News

Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 26 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Horte e Costa, Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga and Rua da Emenda areas in Santo António Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Macao Post would like to announce that the Carmo Post Office located at Avenida de Carlos da Maia in Taipa, Macao, will be officially inaugurated on 28th September 2016 at 12:00 noon. The opening ceremony will be officiated jointly by the Secretary of Secretariat for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo Arrais do Rosário, and the Director of Macao Post, Lau Wai Meng. The office hours of the post office are as follows: Postal Services (Posta Restante) and PO Box Services Monday to Friday 11:30 ~ 19:00 Saturday 09:30 ~ 14:00 Easy Payment Services Monday to Friday 11:30 ~ 18:00 Saturday 09:30 ~ 13:00
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The registration for 2016 Macao Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon, organized by the Sports Bureau of Macao SAR Government and the General Association of Athletics of Macau and title sponsored by the Galaxy Entertainment Group, started today (24 Sep) and has received overwhelming response. The Organizing Committee announced that all quotas for the Marathon, Half Marathon and Mini Marathon have all been taken up. This annual event will take place on 4 December (Sunday), with the start and finish both located inside the Stadium of the Olympic Sport Centre. Participants for the marathon and half marathon will start at 6:00 am, while those for the mini marathon will start at 6:15 am. All race regulation and information are available on the event website www.macaumarathon.com.
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The grand opening of the promotional campaign for the Suncity Group 63rd Macau Grand Prix was held on September 24 at Ocean Terminal, Tsimshatsui, drawing a large number of residents and visitors who enjoyed a taste of the high-octane excitement that has made the event one of Asia’s most popular sporting attractions. The Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee participated in the roadshow, which was staged by the Macau Government Tourist Office on September 24 and 25, and the two-day event included a number of fun activities as well as displays telling the fascinating history of the event and its famous Guia Circuit. This year with the most prestigious race programme in its history, featuring seven races including two official FIA World Cups, the Grand Prix’s roadshow was equally impressive. Visitors had the chance to get an up-close look at the Mercedes Dallara Formula 3 car with which Spanish star Daniel Juncadella rocketed to victory on Macau’s famous Guia street circuit in 2011, and the 2003 Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-winning 1000cc Ducati ridden by eight-time winner and undisputed two-wheel King of Macau, Michael Rutter. A pair of racing simulators gave visitors a unique chance to test their mettle on the Guia Circuit, described by current F1 star Daniel Ricciardo, who raced at Macau in 2009, as: “Monaco but twice the length and even crazier. I like that a lot. It’s good fun.” The Suncity Group 63rd Macau Grand Prix will be held from November 17-20. The provisional race programme for this year includes a total of seven thrilling races. The new FIA F3 World Cup joins the Macau GT Cup, designated the official FIA GT World Cup for the second consecutive year; the Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, this year celebrating its Golden Jubilee; and the ever-popular Suncity Group Guia Race 2.0T, as the four headline races. On the support card is the Macau Touring Car Cup, the Suncity Group Macau Road Sport Challenge and the Suncity Group Chinese Racing Cup. For more details, please visit the Macau Grand Prix official website: www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo
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To promote the upcoming mega events and festivals in Macao, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) organizes an “Experience Macao Your Own Style Carnival” in Hong Kong from 24th to 25th September 2016. The Carnival spotlights the 63rd Macau Grand Prix, “Parade through Macao, Latin City” and other events coming up in the 4th quarter of the year, giving Hong Kong residents a glimpse of the festival vibe in Macao. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Sports Bureau President Pun Weng Kun and Vice President Lam Lin Kio officiated the opening ceremony of the "Experience Macao Your Own Style Carnival" Roadshow together with other guests today (24th September). Hong Kong artists Nancy Wu Ting Yan and Benjamin Yuen Wai Ho perform a short play at the opening ceremony, while well-known magician Louis Yan presented a magic show on the theme of “Experience Macao Your Own Style”. Besides, acclaimed Hong Kong racing driver Charles Ng Ka Ki shared his experience and passion on car racing with the audience. In addition, dancing performances as well as interactive games were held on stage to let the audience experience the lively ambience of Macau Grand Prix with chances to win tickets to this spectacular event. MGTO has adopted “Experience Macao Your Own Style” as the theme of the Carnival and designed the venue as the Guia Circuit to attract visitors. A classic Formula 3 racing car is on display with a Grand Prix simulator