News

In line with the spirits and concensus of the Memorandum of Understanding on financial cooperation between Shanghai and Macao, the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) and the Shanghai Financial Services Office (SFSO) jointly hosted a seminar in Lisbon, Portugal. In the seminar, both institutions presented the economic and financial situations of Macao and Shanghai respectively to the local financial institutions and business enterprises, highlighting the important functions of Macao as the “Commercial and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, as well as the development of Shanghai as an international financial centre, in order to promote and deepen the financial cooperation among Mainland China, Macao SAR and Portuguese-speaking countries. Attributed to the strong support of Caixa Geral de Depósitos in Portugal, this seminar was successfully organised, with almost one hundred participants from local financial institutions and business enterprises. In the seminar, the AMCM introduced the functions of Macao as the “Commercial and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” and the RMB clearing platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. The AMCM also encouraged the Portuguese enterprises to develop their businesses in the Mainland market through Macao and to utilise Macao’s financial services including its RMB clearing services. Meanwhile, the SFSO introduced the plan and development of Shanghai as an international financial centre, and gave a number of suggestions for promoting financial cooperation between Portugal, Shanghai and Macao. Taking the opportunity of organising this seminar activity in Lisbon, the AMCM and SFSO also visited Banco de Portugal to carry out in-depth discussion and exchange on financial cooperation. During the meeting, Banco de Portugal highly praised the platform role performed by Macao. Banco de Portugal expressed positively for the development of Chinese institutions’ participation in the Portuguese market, and would like to see a deeper and broader financial cooperation among Mainland China, Macao SAR and Portuguese-speaking countries. This activity, jointly organised by the AMCM and SFSO and took place in Portugal, has realised concretely the relevant contents of financial coorperation between Shanghai and Macao. In addition, this event has strengthened the understanding of financial institutions and business enterprises in Portugal with respect to the developments of the financial industry in Mainland China and Macao SAR, especially on the front of Macao as the “RMB Clearing Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries” and the evolution of Macao’s featured financial businesses. All these have further fostered the tripartite financial coorperation among Portugal, Shanghai and Macao and the development of Macao as the “Commercial and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, which would be conducive to generating business opportunities for Macao’s financial institutions, supporting the development of the sector, and facilitating the creation of more scope for development for Macao’s professionals and youth.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 27 September 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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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council on 27 September collects prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. Meanwhile, new data of fresh pork as well as the average selling price of fresh pork and vegetables collected during 21 September to 27 September are used for comparing the selling prices 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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In commemoration of the World Tourism Day on 27 September, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) organized a series of festive activities to celebrate this significant tourism occasion concurrently with people around the world. An array of activities were held by MGTO today in celebration of the World Tourism Day, including greeting Lucky Tourist, the traditional Tray Race and Dinner for World Tourism Day. MGTO officials were present at Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal this morning to give welcome souvenirs to the Lucky Tourist of the World Tourism Day. Other souvenirs were given out to visitors at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters throughout the day. The Lucky Tourist of this year is Ms. Chan, a Mainland visitor who came from Shenzhen to attend a mega corporate meeting in town and brought along her family from Sichuan for a four-day vacation in Macao. Ms. Chan expressed that she often travels to Macao and enjoys the city’s leisurely vibe, unique history and delicacies. Following that, the traditional Tray Race was held in the afternoon. Starting from the Ruins of St Paul's, contestants dressed in special outfits each carried their tray with a bottle of beer across the lanes in the Historic Centre of Macao and reached the finish line at Senado Square. The race was fun and exciting, drawing visitors to take pictures and cheer on the contestants along the way. The race created a lively and festive vibe in town. The race attracted around 190 participants representing some 20 hotels, restaurants and entities in Macao this year. The first prize in the men’s category went to Suwarna Tamang on behalf of Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, whereas Wu Shun Zhen from Future Bright Group won the first prize in the women’s category. The Best Costume Awards were handed to Tat Vinh Khai and Wu Tian Tian both representing Galaxy Macau. MGTO has invited some hundreds of guests including representatives of relevant entities, members of the tourism industry and the press to attend the Dinner for World Tourism Day. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes remarked that with this year’s theme of the World Tourism Day designated as “Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility”, the World Tourism Organization encourages destinations around the world to create a barrier-free tourism environment that is accessible for all and caters to all travelers with various needs, so that whether for people with special physical needs, family with children or senior travelers, they can enjoy comfortable and pleasant travel experiences with their needs accommodated as they embark upon a journey. By promoting universal accessibility, various destinations can enjoy greater economic benefits. With economic and social progress as well as market developments, she looks forward to seeing the local tourism industry grow toward maturity and a new professional level, and provide more convenient services of higher quality for visitors. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has designated 27 September as the "World Tourism Day" each year. Celebrations have been held annually since 1980. The purpose of the World Tourism Day is to promote awareness across the international community about the significance of tourism, especially regarding its social, cultural, political and economic value. Through the World Tourism Day, UNWTO aims to convey a key message every year. The theme of 2016 is “Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility”. Over 100 countries/regions were carrying out celebrations for the World Tourism Day around the world on the same day, and the official celebrations were held at Bangkok, Thailand this year. For details, please visit: http://wtd.unwto.org/en. This press release is available at: http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/index.php
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In order to allow the public to have better understanding of the St. Joseph’s Seminary and the history of development of the Catholicism in Macao, as well as to enjoy the Seminary’s valuable collections, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has worked with the St. Joseph’s Seminary and the Diocese de Macau to establish the “Treasure of Sacred Art of St. Joseph’s Seminary” at the St. Joseph’s Seminary located at Rua do Seminário, which will be officially inaugurated on 8 October. Aiming to deepen the public’s understanding of the history of Catholicism in Macao, IC will organize two lectures at the auditorium of the Seminary in the morning of the inauguration day, all interested parties are welcome to register for participation. Both lectures will be held at St. Joseph’s Seminary’s Auditorium. The first lecture, titled “The First University of the Far East in Macau : The Commitment of the Jesuits to Higher Education in Asia”, will be held from 10am to 11am and will be conducted in English by the Macau Ricci Institute Director, Stephan Rothlin, S.J. Stephan Rothlin, S.J was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1959, and obtained a PhD in Ethics in 1991. From 1992 to 2005 he was a professor or director in several universities and higher education institutions. Between 2005 and 2013, he was the Secretary General of the Centre for International Business Ethics in Beijing and Chairman of the Association of International Business Ethics in Hong Kong. The lecture will introduce the main elements of Macao’s higher education offered by the Jesuits and it will explore the policies of higher education pursued by the Jesuits in terms of the development characteristics of China. The second lecture, titled “Contributions of St. Joseph’s Seminary on Music in the 20th Century”, will be held from 11:30am and 12:30pm, and will be conducted in Cantonese by Dai Dingcheng, Professor of the School of Arts of the Macao Polytechnic Institute. Dai Dingcheng was a professor and director of several universities in China and had English and Chinese publications of monographs and articles on music. In 2013, he was awarded the “Medal of Merit – Culture” by the MSAR Government for his contribution in local music culture. The lecture will focus on the formation of a rare but prosperous condition of Macao’s catholic music in the Chinese region during the 20th century under the unique foundation and traditional background of rich history in Catholic music. The original works of the Seminary’s composers at the time, such as F. Maberini, Guiherme Schmid S.D.B. and Áureo Castro, among others, become the important cultural heritage of the Seminary today. The Seminary’s early professional composers and professors, such as Doming Lam and Lau Chi Meng, have also composed numerous liturgical choral works, taking Macao’s liturgical catholic music to a high state in the history. No interpreting service is provided in both lectures. Admission is free. Seats are limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. For reservations and enquiries, please contact Mr. Wu or Ms. Leong, through the tel. no. 8394 1206 or 8394 1218, during office hours.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for June-August 2016 held stable as in the previous period (May-July 2016), at 1.9%; the underemployment rate was 0.4%, down by 0.1 percentage point. Total labour force was 400,000 and the labour force participation rate stood at 72.7%. Total employment increased by 600 from May-July, at 392,600. Analysed by industry, employment in Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities registered increase, while that in Construction saw decrease. Number of the unemployed was 7,400, similar to that in May-July. With fresh graduates joining the labour market, the proportion of fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job increased by 5.0 percentage points to 20.5% of the total unemployed. In comparison with June-August 2015, the labour force participation rate dropped by 0.6 percentage points, while both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate remained unchanged.
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To celebrate the 67th Anniversary of the Establishment of the People’s Republic of China, 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 1st October 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Celebration of the 67th Anniversary of the Establishment of the People’s Republic of China”. A commemorative envelope priced at MOP3.00 will be issued. Welcome to visit us and collect Macao Stamps!
