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Three students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau (UM), recently won the second prize at the Tenth National Structure Design Contest for College Students held in Tianjin. The three students are Fan Yawang, Chan Sio Man, and Sio Wai Lam. They competed with more than 125 teams from 124 universities in China, including Tsinghua University, Tongji University, the Harbin Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, and Tianjin University, which are all very strong in the field of civil engineering and have all passed the Ministry of Education’s recent evaluation of civil engineering programmes. The theme of this year’s competition is ‘Long-span Roof Structure’. Each team was required to design and fabricate a long-span bamboo roof structure with a plan area of 900 x 600 mm2 and a height of 425 mm. The model submitted by the UM is a combination of arches and columns. The model weighed 93 grams and demonstrated a load-bearing capacity of 41 kilograms. Fan says that the competition allowed him to put knowledge into practice, broadened his horizons, and improved his civil engineering skills. The supervisors of the UM team are FST Associate Professor Er Guokang and Assistant Professor Lam Chi Chiu. Tou Ka Man, a technician from the Structures Laboratory of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, provided assistance with the team’s model testing at UM. Co-organised by the professional advisory committee for civil engineering programmes at higher education institutions and the educational affairs committee of China Civil Engineering Society, the annual competition is one of the nine highest-ranked inter-varsity competitions in science and engineering in China. It is also the most important competition in the field of civil engineering. The event aims to provide a platform for civil engineering students to exchange ideas, build friendships, improve civil engineering skills, apply their creativity, and learn how to work with others. It also hopes to strengthen ties among civil engineering departments at various universities.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in October on 25 October for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets at Lam Mau, Patane and San Kio 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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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will deliver the Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2017 on 15 November at the Legislative Assembly. The session will be held at 3pm. It will be followed by a press conference at the Government Headquarters at 5pm, when Mr Chui will answer questions from the press. The following day (16 November), from 3pm to 6pm, Mr Chui will attend the plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly to explain his policy programme to legislators and to answer their questions. The public can see and hear the policy address and press conference, and the following day’s question and answer session with legislators as they happen. The television channels and radio service of Macao’s public broadcaster Teledifusão de Macau (TDM) will broadcast both events live. The live broadcasts can also be viewed online via the following routes: the Government Portal website of the Macao SAR (http://www.gov.mo); the website of the Office of the Chief Executive (http://www.gce.gov.mo); the website of the Legislative Assembly (http://www.al.gov.mo); the website of the Government Information Bureau (http://www.gcs.gov.mo); and the official channel for Macao Government news on YouTube (www.youtube.com/macaogcs). Chinese and Portuguese versions of the 2017 Policy Address document will be available for download on these websites. Users of portable devices may watch the live sessions via GCE Macao, a mobile application issued by the Chief Executive’s Office, or through MSAR News, the mobile app of the Government Information Office. In preparation for the Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2017, the Chief Executive has met with representatives of associations and people from all walks of life in Macao in order to hear their views on key topics.
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Hosted by the Council of the Conference on Cooperative Development and Sharing of Chinese Resources (CCDSCR), organized by the Department of Public Library Management of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government and co-organized by the Macau Library and Information Management Association, the “11th Conference on Cooperative Development and Sharing of Chinese Resources” was officially opened on Tuesday, 25 October, at 10am, at The Grand Ballroom of MGM Macau. The President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng and the Deputy Director of the National Library of China, Sun Yigang addressed that the CCDSCR was an international cooperation conference aiming at connecting all libraries or information institutions worldwide that hold Chinese documents and at improving the cooperation between them. The opening ceremony was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; the Deputy Director of the National Library of China, Sun Yigang; the President of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Foundation, Wu Zhiliang; the Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Kuok Sio Lai; the Vice-President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Chan Peng Fai; the Member of Cultural Consultative Committee, Sio Pei Tak; the Deputy Director General of the Centre for Chinese Studies in Taiwan, Wu Ying-mei; the Director of the International Cooperation Division of the National Library of China, Zhang Xu; and the Chief Librarian of the Hong Kong Central Library, Chang Hok-yan, among others. The Conference is held from 25 to 26 October in two consecutive days at the Grand Ballroom of MGM Macau. Themed “Post-digital Era – the Cooperation, Utilization and Promotion of Chinese Resources”, the Conference invites domestic and overseas representatives from library sector to explore and share the relevant experience, including resources sharing and cooperation, resources use, promotion and technology, among others, in order to deepen mutual understanding and the development of the organization and use of resources. For details of the Conference, please visit www.library.gov.mo/en/ccdscr2016. For enquiries, please call through tel. no. 2837 7117 or 2893 0077, during office hours.