News

Following the approval by the Legislative Assembly of the 2014 government budget balance, MOP90.29 billion was transferred to Macao SAR’s Fiscal Reserve during February 2016 in accordance with the prescribed law. At the end of March 2016, the total amount of the SAR’s Fiscal Reserve recorded a quarterly increase of 26% to MOP436.01 billion (preliminary figure), which comprised MOP132.82 billion as the Basic Reserve and MOP303.19 billion as the Excess Reserve. As of the end of March 2016, the investment portfolio of the Fiscal Reserve was composed of global exposures to fixed-income, equity and money markets, while currency allocation mainly covered the USD, HKD and CNH/CNY. For the first quarter of 2016, the investment return of the Fiscal Reserve was MOP0.62 billion, representing an annualised rate of return of 0.6%. The quarterly performances of the investments in individual financial markets are summarised as follows: 1. The fixed-income market, with proven credit quality of assets in the corresponding portfolio and support for bond prices by lower expectation for US rate hike and sufficient supply of global liquidity, recorded an income of about MOP0.60 billion in the first quarter. Fixed-income investments continued to be one of the main sources of income for the Fiscal Reserve. 2. Money market placements, in line with the transfer of 2014 government budget surplus to the Fiscal Reserve by law within the period, were deployed into proper tenors in a timely manner. The quarterly interest income was about MOP0.58 billion. 3. Equity markets experienced large volatility in the first quarter with a plunge followed by a significant rebound. Along with a stabilising global market, equity investments in the Fiscal Reserve have recovered a majority of the loss in the earlier period of the quarter. At the end of March, the quarterly loss of the equity portfolio narrowed to MOP1.22 billion approximately. 4. Amongst the currency composition of the Fiscal Reserve, the USD weakened on expectations of the rate hike deferral by the US Federal Reserve. The CNY/CNH slightly strengthened due to positive effects of economic stabilisation measures implemented by the central government. The overall revaluation gain from currency exposures amounted to about MOP0.66 billion for the first quarter of 2016. For the first quarter of 2016, the currency exposure, fixed-income investment and interest income offered reasonable returns to the Fiscal Reserve, whereas the equity investment reported a loss in revaluation due to the recent downturn of global equity markets. As a result, the Fiscal Reserve ended the first quarter of 2016 with a total investment return of MOP0.62 billion approximately, representing an annualised rate of return of around 0.6% for the period. The AMCM will continue to strictly comply with the investment philosophy that emphasises safety, efficiency and prudence, according to the statutory requirements and policy functions of the Fiscal Reserve, with an objective to optimise the overall investment management of the Fiscal Reserve. *Annex Table
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A student team from the University of Macau (UM) received a second prize ‘Honorable Mention’ at the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) held in the United States, for their water supply and demand model that predicts the severity of water scarcity over the next 15 years. This is the second consecutive year that UM has received a prize at this contest. The ICM is an international contest in the field of mathematical modelling. It is also one of the largest mathematical modelling contests in the world. This year's contest attracted more than 7,421 teams from thirteen countries, and only approximately 20 per cent of them received first or second prizes. This year's contest offered six problems, Problem A to Problem F, for contesting teams to choose from. The UM team chose Problem E, which is about water scarcity. Using the method of least squares, the team calculated the GDP per capita of regions plagued by water scarcity, identified the relationship between population density and precipitation, and built a water supply and demand model. By using time series analysis and the grey prediction model, they predicted the severity of water scarcity in Texas over the next 15 years and proposed solutions to address the problem. The team also used a water resources per capita model to predict how long the problem of water scarcity would persist in the absence of government intervention. The UM team was comprised of three students, namely Huang Zewei and Li Xuqi from the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology; and Zhang Ruopiao from the Department of Accounting and Information Management, Faculty of Business Administration. The team was led by Dr Liu Zhi from the Department of Mathematics. In addition to this year’s ICM, Department of Mathematics students earlier also won prizes at the Mathematical Contest in Modeling held in the United States, and the Mathematical Modeling held in China.
