News

The Cultural Affairs Bureau organises the exhibition “Sailing for Dream — Works by Kwok Woon” at the Navy Yard No. 1, featuring over 40 works by the artist Kwok Woon. The opening ceremony was held on Friday, 30 December, at 6:30pm, and was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; the Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Zhao Chuandong; the Deputy Director of the Department of Public Diplomacy and Information of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao S.A.R., Li Xiaoquan; the wife of Kwok Woon, Joana Ling; and the veteran Macao artist, Mio Pang Fei.

Artist Kwok Woon (1940-2003) was born in Guangdong, Mainland China, and came to Macao in the 1980s. Passionate about the arts, he devoted endless efforts to his dream of becoming an artist. After settling in Macao, he set up the “Círculo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau” and dedicated himself to the promotion of the development of visual arts in the city; in 1997, he established and headed the Macao International Visual Arts Centre. He made a significant contribution to the exploration and exhibition of creative means of artistic expression and to the cultural exchange with several regions, and had a far-reaching impact on the stimulus to the development of Macao’s visual arts.

This exhibition features Kwok Woon’s most important works from the 1980s, 1990s and later years, which is a significant period in his artistic career. Kwok Woon dared to innovate, produce works by gathering materials with local characteristics throughout Macao and expanding, through the exploration of creative materials, the possibilities of creation. By means of painting, mixed materials and art installations, among other media of expression, he revealed his artistic vision as well as his perception and reflections on different cultural crossroads.
“Sailing for Dream - Works by Kwok Woon” is the first exhibition to take place at the Navy Yard No.1. Located at Rua de S. Tiago da Barra, the Navy Yard No.1, formerly known as Carlos I dock mechanical room, was the dock mechanical room of government in the past and was used for boat building and repairing. Therefore, it has special historical significance in Macao’s history. Kwok Woon’s works have a close relationship with Macao’s daily life and culture, and it is hoped that this exhibition brings the attention of artists, residents and tourists to an important artist of the city and encourage the population to explore the possibilities for development of local arts.
The exhibition runs from 31 December 2016 to 23 April 2017 at the Navy Yard No.1, located at Rua de S. Tiago da Barra, daily from 10am to 7pm, closing on Mondays. Admission is free. For more information, please call 8988 4000, during office hours.

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Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), the “Nam Van Lake Craft Market” will be held at the Anim’Arte NAM VAN, located at the Nam Van Lake Square, Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Nam Van, on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 January to 30 June, 2017, from 2pm to 9pm. During the event, a rich variety of handicraft workshops will be held. Online registration is available from Wednesday, 4 January. Fee for each handicraft workshop is MOP50.
The “Nam Van Lake Craft Market” will hold a total of 15 themed workshops in the first round, from 14 January to 19 March, including: “Preserved hydrangea topiary”, “Succulent bonsai”, “Pressed flower music box”, “Dough clay—Mini macaroons”, “Preserved flower night lights”, “Happy seed children story workshop—The adventures of ladybird Banban (Cantonese class)”, “Happy seed children story workshop—The adventures of ladybird Banban (English class)”, “Industrial style handicraft—Cement clock”, “Glass bottle pendants with colourful sand”, “Japanese-style retro embroidered wallets”, “Natural handmade soap”, “Rolled paper—Mini flowerpots”, “Let’s make embroidery—Handmade embroidered reusable bags”, “Preserved flower photo frames” and “Japanese-style vintage embroidered long wallets”.
For more information about the dates and content of the workshops, please visit the Activity Registration System on IC’s website (www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event/) from 4 January. Online registration is available until Wednesday, 11 January, at 5pm. Successful applicants will be selected by drawing lots and will be notified by SMS and email on Friday, 13 January. Successful applicants should pay registration fees on site 15 minutes prior to the workshop; latecomers who arrive 10 minutes after the workshop start will be disqualified and will be replaced by the applicants in the waiting list. On-site registration and payment to all workshops starts 30 minutes before the workshop start, subject to availability. For more information about the admissions of each workshop and the class schedule, please visit the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com), or the “Macao Craft Market” page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MacaoCraftMarket/). For enquiries, please contact Ms. Wong, staff member of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.

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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that Gross National Income (GNI) at current prices was MOP 333.58 billion in 2015, less than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices (MOP 362.64 billion) by MOP 29.06 billion, representing a net external factor income outflow of the same amount that was equivalent to 8.0% of GDP in 2015, lower than the value (14.3%) registered in 2014. In 2015, per-capita GNI was MOP 520,004 and per-capita GDP was MOP 565,301.