available to visitors for the exciting fun of car racing. What’s more, three digital zones are built around the miniature of the racing circuit to encourage Hong Kong residents to explore Macao in different styles. “Macao in 3D Style” displays dazzling fireworks of Macao in three dimensions through a hologram projector, whereas “Mini Macao Light Style” brings the romantic atmosphere of Macao Light Festival alive at the Carnival. “4th December, Macao Day and Night” introduces three major events coming up on 4th December (Macao International Marathon, “Parade through Macao, Latin City”, and Macao Light Festival). The Carnival also presents a Grand Prix Game featuring the Virtual Reality (VR) technology, allowing visitors to experience a simulated presence at the racing circuit in Macau Grand Prix and cheer the racers on. Apart from the above, there are display panels which introduce visitors to various tourist attractions and international events in Macao including Anim’Arte Nam Van, Macao’s World Heritage as well as International Film Festival & Awards･Macao and more.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 23 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 13 supermarkets in Sé Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals increased by 3.1% month-to-month to 2,882,557 in August 2016 due to the summer holidays, yet down by 5.0% year-on-year. Overnight visitors showed continued growth, rising by 3.7% year-on-year to 1,476,910, the highest single-month figure since January 2008; same-day visitors dropped by 12.6% year-on-year to 1,405,647. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.2 days; the average stay of overnight visitors and same-day visitors was 2.1 days and 0.2 day respectively. Visitors from Mainland China decreased by 5.5% year-on-year to 1,979,224 in August 2016, of which those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme dropped by 4.4% to 1,006,432. Mainland visitors came mainly from Guangdong Province (919,486), Hunan Province (89,354) and Fujian Province (74,051). Visitors from Hong Kong (591,880) decreased by 7.6% year-on-year, while those from the Republic of Korea (57,739) and Taiwan (94,411) increased by 32.1% and 3.3% respectively. Long-haul visitors from the United States (12,931) and Canada (5,399) increased year-on-year, while those from Australia (5,375) and the United Kingdom (5,134) decreased. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by land decreased by 2.7% year-on-year to 1,671,825, the first decline after 8 consecutive months of year-on-year increase; those arriving through the Border Gate (1,446,681) dropped by 3.7% while those through the Checkpoint of Cotai (223,733) rose by 4.4%. Visitor arrivals by sea decreased by 11.7% year-on-year to 993,518; those disembarking at the Outer Harbour (596,832) and the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa (396,686) dropped by 10.4% and 7.2%. Visitor arrivals by air increased by 15.0% year-on-year to 217,214, with 216,574 arriving at the airport. In the first eight months of 2016, visitor arrivals totalled 20,441,708, similar to that in the same period of 2015; overnight visitors rose by 8.1% to 10,095,958 while same-day visitors dropped by 6.8% to 10,345,750. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.2 day year-on-year to 1.2 days; the average stay of overnight visitors rose by 0.2 day to 2.2 days while that of same-day visitors held stable at 0.2 day. Visitors from Mainland China (13,560,015) and Hong Kong (4,268,807) decreased by 0.6% and 2.6% respectively, while those from the Republic of Korea (422,379) and Taiwan (717,742) increased by 12.8% and 10.4%. Moreover, long-haul visitors from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom registered year-on-year increase.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total receipts of enterprises that engaged in gaming activities amounted to MOP 233.23 billion in 2015, down by 34.1% year-on-year. Specifically, gaming receipts decreased by 34.3% year-on-year to MOP 231.58 billion; receipts from food & beverage (MOP 548 million) and currency exchange (MOP 76 million) dropped by 10.6% and 24.6% respectively; interest receipts declined by 32.5% to MOP 278 million. Total expenditure amounted to MOP 101.87 billion, down by 32.5% year-on-year. Purchase of Goods, Commission Paid & Customer Rebate accounted for MOP 56.99 billion, down substantially by 45.1%. Operating Expenses reduced by 13.5% to MOP 21.24 billion. Within Operating Expenses, expenditure on complimentary goods & services (such as hotel accommodation and food & beverage) provided to customers totalled MOP 9.81 billion and that on marketing & publicity was MOP 3.91 billion, down by 14.1% and 27.6% respectively. Compensation of Employees increased by 5.1% to MOP 19.93 billion, in spite of a 2.7% drop in total number of full-time employees (56,217). On the other hand, Non-operating Expenses (including depreciation and interest paid) totalled MOP 3.70 billion, up by 4.6% year-on-year. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy amounted to MOP 154.74 billion, down by 31.3% year-on-year. Gross Surplus of the gaming sector decreased by 34.6% to MOP 134.80 billion. Gross Surplus Ratio dropped slightly by 0.4 percentage points to 57.9%. Owing to an increase in acquisition of machinery and other equipment, Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the gaming sector increased by 4.0% year-on-year to MOP 2.75 billion.
