News

To celebrate the 17th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at our Philatelic Shop located at Macao Post Headquarters at 9:00 to 17:30 on 20th December 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “17th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region”. A commemorative envelope priced at MOP3.00 will be issued. Welcome to visit us and collect Macao Stamps!
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To celebrate the Great Music and Dance Performance of “Di Zi Gui”, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at the Grand Auditorium of Macau Cultural Centre at 19:00 to 22:00 on 17th December 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Great Music and Dance Performance of ‘Di Zi Gui’ ”. A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in December on 12 December for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Taipa and Coloane area. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps. 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 over 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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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said a new measure to limit cash withdrawals per ATM transaction in Macao would not have a negative impact on the city’s gaming industry. The measure would help maintain the city’s monetary stability and would have a positive effect on managing capital flows, Mr Leong told reporters on Sunday (11 December). The new measure sets a limit of 5,000 patacas or 5,000 Hong Kong dollars per transaction of overseas cash withdrawal when using mainland bank cards. The new limit took effect on 9 December. The measure would not bring any negative impact to daily cash withdrawals by Macao residents and tourists, said Mr Leong. The mainland’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has set an annual cap – in force since January – on overseas cash withdrawals for mainland bank cardholders at 100,000 yuan per card, in addition to a 10,000 yuan daily cap. The Government remains committed to make use of all measures that can help further stabilise Macao’s economy and effectively combat any forms of money-laundering and illicit capital flows. On Sunday, the Secretary also gave a summary of his visit to Portugal last week. The visit included meetings with Portugal’s secretaries of state in the areas of industry, commerce, environment, energy and foreign affairs. Those meetings were in order to discuss ways to take full advantage of Macao’s role as a bridge between China and Portugal. Topics discussed included: how to explore additional fields in which Macao could offer services that can help improve cooperation between China and Portugal; strategies to attract more European companies – in particular, firms led by young entrepreneurs – to invest more in the mainland, via services offered by Portugal and Macao; and how to take advantage of Macao’s close ties with Portugal and other European countries in order to help young people from Macao and the mainland strengthen cooperation ties with those nations. Mr Leong said Portuguese companies were particularly interested in exporting a wider range of food products to the mainland by making use of policies under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), an existing protocol between the mainland and Macao. The Government was actively seeking more channels that would enable a larger number of food products from the mainland – particularly products that are processed in Macao – to have greater access to the Portuguese market, he said. The Macao officials also exchanged views with their Portuguese counterparts on: technology development; environmental science; the role of Macao as the new host of the headquarters of the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund; and reciprocal protection of consumers’ rights. While in Lisbon, Mr Leong also attended an Internet development summit, which attracted nearly 60,000 participants. Portugal and Macao would step up efforts to jointly explore markets in Asia, he said. To accomplish that goal, Mr Leong added that Macao would further optimise its existing infrastructure, in particular Internet infrastructure, in order to meet international standards.
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The deadline for applications for the “2016 Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films”, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), is 30 December, at 5pm. All interested parties are welcome to take this chance to apply for the Programme. The “2016 Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films” aims to continuously promote the development of the Macao film industry, cultivate local filmmaking talents, enhance the professional production capacity of the local film industry, and encourage filmmakers to get involved in feature film productions, thus spawning more local creative cinematic works. A maximum number of four beneficiaries will be selected and each eligible beneficiary will receive a financial support up to 70% of the total estimated costs of the project (up to a maximum of MOP 1,500,000), to be used for the production, promotion and marketing of the feature film. The Programme’s information, regulations and application forms can be downloaded at the IC’s website (www.icm.gov.mo/cn/CCI-Subsidy) and at the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). Applicants should submit all required documents to the Division for Planning and Developing Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau located at No. 567, Av. da Praia Grande, Edif. BNU, 12th floor A-D, Macao, in the designated period of time. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Leong or Mr. Chong, staff members of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040, during office hours.
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The Government is working closely with relevant ministries and departments of the Central Government in order to establish a Guangdong-Macao nuclear safety reporting mechanism. The Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, said on Sunday (11 December) that four separate bodies linked to the Central Government had already given their approval to the establishment of such a reporting mechanism. Currently, the Guangdong Government is going through the necessary procedures in order to set up the reporting mechanism. The Government pays great attention to the public’s interest in safety issues regarding the nuclear facility in Taishan Prefecture, Guangdong Province. Macao is 67 kilometres away from Taishan, which means no evacuation measures would be necessary even if an incident categorised as of the most serious type were to occur, according to information provided by mainland authorities to the Government. Mr Wong also commented on recent news reports regarding a suspected incident at the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, located in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The Secretary said that on Saturday (10 December) he contacted the Central Government’s agency responsible for regulating nuclear safety and learnt that no incidents had happened recently at the power plant.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both decreased in October 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs stayed virtually unchanged whereas CRELs increased mildly. New lending approved In October 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 46.5% month-to-month to MOP2.9 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 97.9% of the total, fell by 47.0% from a higher comparison base in the previous month to MOP2.8 billion. The non-resident component also dropped by 5.2%. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs increased by 16.3%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased by 6.6% from the preceding month to MOP269.5 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 97.5% of the total, increased by 3.9% from the previous month. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 14.4%. New CRELs dropped by 31.3% from a higher comparison base in the previous month to MOP6.2 billion. New approvals of CRELs declined by 32.6% when compared with last year. Outstanding balances As at end-October 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP178.6 billion, virtually unchanged from the previous month but increased by 4.9% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.7% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents slightly increased by 0.2% whereas those to non-residents dropped by 2.1%. The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP171.5 billion, up by 1.0% month-to-month or 7.3% when compared with a year ago. Residents accounted for 89.1% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 1.2% whereas those to non-residents fell by 0.4%. Delinquency ratios At the end of October 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.15%, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up 0.07 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs was 0.09%, down 0.02 percentage points from one month earlier but up by 0.08 percentage points from end-October 2015.