Total outflow of external factor income reflects income earned by non-resident enterprises and investors from investment in Macao. In 2015, total outflow of external factor income dropped by 33.0% year-on-year to MOP 65.77 billion, mainly due to a 39.9% decrease in direct investment income (MOP 51.33 billion) earned by some non-resident enterprises and investors from investment in Macao. On the other hand, portfolio investment income (MOP 965 million) and other investment income (MOP 11.55 billion) increased by 27.1% and 12.2% respectively.

Total inflow of external factor income reflects income earned by resident enterprises and investors from abroad. In 2015, total inflow of external factor income rose by 5.3% year-on-year to MOP 36.71 billion, attributable to an 8.4% increase in portfolio investment income (MOP 14.39 billion) and a 3.8% rise in other investment income (MOP 20.15 billion) earned by some resident enterprises and investors from abroad. Meanwhile, direct investment income (MOP 938 million) also increased by 14.2% year-on-year.

After discounting the effect of price changes, GNI and GDP fell by 13.5% and 21.5% year-on-year respectively in real terms; meanwhile, per-capita GNI and per-capita GDP went down by 16.2% and 23.9% respectively. The rate of decrease in GNI in real terms was smaller than that in GDP in 2015, mainly due to a significant drop in net external factor income outflow.

GNI refers to the total income earned by residents of an economy from engaging in various economic activities within or outside the economy, corresponding to GDP plus income earned by resident investors from abroad, minus income earned by non-resident investors from investment in Macao.

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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for November 2016 amounted to MOP798 million, down by 8.1% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP617 million) slid by 13.9%, but that of domestic exports (MOP181 million) rose by 19.4%. Total merchandise import increased by 2.9% year-on-year to MOP6.82 billion, of which imports of Watches and Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products expanded by 69.1% and 31.5% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP6.03 billion.

From January to November 2016, total value of merchandise export dropped by 5.1% year-on-year to MOP9.29 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP7.49 billion) decreased by 8.1%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.81 billion) increased by 10.0%. Total value of merchandise import fell by 16.6% to MOP64.78 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP55.48 billion for the first eleven months of 2016.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China decreased by 3.8% year-on-year to MOP1.61 billion in the first eleven months of 2016, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.52 billion) fell by 6.0%, and exports to Hong Kong (MOP5.15 billion) dropped by 11.7%. Meanwhile, exports to the EU (MOP165 million) and the USA (MOP148 million) reduced by 18.4% and 19.7% respectively, whereas exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP6 million) jumped by 629.1%. Exports of Non-textiles declined by 4.4% year-on-year to MOP8.63 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP919 million) dropped by 20.5%, but that of Tobacco & wine (MOP748 million) grew by 46.0%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP661 million, down by 13.3%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP23.73 billion) and the EU (MOP15.43 billion) in the first eleven months of 2016 decreased by 18.7% and 10.4% respectively year-on-year. However, imports from the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP606 million) increased by 12.6%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China declined by 5.6% to MOP11.05 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP10.41 billion) fell by 6.7%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 12.9% to MOP40.34 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP4.26 billion) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP1.19 billion) decreasing by 26.9% and 54.0% respectively. Moreover, value of imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP5.64 billion), Mobile phones (MOP4.41 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.81 billion) declined by 12.2%, 39.4% and 37.8% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled MOP74.07 billion in the first eleven months of 2016, down by 15.3% compared with MOP87.48 billion a year earlier.

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To be in line with the development of the electronic administration of the Special Administrative Region Government, the Identification Services Bureau continuously introduces different electronic services and measures to simplify administration procedures. Starting from 29 December 2016, all service counters of the Identification Services Bureau accept citizens to pay application fees with UnionPay QuickPass and Macao Pass, which will provide greater convenience for citizens when making payment.
Citizens can use the above-mentioned electronic payment tools to pay application fees at the service counters of the Identification Services Bureau at the China Plaza in Praia Grande and the designated counters of the Identification Services Bureau at the Government Services Center in Areia Preta. Furthermore, in order to achieve the whole self-service process to be done electronically, the Identification Services Bureau will add other electronic payment methods to self-service kiosk, so as to provide more convenient electronic services to citizens.