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council collects prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference on 25 October. The mentioned data collected during 19 October to 25 October are used for comparing the average selling price of the same products from Zhuhai and 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 Zhuhai, HK, and Macao. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in October on 24 October 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that receipts and expenditure of the Transport, Storage & Communications Sector totalled MOP 28.69 billion and MOP 23.11 billion respectively in 2015, up by 3.1% and 1.5% year-on-year. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy amounted to MOP 9.84 billion, up by 10.3% year-on-year. Gross Surplus increased by 10.5% to MOP 5.70 billion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation surged by 101.6% to MOP 2.85 billion. A total of 2,789 establishments were operating in the sector, an increase of 272 year-on-year; number of persons engaged rose by 2.0% to 19,404, of which 81.4% were employees. Receipts of the Transport & Storage Sector totalled MOP 18.94 billion, down by 2.6% year-on-year. Owing to a decline in travel agency business, receipts of Supporting & Auxiliary Transport Activities (MOP 9.87 billion) dropped by 3.8%. Moreover, receipts of Air Transport (MOP 4.02 billion) fell by 11.9% due to various factors such as reduction in fuel surcharges and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in South Korea. Expenditure of the Transport & Storage Sector decreased by 4.7% year-on-year to MOP 16.06 billion; Operating Expenses (MOP 7.83 billion) shrank by 3.7%, dragged down by a 23.6% drop in fuel expenses (MOP 1.87 billion) on account of lower oil prices; meanwhile, expenditure on rent of machinery & equipment (MOP 1.21 billion) rose by 15.6%. As the decline in receipts was lower than that in expenditure, Gross Value Added (MOP 6.17 billion) and Gross Surplus (MOP 2.89 billion) of the sector grew by 10.2% and 12.0% respectively year-on-year. Gross Fixed Capital Formation increased by 52.9% to MOP 1.53 billion owing to an increase in acquisition of aircrafts by Air Transport establishments. There were 2,758 establishments operating in the Transport & Storage Sector, an increase of 274 year-on-year; number of establishments in Land Transport went up by 202 to 2,148. Number of persons engaged grew by 1.1% year-on-year to 16,915, with those working in Supporting & Auxiliary Transport Activities rising by 4.5% to 7,720. Meanwhile, number of persons engaged in Land Transport dropped by 2.7% to 5,914, of which self-employed taxi and truck drivers (3,058) accounted for 51.7%. Receipts of the Communications Sector grew by 16.2% year-on-year to MOP 9.75 billion, of which receipts of Telecommunications Services (MOP 9.00 billion) rose by 13.7%. Expenditure of the sector increased by 19.3% to MOP 7.05 billion, with Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid growing by 23.3% to MOP 5.38 billion. Gross Value Added of the sector totalled MOP 3.68 billion, up by 10.5% year-on-year. Gross Surplus increased by 9.0% to MOP 2.81 billion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation surged by 219.7% to MOP 1.32 billion owing to an increase in acquisition of telecommunications equipment and real estate. There were 31 establishments operating in the Communications Sector, down by 2 year-on-year; number of persons engaged increased by 7.9% to 2,489.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals totalled 2,427,086 in September 2016, up slightly by 0.5% year-on-year. Overnight visitors rose by 11.8% year-on-year to 1,311,533, accounting for 54.0% of the total; same-day visitors dropped by 10.2% to 1,115,553. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.3 days; the average stay of overnight visitors and same-day visitors was 2.2 days and 0.2 day respectively. Visitors from Mainland China rose modestly by 0.3% year-on-year to 1,577,481 in September, of which those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme increased by 4.7% to 688,600. Mainland visitors came mainly from Guangdong Province (668,142), Hunan Province (71,912) and Fujian Province (63,347). Visitors from the Republic of Korea (55,075) and Taiwan (91,536) increased by 52.0% and 8.4% respectively, while those from Hong Kong (526,671) decreased by 3.2%. Long-haul visitors from the United States (14,816) and Canada (5,268) increased year-on-year, while those from Australia (7,968) and the United Kingdom (4,785) decreased. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by land increased by 1.8% year-on-year to 1,379,116, attributable to a 22.9% growth in visitors arriving through the Checkpoint of Cotai (170,979); meanwhile, visitors entering through the Border Gate (1,206,649) dropped slightly by 0.6%. Visitor arrivals by sea decreased by 4.6% year-on-year to 861,422; those disembarking at the Outer Harbour (505,700) dropped by 6.7% while those at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa (355,722) rose by 4.5%. Visitor arrivals by air increased by 18.3% year-on-year to 186,548, with 185,675 arriving at the airport. In the first three quarters of 2016, visitor arrivals totalled 22,868,794, up slightly by 0.1% year-on-year; overnight visitors rose by 8.5% to 11,407,491 while same-day visitors dropped by 7.2% to 11,461,303. 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 remained stable at 0.2 day. Visitors from Mainland China (15,137,496) and Hong Kong (4,795,478) decreased by 0.5% and 2.6% respectively year-on-year, while those from the Republic of Korea (477,454) and Taiwan (809,278) increased by 16.3% and 10.1%. Moreover, long-haul visitors from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom registered year-on-year growth.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals totalled 2,427,086 in September 2016, up slightly by 0.5% year-on-year. Overnight visitors rose by 11.8% year-on-year to 1,311,533, accounting for 54.0% of the total; same-day visitors dropped by 10.2% to 1,115,553. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.3 days; the average stay of overnight visitors and same-day visitors was 2.2 days and 0.2 day respectively.
