Market Opportunities and Opportunities in Green Sectors – E-mobility. Speakers will give in-depth speeches on these two themes. Speaker of the Forum include senior management and representatives of internationally-renowned enterprises such as Tong Fong Co Ltd (one of the top 100 companies in the electronic information industry in China), EDP Internacional (a major Portuguese multi-national corporation in the energy sector), Beijing Origin Water Technology Incorporation Company (a sewage water resource technology company in China) and world-leading chain retailer, the Walmart (China) Investment Co Ltd. The Green Business Forum is conducted in parallel session. Representatives of world-renowned automobile enterprises will participate in the discussions on fuel cell-operated vehicles and other related technologies. Speakers include Mr. Manuel Sattig, Communication Manager Project I of BMW AG in , Munich, Mr. Nick Leach, Regional Director for Buses and Coaches in the Asian and Oceanian Regions of SCANIA, Mr. Paul Lin, Senior Manager of Overseas Marketing Department of BYD, Mr. Christian Hochfeld, Project Director of Electro-mobility and Climate Protection, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Mr. Wu Jianzhong, CEO of Zotye Holding Group, Mr. Meng Ting Tao, Chief Operating Officer of Zhuhai Yingtong New Energy Group, Mr. Peres Diniz, Senior Manager of Special Projects of the Companhia de Electricidade de Macau- CEM, SA, and Mr. Ron Chung, Electric Mobility Development Manager - Strategy and Planning of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited. The Forum will be followed by the Green Business Networking Cocktail Reception and Signing Ceremony to be held at 5:30 pm at Exhibition Hall A of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. Contracts of a number of environmental co-operation projects will be signed to provide business exchange and networking opportunities for enterprises from different regions, with the objective of promoting co-operation of the environmental protection industry between Macao, Mainland China and overseas countries, especially those in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region and the European Union. The Green Business Co-operation Day is jointly organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), AICEP Portugal Global, Macao Chamber of Commerce, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China) and the European Union Business Information Programme (EUBIP). The event will enable enterprises to seize opportunities in the green sector, seek potential partners as well as foster project and business co-operation. Local enterprises and the general public are all welcome. Interested parties may contact Ms. Winnie Kuok of IPIM's Research and Information Division on 8798 9127, Fax: 2872 8208 or email to winnievai@ipim.gov.mo.
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