News

Organized by the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the opening ceremony of the contemporary art exhibition “Ad Lib – Recent Works of Konstantin Bessmertny” will be held on Friday, 11 November, at 6:30pm, at the Gallery of Special Exhibitions of MAM, on the 2nd floor. On the inauguration day, the exhibition will open until 8pm. After the opening ceremony, one hundred posters with the artist’s signature will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. Everyone are welcome to attend. Russian artist Konstantin Bessmertny has been residing in Macao since 1993, where he has been devoting himself to artistic creation. Through his observation and experience of Macao’s dramatic changes, he expresses in his work his intimate care for his favourite Asian city from the perspective both of a foreigner and an insider. Bessmertny studied in several renowned art academies in the former USSR for seven years, gaining a profound attainment in what concerns technique. By employing absurdity and humour, he creates works that express ideas from philosophy, politics, theology, art history, cinema and music, leading the viewers to reflect on various social issues from multiple angles. Konstantin Bessmertny is acclaimed as one of the top-class contemporary artists in Asia. This exhibition features a total of thirty-four recent works of painting, sculpture, installations and mixed media by Konstantin Bessmertny, offering viewers a bustling and humorous visual feast. The exhibition “Ad Lib – Recent Works of Konstantin Bessmertny” is held until 28 May 2017. For details, please visit the webpages www.icm.gov.mo or www.MAM.gov.mo. For enquiries, please call MAM through 8791 9814 during office hours. The Macao Museum of Art is located at Avenida Xian Xing Hai, and is open daily from 10am to 7pm (no admission after 6:30pm; closed on Mondays). The admission fee is MOP5.00, and admission is free on Sundays and public holidays.
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The proceedings of the Second Review of the 2016 Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will be held on Sunday, 13 November 2016, at the Dom Pedro V Theatre Mirror Hall. A total of 24 applications were received, from which 15 fashion design works were selected for the Second Review, following the First Review. The Second Review, a closed-door session, will be held at the Dom Pedro V Theatre Mirror Hall, which will therefore be closed from 9am to 6pm on the same day while the other facilities of the Theatre will remain open to the public. For enquiries, please contact Ms. Lam, staff member of IC through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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Due to overwhelming ticket demand, the Macao Cultural Centre, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be presenting two additional shows of Three Colours by the Norwich Puppet Theatre. The extra performances will be staged on December 30, 2016 and January 1, 2017 Using the colours red, blue and green as a theme, the performance merges projections, body movement and music, taking kids two years old and above to discover the beauty of nature’s landscapes. Besides guiding the young audience to establish a link between objects and colours, the performance also enables children to feel the emotions projected by a diverse pallet and imaginative stories. Besides the performances, the company will host two workshops where children may interact with puppet props and projections used on the show, experiencing nature’s landscapes. The Norwich Puppet Theatre was founded in England where it has been producing original shows, workshops and various theatrical projects for over 35 years. Besides its extensive touring in the UK, the troupe has been invited to perform in festivals around the world, having staged popular tales such as Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and Thumbelina. Three Colours additional shows will be presented by CCM on December 30, 2016 (Fri) and January 1, 2017 (Sunday) at the Small Auditorium. Tickets are already on sale at MOP 180 with various discounts at CCM’s box office and Macao Ticketing outlets. For further enquiries please visit www.ccm.gov.mo or call (853) 2870 0699. Credit card ticketing hotline (853) 2840 0555.