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Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) engages in the Arabian Travel Market 2016 currently held in Dubai from 25 – 28 April to uncover the potential of the Middle East as a rising tourism market for Macao. The Office is also leveraging various platforms on the Internet to promote the destination and further expand international visitor markets. MGTO Deputy Director Cecilia Tse, Head of Destination Marketing Department, Betty Fok and the team are joining delegates of Macao travel trade to participate in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2016 in Dubai. MGTO runs a 40 square meter booth in the exhibition to introduce Macao’s diverse tourism resources, products, facilities, events and festivals, etc. to visitors from the Middle East, demonstrating the promotional slogan “Experience Macao Your Own Style”. The Middle East Region is one of Macao’s tourism markets with a great potential, and this is the 23rd year ATM is rolled out in the region. As an annual major exhibition for the tourism industry of the Middle East and Pan Arab Region, ATM presents an effective platform for the Office to showcase Macao as a travel destination to the region. According to the organizer, the exhibition has attracted over 2,800 exhibitors from 87 countries and regions around the world this year, as well as more than 26,000 tourism professionals and buyers. MGTO takes part in the exhibition once again this year, hoping to tap into the potential of the visitor source markets and attract more Middle East and international visitors to Macao. MGTO has been dedicated to fostering growths of international visitor markets and widening their diversity, with strenuous efforts to tap into the Middle East market as well. In recent years, the Office has been riding on the momentum of smart tourism development and different platforms on the Internet to promote Macao to the world. This year, through “Travelport”, a global travel commerce platform, the Office promotes Macao to local people and travel agencies in the Middle East, to open a window of possibilities for more potential markets to know about Macao and attract a greater diversity of international market segments. During their stay, MGTO and Macao trade delegates also attended the Industry Night hosted by “Travelport” on the first day of ATM to uncover new tourism cooperation and marketing opportunities for Macao in the Middle East with “Travelport”. During the evening event, MGTO gave a presentation about Macao’s tourism offers to expand the visitor markets. Over 200 members of travel trade from around the world were invited to the evening reception. Over the past few years, Macao has recorded a dramatic surge in visitor arrivals from the Middle East Region; last year, the number rose by 15.8% to over 12,000.
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To facilitate the public and philatelists for ordering new philatelic products, please note the followings: (* Please fidn the attached file)
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To commemorate the International Museum Day, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at the shop of Communications Museum, at 9:00 to 17:30 on 8th to 18th May 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “International Museum Day”. A commemorative postcard will be distributed to public. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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Macao Post endeavors to provide high quality services. In order to expand the service network of “eLocker”, a new service station will be launched at UM Post Office (Avenida da Universidade, Ground floor of University Mall, Taipa, Macao) on 3rd May 2016. The opening hours for collecting surface/air parcel & EMS items are from 7:00a.m. to 11:00p.m., Monday to Sunday. In order for customers to register “SEPBox” conveniently, this “eLocker” has also installed the application function of “SEPBox”. To use “eLocker”, please apply for the “Secure Electronic Postal Box - SEPBox”. For details and information of the application, please visit our website: www.macaupost.gov.mo/elocker, or e-mail us at: elocker@macaupost.gov.mo for enquiries.
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To cope with the Open Day of the Military Camp of the People’s Liberation Army Macau Garrison - 2016, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at our Philatelic Shop located at Macao Post Headquarters at 13:00 to 18:00 on 1st May 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Open Day of the Military Camp of Garrison in Macau - 2016”. A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) actively gets prepared for the arrival of the 1st May Labor Day holidays in Mainland China with a variety of measures adopted as follows: more scrupulous inspections, reminders sent to businesses and visitors about various concerns via letter and mobile text message respectively, food guide publication, different activities rolled out at various local districts as well as provision of enquiry service at various locations, etc. The above measures are done to cater to the needs of local residents and visitors, optimize tourism environment and safeguard service quality in Macao. MGTO regularly posts the room rates reported by all local hotels and guests houses in different room categories on its website, and via its WeChat ID, advises visitors to arrange their accommodation and itinerary in advance prior to their trip. During the Labor Day holidays, MGTO will carry out more scrupulous inspections at various tourist spots, border ports and districts. Besides, the Office will take concerted action with police authorities to combat provision of illegal accommodation. Manpower will be increased at Tourist Information counters as well, with MGTO’s inspectors standing by round-the-clock. MGTO's tourism hotline (853) 2833 3000 will maintain its 24-hour operator service to answer tourists’ enquiries. Visitors can also visit MGTO's website to obtain tourism and other related information. Calling for trade’s assistance to divert visitors off the beaten path In order to safeguard visitor rights and tourism quality, MGTO has already sent out letters to local businesses to raise their awareness about hygiene, fire safety, guest capacity, opening hours, occupational guidelines for 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 guidelines and so forth. Via official letters, MGTO especially advised local associations of travel agencies to communicate with tour operators regarding adjustment in their group tour itineraries to major attractions. On the other hand, through mobile text messages, the Office advised visitors to visit popular attractions during off-peak hours. Such tactics are adopted to divert visitors from crowded areas to minimize the impact on traffic and neighborhoods near tourist sites and