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Spanning a whole week from 1st to 7th October, the 1st October Golden Week will begin on 1st October officially. Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has adopted a range of measures to actively prepare for the peak period as follows: sending out reminders and mobile text messages to industry partners and visitors respectively, sharing interdepartmental information, more scrupulous inspections, food guide publication, stationing manpower at various tourist spots to provide tourism information and guidance, etc. Through a series of measures, MGTO is dedicated not only to catering for the needs of residents and visitors but also to optimizing tourism service quality and tourism environment in Macao. Regular communication and information sharing By sending out letters, MGTO suggests local travel agency associations should advise tour operators to adjust their schedules of tour group visits to major attractions. On the other hand, through mobile text messages, MGTO advises visitors to visit popular sightseeing districts during off-peak hours. Such tactics are adopted to divert visitors from overcrowding areas and to keep traffic situations and neighborhoods near tourist sites least affected, so as to maintain a positive destination image of Macao. During the period from 1st to 9th October, personnel will be stationed at ten different tourist locations to provide tourism information and guidance for visitors and assist in crowd management. MGTO also regularly communicates and exchanges information with other government entities including Consumer Council, Public Security Police Force, Macau Customs Service, Marine and Water Bureau as well as Transport Bureau. From the “Real-Time Information Platform of Border Ports” operated by Public Security Police Force, visitors can check the real-time border-crossing images at the arrival & departure halls and traffic lanes of Border Gate, Outer Harbour and Cotai Frontier Post by visiting the platform webpage: http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/pspmonitor on phone or computer. Visitors can hence choose a suitable timing to leave or arrive in Macao more flexibly. MGTO’s website has offered a direct link to Public Security Police Force’s webpage “Real-Time Information Platform of Border Ports”. Reminder to trade and more scrupulous inspections In order to safeguard visitor rights and tourism quality, MGTO already sent out letters to tourism and related businesses to raise their awareness about hygiene, fire safety, guest capacity, opening hours, occupational guideline of hosting tour groups, requirement for hotels and catering establishments to declare their price lists as well as for hotels to keep a record of hotel guest information upon check-in, hotel swimming-pool management guideline and so forth. MGTO will carry out more scrupulous inspections at various tourist attractions, ports and districts in Macao while joining hands with police authorities to keep combating illegal accommodation. MGTO inspectors will stand by round the clock. The Office will also increase the manpower at Tourist Information counters, whereas MGTO’s Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000 will maintain its 24-hour operator service as usual. Visitors may also obtain tourism and related information from MGTO’s official website. Posting visitor arrival numbers online Because of the upcoming 1st October Golden Week, MGTO will post every previous day’s visitor arrival numbers online for the public’s information during the period between 2nd and 8th October. On top of that, MGTO regularly publishes the room rates of different room categories reported by hotels and guest houses in Macao on its website. In addition, via its WeChat ID, the Office will advise visitors to make room reservation and prepare their itinerary ahead of their trip to Macao. Event and festival Highlights on App During the National Day holidays, there will be a range of festivals, events, performances, exhibitions and activities in Macao, including the finale fireworks evening themed as “Celebration in the Sky” in the 28th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, featuring the fireworks presented by the team from Romania and China on the National Day. Residents and visitors can download several mobile apps including "What's On, Macao", "Experience Macao" and "Step Out, Macao" Mobile App from App Store or Google Play for free, and easily obtain information about the latest tourist attractions, events and festivals, performances, exhibitions and activities in Macao. Smartphone users can download the Apps in advance and check out Macao's splendid events and tourism information offline. The content of the Apps is available in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese. “Step Out” Mobile App also offers its content in Portuguese. Macao Food Guide Visitors can find the restaurants and eateries accredited by the Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme (QTSAS) listed in the “Star Merchant Award" – Restaurants and Eateries Guide. MGTO has also published the “Macao Food Guide for 1st October Holiday” (Chinese version only) together with General Union of the Macau Neighborhood Association, the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macau, the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District, Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District as well as the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macau. Offering a contact list of restaurants and eateries which will be open during the 1st October Golden Week, the handy food guide will familiarize locals and visitors with the restaurants’ operation information. “Step Out, Experience Macao’s Communities” To enrich the festive experience, MGTO will again arrange a variety of artistic performances with the hue of Chinese and Portuguese traditions at different tourist attractions in Macao and spots along the “Step Out, Experience Macao’s Communities” walking tour routes on weekends. Visitors can enjoy these performances for free. Personnel will be stationed at different tourist locations to provide visitors with tourism information. They will also distribute the brochure "Step Out, Experience Macao's Communities Walking Tour Routes", encouraging locals and visitors to explore the routes. The “Star Merchant Award" – Restaurants and Eateries Guide and the “Step Out, Experience Macao's Communities Walking Tour Routes” Brochure can be downloaded from MGTO's website: http://www.macaotourism.gov.mo or acquired at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters. The “Macao Food Guide for 1st October Holiday” is available in both hard and soft copies by distribution and for downloading during the 1st October Golden Week, or can be viewed on MGTO’s WeChat ID.
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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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