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Consumer Council conducted its first ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 7 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta, Mong Há and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in N. Sra. de Fátima 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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The Macao Orchestra (OM, from the Portuguese acronym), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, organised the chamber music concert “The Dual Faces of Russia”, demonstrating the flamboyant notes and heroic passion of Russian culture. Violinist Vit Polasek and Kai Sai, the Principal Oboe of the Macao Orchestra shared their views with participants before the performance, attracting numerous music fans. The Orchestra also presents the concert “Henning Plays Mozart” on Saturday, 12 November, at 8pm, at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium, part of the “Shining Virtuosos” Series, joining hands with Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud and offering music fans an opportunity not to be missed. Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud and OM will present two of Mozart’s violin works. Henning Kraggerud is one of the most distinguished musicians of northern Europe, recognised as a star in the music world for his passion for music, virtuosity and the beauty of his performances. His interpretation of Mozart’s works have been highly acclaimed by the critics. Tickets for “Henning Plays Mozart” are priced at MOP250, MOP200 and MOP150, and various discount packages are available. Ticketing Hotline: 2855 5555. For details about the programmes of the 2016-2017 Macao Orchestra Concert Season, please visit OM’s website: www.icm.gov.mo/om.
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The Macao Orchestra (OM, from the Portuguese acronym), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, organised the chamber music concert “The Dual Faces of Russia”, demonstrating the flamboyant notes and heroic passion of Russian culture. Violinist Vit Polasek and Kai Sai, the Principal Oboe of the Macao Orchestra shared their views with participants before the performance, attracting numerous music fans.
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The Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition is one of four headline races on the seven-race programme for the November 17-20 event. The Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee (MGPOC) today confirmed three-time champion Sadeo Asami will join former winners Mick Grant, Phillip McCallen and Steve Plater for the Golden Jubilee celebrations marking the 50th edition of the legendary race. The four returning champions each represent a decade in the extraordinary history of what has become one of the most respected motorcycle road races in the world: Sadeo Asami took three wins in 1978, ’79 and ’80; Mick Grant straddled the decades, with Guia Circuit success in 1977 and ’84; Isle of Man legend Phillip McCallen won in 1996; while Steve Plater took two Macao victories in 2006 and ’07. In addition to the returning champions, five former winners will compete against a strong international field for what will be a milestone victory: John McGuinness, Stuart Easton, Ian Hutchinson, defending champion Peter Hickman, and the undisputed Two Wheel King of Macao, eight-time winner Michael Rutter. They bring the total number of two-wheel heroes who have been victorious on the Guia Circuit who will compete in or attend the Golden Jubilee celebrations to nine. A number of activities have been planned to mark the Golden Jubilee, including a display of competing and classic motorcycles at Tap Seac Square the weekend prior to the Grand Prix, and a classic bike parade on the Guia Circuit on Saturday, November 19th. In addition, Macao Post is marking the occasion with a set of commemorative postage stamps for the 50th edition of the event.
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The Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition is one of four headline races on the seven-race programme for the November 17-20 event. The Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee (MGPOC) today confirmed three-time champion Sadeo Asami will join former winners Mick Grant, Phillip McCallen and Steve Plater for the Golden Jubilee celebrations marking the 50th edition of the legendary race.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that Receipts of Wholesale & Retail Trade amounted to MOP 108.72 billion in 2015, down by 5.6% year-on-year, while Expenditure decreased by 5.1% to MOP 99.19 billion, which led to a drop of 22.3% in Gross Surplus (MOP 10.83 billion) under the impact of local economic adjustment. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy dropped by 10.7% to MOP 19.29 billion and Gross Fixed Capital Formation soared by 125.1% to MOP 3.02 billion owing to the acquisition of real estate. Analysed by industry, there were 985 establishments operating in Sales of Motor Vehicles & Automotive Fuel, an increase of 16 year-on-year. Receipts decreased by 10.5% to MOP 6.73 billion, of which those from Sales of Motor Vehicles (MOP 4.02 billion) dropped by 13.9% in 2015 on account of a slowdown in domestic demand, while receipts from Retail Sale of Automotive Fuel (MOP 1.32 billion) fell by 12.1% as a result of the decline in fuel prices. Expenditure decreased by 21.8% to MOP 5.86 billion; however, supported by a growth of 88.3% in Gross Surplus of Maintenance and Repair of Vehicles (MOP 92 million), Gross Surplus of the industry rose by 5.5% to MOP 534 million. Gross Value Added grew by 4.7% year-on-year to MOP 1.04 billion. There were 4,910 Wholesale establishments, down by 55 year-on-year. Receipts decreased by 7.5% to MOP 34.34 billion, of which those from Wholesale of Food increased by 10.0% to MOP 12.57 billion, while receipts from Wholesale of Fuels (MOP 4.15 billion) as well as Wholesale of Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (MOP 5.32 billion) dropped by 36.5% and 17.1% respectively. Expenditure totalled MOP 31.96 billion, down by 7.7%. Gross Surplus edged down by 0.4% to MOP 2.94 billion, while Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 5.39 billion, up by 3.3% year-on-year. There were 6,484 Retail establishments, down by 13 year-on-year. Receipts recorded a decrease of 4.4% year-on-year, at MOP 65.90 billion, yet receipts from Retail Sales of Adults’ Clothing (MOP 8.55 billion), Household Appliances (MOP 5.55 billion) and Goods in Supermarkets (MOP 4.96 billion) rose by 19.7%, 63.4% and 4.0% respectively. As visitor spending declined, receipts from Sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Goods (MOP 14.64 billion), Department Stores (MOP 9.46 billion) and Leather Articles (MOP 6.10 billion) dropped by 20.8%, 17.3% and 27.6% respectively. Expenditure decreased by 1.8% year-on-year to MOP 59.90 billion, of which Purchase of Goods and Commission Paid fell by 5.8% to MOP 43.13 billion (72.0% of total) with Operating Expenses and Compensation of Employees increasing by 8.9% and 12.3% respectively. Gross Surplus declined by 30.8% year-on-year to MOP 7.07 billion. Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 12.50 billion, down by 16.9%, while Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the industry surged by 198.5% to MOP 3.23 billion upon the acquisitions of real estate by some establishments. Market stalls and fixed stalls on the street totalled at 1,616. Receipts and Expenditure of these stalls amounted to MOP 1.75 billion and MOP 1.46 billion respectively, up by 7.1% and 7.5% year-on-year. Gross Surplus increased by 5.2% to MOP 291 million and Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 359 million, up by 7.5%. In 2015, a total of 13,995 Wholesale & Retail establishments, market stalls and fixed stalls on the street were operating, down by 86 year-on-year. Total number of persons engaged was 63,472, up by 2.3%, with employees (51,902) accounting for 81.8% of the total.
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The SAR Government acknowledges that the Central Government has formulated a series of policies regarding how to further Macao’s contributions to the “Belt and Road” initiative. The policies aim to build on Macao’s unique role in relation to China’s Maritime Silk Road, and on the city’s close links with Portuguese-speaking countries. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, acknowledged the Central Government’s fresh support for Macao during his meetings with committees and ministries of the Central Government during his Beijing visit last week. The Central Government envisions Macao playing a greater role in: expanding regional ties in relation to financial services; exporting services in high-end industries; promoting exchanges on trade in services via regional connectivity; encouraging more frequent cultural exchanges; and boosting mutual efforts in relation to regional cooperation. The Central Government pays great attention regarding how to advance Macao’s efforts in the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as “Belt and Road” initiative), and has outlined a series of detailed measures that support the city’s progress in its efforts to achieve adequate economic diversification. The SAR Government will make full use of the development opportunities arising from the Central Government’s policy support. While in Beijing, the Chief Executive exchanged views with officials on: the management of maritime traffic in Macao; the protection of marine ecology in the SAR; the development of the maritime economy; the management of Macao’s waters; and law enforcement in relation to those matters. The Government also presented to the Central Government a proposal – covering the period 2016 to 2036 – for mid- and long-term development regarding the utilisation of Macao’s waters. Officials of the committees and ministries of the Central Government visited by Mr Chui shared their respective suggestions regarding the plan. They also shared experience and advice in stipulating a maritime policy framework; and made suggestions for how to implement such work. Mr Chui’s three-day visit to Beijing took place from Wednesday to Friday last week. He had meetings with officials of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Water Resources, the General Administration of Customs and the State Oceanic Administration.
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