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The 21st Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) concluded after being great success today (22nd October). Despite being closed yesterday (21st October) due to Typhoon Haima, this year’s MIF achieved remarkable outcomes. Over 380 business negotiation sessions were held in the Business Matching Area, of which 110 were made through the Online Business Matching Service Platform, resulting in contract signing of more than 50 projects. Occupying an area of over 30,000 square metres with more than 1,600 exhibition booths, this year’s MIF attracted the participation of delegations from over 50 countries and regions. Portugal and Beijing, the very first MIF “Partner Country” and “Partner City”, both sent high-level delegations to Macao for the occasion. A “Portuguese-speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition” was held concurrently to strengthen Macao’s role as “Business and Trade Co-operation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries”, enhance its global influence and promote diversification of economic development. MIF connects global companies with business opportunities Zhang Xiao Ying, Director Assistant of General Manager of Guangdong Hengjian Asset Management Co. Ltd., said that, as a first-time exhibitor, the company hoped to promote co-operation between Guangdong and Macao for mutual benefits, as well as create opportunities for collaboration and development. A successful outcome was achieved through taking part in the exhibition. As the company is going global, Macao acts as its first promotion stop. As a major business and trade event in Macao with international exhibitors, MIF provided the company with desirable advertising. Hunan Jiade Group Co. Ltd.’s scope of business includes imports and exports, hotel, logistics, e-commerce and import commodities exhibition. CEO of the company Mr. Steven Lee was very satisfied with their first-time participation in MIF. Consensus on business partnerships were reached with companies from Brazil, Macao and Portugal over the last two days. Co-operation agreements were also signed. Mr. Leonardo Arend, General Manager (Shenzhen) of CHINAINVEST & ASIAINVEST from Brazil, stated that the company has been participating in the MIF for three consecutive years. Based in Shenzhen, the company places great importance on Macao and Hong Kong markets. This year, they showcased products such as honey, drinking water and wine, hoping to raise brand awareness, expand their customer base and develop Macao’s market. Local company Interlink International Trading Limited participated in MIF for the first time this year. Ms. Stephanie Guan, General Manager of the company, hoped to expand their market in Portuguese-speaking countries through the MIF platform. Business negotiations were made with a number of companies during the exhibition, which will be of great help to the company in terms of market adjustment and product design. Mr. Karlo G. Tomazelli, person-in-charge of LUGANO, one of the exhibitors of in the “Portuguese-speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition”, said that this was their first time they had exhibited in MIF. They have mainly brought along chocolate products to test the market. He was pleasantly surprised by the outcome as visitors have shown interest in the products. He wished to participate in MIF again in the future. SME Exhibition enthusiastically received The last day of MIF, which happened to be a Saturday, attracted many families. The SME Exhibition which gathered gourmet treats and products from all over the world was enthusiastically received by visitors. Chun Jheng Enterprise Co. Ltd. from Taiwan has participated in MIF several times. Its responsible person Mr. Li pointed out that exhibitor incentives were what attracted the company’s continuous participation. Products that they have brought along this time were all sold out. Macao resident Mr. Wong came with his family to do some shopping on their day off. He found the exhibition a convenient choice for that as it offered a wide selection of products from all over the world. The 22nd Macao International Trade and Investment Fair will be held on 19-21 October 2017.
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