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The opening ceremony of the exhibition “The Trumpet of the Times: Poet F. Hua-Lin”, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will be held next Tuesday (27 September), at 6.30pm at the Jao Tsung-I Academy. This exhibition features manuscripts, poems, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, music scores, song lists and other related items pertaining to the Macao poet Hua-Lin, who rose as a new star in the Chinese literary circles in the 1930s and 1940s, and earned the title "the trumpet of the times" during the "isolated-island period" in Shanghai. All the objects have been generously donated by relatives of the poet. This is the first time an exhibition gives an overall and three-dimensional picture of the poet, his poems and his era. With this exhibition, IC hopes to attract people's attention to the literature of Macao. F. Hua-Lin is the adopted pseudonym of Fung Kam Chiu (1915-1992), born in Macao. In 1939, he graduated from the Foreign Language Department of Jinan National University in Shanghai and, in the following decade, roamed through several places such as Yunan, Guilin, Guizhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao, where, in spite of many difficulties, he kept on writing and publishing a lot of poems and translated works. In the early 1950s, he settled down in Macao where he kept on working and polishing his writings. In the late 1960s, he began his studies on classical Chinese poetry and couplet making. Among his published works are Mei Gui [Rose], Xiang Ri Kui [Sunflower], Man Tian Xing [Starry Sky], Qian Niu Hua [Morning Glory], Huo Hua Ji [Sparkling Flame], and Hua Ling Si Wen Ji [Poems and Writings Collection of F. Hua-Lin], in addition to a great number of unpublished translations, poems, couplets and monographs. In order to complement this exhibition and allow the population to understand more in depth the poet and his work, IC launches the collection The Trumpet of the Times: Poet F. Hua-Lin (priced at MOP100). In addition, IC has invited poet Song Zijiang to conduct a study of and compile Hua-Lin’s poems, including his English-language poems, translation and essays, and now publishes Ardent Appeals: Selected Poems and Essays by F. Hua-Lin (priced at MOP80). These editions feature a rich content, with part of the works included therein never having been published and including also rare new poems that were published in scattered fashion in newspapers of several places. The two books will be available at a discounted price on the day and venue of the opening ceremony, and will be available for sale at full price during the period of the exhibition. The exhibition “The Trumpet of the Times: Poet F. Hua-Lin” will run from 28 September to 13 November at Jao Tsung-I Academy, daily from 10am to 6pm, including on public holidays, closing on Mondays. Admission is free. For more information, please refer to IC’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo, or call IC through tel. no. 2852 2523, during office hours.
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To commemorate the World Heart Day, Macao Post announced that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at Avenida do Comendador Ho Yin, Bestway Garden, G/F, at 16H00 to 19H00 on 25th September 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “World Heart Day”. On that day, Macao Heart Foundation will sell the commemorative envelope and a cover, priced at 20.00 patacas and 30.00 patacas at the mentioned location. The revenue will be for the charity purpose. Various philatelic products will be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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