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The 2017 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (2017MIECF) will be held in Macao from 30 March to 1 April 2017 under the theme “Innovative Green Development for Sustainable Future”. Representatives of IPIM and the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), the Host Co-ordinators of the event, visited Portugal and Beijing in early December and organised a series of activities to promote MIECF to the Mainland and overseas environmental protection industries to further enhance the effectiveness of the event. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2017, MIECF has gradually become a highly effective international exhibition for the environmental protection industry. The event helps to promote Macao as a co-operation and networking platform for the PPRD, particularly between the EU, China and PSCs. Various networking activities were organised to strengthen the publicity of MIECF in Portugal. The activities were participated in by the Secretary for Economy and Finance Leong Vai Tac, as well as representatives from various trade, economic and environmental protection associations in Portugal such as Portugal Global - Trade & Investment Agency (AICEP), Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), European Recycling Platform (ERP), Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCILC), Portuguese Water Partnership (PPA) and the Portugal-China Association of Young Entrepreneurs (AJEPC). The activities received positive responses and the participants expressed interest in MIECF. During the visit in Portugal, a 2017 MIECF promotional seminar, co-organised by IPIM, DSPA, Macao Economic and Trade Office in Lisbon (DECM), AICEP and AJEPC, was held at DECM. IPIM’s Executive Director Irene V. K. Lau and DSPA’s Deputy Director Vong Man Hung gave a detailed presentation on the event to further promote MIECF to overseas environmental protection sectors as well as fostering networking and co-operation of the environmental protection industry between the PPRD and Europe. It also aimed to promote business matching between the PPRD and European enterprises, as well as assisting trade visitors/buyers participating in MIECF to promote their environmentally-friendly commodities and technology transfer, so as to enhance the effectiveness of the event. During the visit, IPIM also attended a contract signing ceremony of the co-operation project between CESL Asia of Macao and MAGPOWER of Portugal. The project is the outcome of the connection between the two enterprises established during 2010MIECF. The Portugal section of the project commenced this year and the next objective is the collaboration in tapping the Mainland market and investing in environmental technology transfer. IPIM also organised the MIECF roadshow activities in Matosinhos and visited various renowned environmental protection enterprises and invited them to participate in the event. The activities received a favourable response and a number of Portuguese environmental protection enterprises expressed interest in participating in the event, aiming to learn more about the latest information and development of the Mainland’s environmental protection industry so as to serve as a reference and guidelines for the direction of future development. After the publicity activities in Portugal, the IPIM and DSPA delegation travelled to Beijing and plan to visit the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Association of Environmental Protection Industry and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. The delegation will provide information on the preparation of 2017MIECF and exchange views and discuss supporting and organising delegations wishing to participate in the event in Macao.
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A report on testing the hygienic condition and sugar contents of beverages with short shelf life is published in Consumer Council’s latest issue no. 279 Consumer Report. The sixty tested beverage samples all pass the hygienic standard of IACM’s guideline, however, about sixty percent of them contain high amount of sugar. The Council suggests consumers to choose beverages marked less sweet, or those without sugar, to avoid over intake of sugar that may affect human’s health. Hygienic condition of sixty samples are good Pre-packed or freshly made beverages both contain short shelf life and do not require re-heating, Consumer Council and IACM tested the effects of this kind of beverages on consumers’ health. The sixty samples tested include herbal tea, fresh juice, and Taiwanese style drinks, etc., national standards were quoted in the test. All samples tested pass the hygienic standard of IACM’s guideline, salmonella and Staphylococcus Aureus are not found in any of them. High sugar contents in most samples Although sugar is a necessary kind of energy to human’s body, too much sugar costs diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the World Health Organization strongly suggests an intake of less than 50g of sugar, which equals to ten cubes of sugar, for adults with a 2000-calorie daily intake. In 2015, the WHO further suggested to reduce the intake of sugar to 25g if possible. The test result shows that over sixty percent of the beverage samples contain more than the two suggested amount of sugar, consumers will be taking more than the suggested amount when consuming one whole bottle or cup of this kind of drinks. Pay attention to too much intake of sugar The Council suggests consumers to consume less drinks with sugar, or choose those with less sugar or no sugar to avoid too much intake of sugar that may affect human’s health. Meanwhile, consumers are advised to purchase beverages with short shelf life from renowned businesses that pay attention to the hygienic condition of their food containers. The test results can be found in the latest issue of Consumer Report. Other contents include enhancing consumers’ safety knowledge The current issue of Consumer Report also includes a consumer alert of China Food and Drug Administration regarding the produce of fruit jam and beer, as well as an article introducing worldwide different safety standards of car seats. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 26, Edf. Clementina Ho), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries, and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo) and WeChat official account. For enquiry, please call 8988-9315.
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