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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitors on package tours increased by 6.0% month-to-month to 728,000 in November 2016, with the year-on-year decline narrowing further to 6.5% as compared to 17.8% in October 2016. Package tour visitors from Mainland China (587,000) and the Republic of Korea (27,000) dropped by 7.5% and 5.5% respectively year-on-year, while those from Taiwan (38,000) increased by 1.0%. In the first eleven months of 2016, visitors on package tours totalled 6,831,000, down by 25.1% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 101,000 in November 2016, down by 11.1% year-on-year. Residents travelling on package tours decreased by 17.9% year-on-year to 38,000, of which residents travelling to Mainland China (26,000) dropped by 9,100 (-25.7%), while those travelling to the Republic of Korea (3,600) and Taiwan (2,500) increased by 62.3% and 14.4% respectively. In the first eleven months of 2016, outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 1,121,000, down by 15.9% year-on-year. There were 107 hotels & guesthouses operating at the end of November 2016, up by 3 year-on-year. Number of guest rooms increased by 14.0% to 36,000, with that of 3-star hotels having a significant increase of 116.7%. The number of guest rooms of 5-star (22,000) and 4-star hotels (7,700) together accounted for 81.2% of the total. Number of guests of hotels & guesthouses in November 2016 increased by 18.0% year-on-year to 1,103,000, of which guests from Mainland China (697,000), the Republic of Korea (31,000), Hong Kong (148,000) and Taiwan (40,000) went up by 19.6%, 61.9%, 7.0% and 12.9% respectively. The average length of stay of guests decreased by 0.1 night year-on-year to 1.4 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 86.4% in November 2016, up by 1.9 percentage points year-on-year, with 4-star hotels leading at 92.8%. Meanwhile, the average occupancy rate of other hotel categories also exceeded 80.0%. In the first eleven months of 2016, guests of hotels & guesthouses totalled 10,756,000, up by 14.0% year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 82.0%, up by 1.4 percentage points, while the average length of stay of guests was 1.4 nights, down by 0.1 night year-on-year. Visitor-guests accounted for 71.6% of the total overnight visitors, up by 3.4 percentage points year-on-year.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the unemployment rate (1.9%) and the underemployment rate (0.7%) for September-November 2016 held stable as in August-October 2016. Total labour force was 393,100 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.9%. Total employment decreased by 4,000 from August-October, at 385,500. Analysed by industry, employment in Construction registered a decrease, while that in Education and Retail Trade saw an increase. Number of the unemployed was 7,600, up slightly by 100 as compared with August-October; fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 14.7% of the total unemployed, down by 4.5 percentage points. In comparison with September-November 2015, the labour force participation rate dropped by 1.3 percentage points; the unemployment rate held steady, while the underemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) is launching the “2016 Subsidy Programme for the Production of Original Animation Short Films”. Applications are now open until 27 February 2017 and local animation producers are welcome to apply. Successful applicants will receive a subsidy of up to MOP 240,000 for the production, promotion and marketing of the animation short films. As part of the “Subsidy Programme Series for Macao’s Cultural and Creative Industries”, the “2016 Subsidy Programme for the Production of Original Animation Short Films” is a new initiative that aims to spur the development of Macao’s animation industry, nurture local talents in animation creation, production and planning, enhance their creativity in planning and storytelling techniques and encourage the production of original animations by the sector, as well as promote local animation development through participation in exhibitions, public screenings and online promotion. Applicants must hold a valid Macao Resident Identity Card and be aged 18 or above, and be the director or producer of the proposed film. Applicants must have directed or produced at least one animation short film with over 2 minutes, which must have been screened in public. The proposed film, which could be a single film or a film series, must be a fictional animation film. The selection process is comprised of the initial review and the second review. In the initial review, the adjudication panel will analyse the application documents, and select a maximum of 12 projects for the second review based on criteria including creativity of the story and expression techniques, character design and potentiality, feasibility of production plan, promotion and marketing plan, budget rationale as well as the applicant and film crew’s implementing capacity. Eligible applicants for the second review will receive a subsidy to produce the animatic of a storyboard based on their proposal in the initial review, and present it to the adjudication panel followed by a final interview. A maximum of five beneficiaries will be selected by the adjudicating panel based on the aforementioned criteria. Each beneficiary will receive a subsidy of up to MOP240,000 to initiate the production, promotion and marketing of their animation short films. Beneficiaries will also be provided with professional advices by veteran animation producers. The Programme’s information, regulations and application forms can be downloaded at the Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo/cn/CCI-Subsidy) and at the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). Applicants must submit all required documents to the Department for Promoting Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau located at No. 567, Av. da Praia Grande, Edif. BNU, 12th floor A-D, Macao, within the designated deadline. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Leung or Ms. Choi, staff members of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council on 28 December collects prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. The mentioned data collected during 21 December to 27 December are used for comparing the average selling price of the same products from Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. The specific price surveys on fresh pork and vegetables are now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), iPhone & Android ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ app, and the Council’s WeChat Account page. The relevant surveys include the average selling prices of local fresh pork and vegetables, and comparison on the respective the average selling prices rom HK and Macao. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 1,708 organisations were operating in the cultural industries in Macao in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 10,192, and compensation of employees amounted to MOP 1.56 billion. Total service receipts amounted to MOP 6.24 billion. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy totalled MOP 2.05 billion, accounting for 0.6% of the total for all economic activities of Macao in 2015. Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the cultural industries reached MOP 0.96 billion. Cultural industries are divided into four core domains, namely 'Creative design', 'Cultural exhibitions & performances', 'Art collection' and 'Digital media', which encompass a wide range of activities characterised by their cross-sectoral quality. The 'Creative design' domain covers brand design, cultural and creative product design, exhibition design, fashion design, advertising design, industrial design, architectural design, etc. In 2015, there were 919 organisations operating in 'Creative design'. Number of persons engaged totalled 3,336 and compensation of employees stood at MOP 0.42 billion. Annual service receipts amounted to MOP 1.82 billion, and Gross Value Added totalled MOP 0.62 billion. Within this domain, 601 organisations were engaged in advertising design and 67 in conference & exhibition organising services. With the increasing number of large-scale conferences and exhibitions held in Macao, advertising services and conference & exhibition organising services saw satisfactory growth in 2015, together generating MOP 1.23 billion in service receipts, accounting for 67.6% of the total in 'Creative design'. The 'Cultural exhibitions & performances' domain comprises production of performing arts, agency services of cultural exhibitions and performances, performing arts training, operation of performing arts venue, etc. There were 168 organisations operating in 'Cultural exhibitions & performances' in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 1,829, and compensation of employees amounted to MOP 0.24 billion. Annual service receipts totalled MOP 1.35 billion, coming primarily from ticket sales (56.4% of total). Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 0.23 billion. In this domain, there were 119 organisations operating in production of performing arts, with 1,116 persons engaged. Annual service receipts amounted to MOP 1.12 billion, contributing 83.4% of the total in the domain. The 'Art collection' domain covers creation, sale and auction of arts (such as painting, calligraphy, sculpture, photography, antique, gardening, etc.), as well as photography services. There were 109 organisations operating in 'Art collection' in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 435, with compensation of employees amounting to MOP 27.76 million. Annual service receipts amounted to MOP 87.78 million, of which photography services accounted for 79.1% (MOP 69.42 million). Among the 99 organisations operating in photography services, 49 were engaged in art photography services such as wedding photography, with service receipts amounting to MOP 37.95 million. Gross Value Added of the 'Art collection' domain totalled MOP 34.11 million. The 'Digital media' domain includes information, publishing, radio and television program production, operation of cinema, film production and distribution, etc. A total of 512 organisations were operating in 'Digital media' in 2015. Number of persons engaged totalled 4,592, and compensation of employees amounted to MOP 0.88 billion. Annual service receipts and Gross Value Added of 'Digital media' totalled MOP 2.99 billion and MOP 1.17 billion respectively, constituting the largest shares (47.9% and 56.8%) of the respective total of cultural industries. With the increasing popularity of information technology in the industrial and commercial sectors, the demand for computer software and hardware design has grown rapidly, giving an enormous impetus to the growth of the information industry in the 'Digital media' domain. There were 289 organisations operating in the information industry in 2015, and number of persons engaged totalled 1,530. The information industry generated MOP 1.50 billion in receipts (50.1% of total in the domain) and MOP 0.44 billion in Gross Value Added (38.0% of total in the domain). Meanwhile, there were 177 organisations operating in the publishing industry, which also falls under this domain, with 1,857 persons engaged. Annual receipts and Gross Value Added the publishing industry amounted to MOP 0.76 billion and MOP 0.31 billion respectively. Compilation of Cultural Industries Statistics is carried out by the Working Group on Industries Statistics and Assessment Indicators under the Committee of Cultural Industries of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), in accordance with the framework for cultural industries statistics established based on the Policy Framework for the Development of Cultural Industries of the Macao SAR. In 2016, DSEC conducted a number of specialised surveys in the four domains of cultural industries, namely 'Creative design', 'Cultural exhibitions & performances', 'Art collection' and 'Digital media'. Survey results were combined with data collected from relevant industries surveys of DSEC to estimate the economic contribution of cultural industries in Macao.
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