maintain a positive destination image of Macao. Staff will be stationed at 10 different tourist points to provide tourism information and guidance for visitors for crowd management during the period between 1st and 8th May. MGTO also regularly communicates and exchanges information with Consumer Council, Public Security Police Force, Macao Customs Service, Marine and Water Bureau, Transport Bureau and so forth. Visitors can visit Public Security Police Force's website: http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/pspmonitor on mobile phone or computer and check the real-time border-crossing images at the arrival/departure halls and traffic lanes of Barrier Gate, Outer Harbour and Cotai Frontier Post on the "Real-Time Information Platform of Border Ports". Hence they can flexibly choose a suitable timing to leave or arrive in Macao. MGTO's website offers a direct link to Public Security Police Force's webpage for the "Real-Time Information Platform of Border Ports". Handy information for an enjoyable trip Local residents and visitors can conveniently view the monthly highlights about local events and festivals, performances, exhibitions, activities as well as the newest attractions in town from MGTO’s mobile app "What's On, Macau". They can also download the mobile apps "Experience Macao" and "Step out, Macao" to acquire more local tourism information. In addition, the promotional brochure “Enjoy Macao” is given out to visitors at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters and service counters as well as through local travel agency associations. MGTO continues to arrange a variety of artistic and cultural performances with Chinese and Portuguese traditional color on weekends at a number of local attractions and along the walking tour routes themed as "Step Out, Experience Macao's Communities”, promising a holistic experience during the holidays. Local residents and visitors can obtain the "Step Out, Experience Macao's Communities" brochure for free at Tourist Information counters or obtain more information about the walking tour routes from the "Step out, Macao" Mobile App. On the other hand, the Office is making a persistent effort to optimize the supporting facilities along the eight walking tour routes through cooperation with other related departments, with increasingly complete information available about dining options, shopping, sanitary facilities and so forth. The Office also presents a WeChat game named “Macao Hunt” from 26 April until 23 May. Participants can follow MGTO’s WeChat ID (“mgtoweixin”) and join the game for a chance to enter the lucky draw. Moreover, once participants find the gem chests at designated attractions according to instructions, they can collect the gems through the function “Shake” or “Scan” on WeChat and gain a chance to win coupons from restaurants as well as cultural and creative stores nearby. With a total of eight gems collected, participants can win attractive prizes. For local dining, visitors can find award-winning restaurants and eateries listed in the publication “Star Merchant Award" – Restaurants and Eateries Guide. MGTO has also published the "Macao Food Guide for the 1st May Vacation" (Chinese version only) together with the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macau, the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District, General Union of the Macau Neighborhood Association, the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macao as well as the Industry and Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District. Offering a contact list of restaurants and eateries open during the Labor Day holidays, the handy food guide familiarizes locals and visitors with relevant restaurants’ operation information. The “Star Merchant Award" – Restaurants and Eateries Guide and the "Step Out, Experience Macao's Communities" brochure can be downloaded from MGTO's website: http://www.macaotourism.gov.mo or acquired from MGTO's Tourist Information counters. The "Macao Food Guide for the 1st May Vacation" will be distributed and available online for downloading during the Labor Day holidays.
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Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the 34th Macao Young Musicians Competition will be held between 25 July and 7 August simultaneously in several venues in Macao. Online registration for the competition dedicated to Chinese and Western instruments will be closed at 12am on 29 April, while the deadline for on-site registration and document submission for online registration will be closed at 7pm on 30 April. Interested parties shall submit an application and supporting documents in due course. In order to encourage online registration, applicants who apply online only need to pay the discounted application fee of MOP 80 per category. Upon completion of the online registration, applicants should proceed to the payment of application fee and the submission of required documents to the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building located at Tap Siac Square from 10am to 7pm (open during lunch hours and on Saturday) between 28 and 30 April. In addition, applicants who choose to register on site may submit their duly completed application forms, relevant documents and the application fee to the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building at Tap Siac Square in person from 10am to 7pm (open during lunch hours and on Saturday) between 28 and 30 April. The application fee for the competition is MOP100 per category. For more information regarding the application, regulations of the competition, the application forms and the list of the compulsory pieces, please visit and download at the Macao Young Musicians Competition website (http://www.icm.gov.mo/CJMM/). For enquiries, please contact IC through the phone numbers 8399 6911 or 8399 6979 during office hours. Enquiry by phone service will be extended to 7pm during the registration period between 28 and 30 April.
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The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region is notified by the Consulate General of the Republic of South Africa in Hong Kong that the Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Permit holders can apply for the Port of Entry Visa in person at the Consulate General of the Republic of South Africa in Hong Kong for entering the Republic of South Africa. For the formalities for visa application, please refer to the website of the Identification Services Bureau (http://www.dsi.gov.mo/download/2016-04-27_ Notice(English)%20201642710364.pdf). For inquiries, applicants can contact the Consulate General of the Republic of South Africa in Hong Kong (Address: Suite 1906-8, 19/F, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong; Telephone: (852)3926 4300; Fax: (852)2890 1975).
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