News

The 27th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, kicks off this Saturday, 30 April, with an opening ceremony to be held at 7:40pm at the lobby of the Macao Cultural Centre. All are welcome. This edition of the MAF presents 27 excellent shows and artistic exhibitions as well as an outreach programme, in a total of over 100 activities, offering a sumptuous arts feast. This year, the MAF is themed “Time” and has “Reshape your Imagination. Experience the Spirit of the Times” as slogan, conveying the message that the performing arts have undergone thousands of years of condensation, development and transformation while the classics, enriched by the spirit of the age, manage to provide guidance to our growth. Among these, the opening show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies rendered by the Shakespeare Theatre Company from the USA, takes to the stage on 30 April and 1 May, featuring stunning and delicate sceneries and wardrobe. In addition, Tracy Wong, Mao Wei and Justin Chow present the ballet Shelf Life on 30 April and 1 May, at the Old Court Building, featuring a combination of visual arts and installation, offering the audience a new visual experience by breaking the barriers of conventional stages; Mu Guiying Battling in Hongzhou, interpreted by the Macao Kaifong Cantonese Opera Juvenile’s Troupe, takes to the stage of Cinema Alegria on 1 May, passing on the essence and aestheticism of intangible cultural heritage; and in In Chants, suitable for children between 6 months and 3 years of age, using puppets to create magic moments by the actors. In order to promote and encourage local creations, as well as to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of two world literary giants, namely William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu, this year the MAF invited two local illustrators, Neiko Ng and Wakka Cheang to design four exclusive stationery items featuring portraits of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu, having as background their most famous works and including quotes from their classics. Souvenirs are available from 30 April at the Macao Cultural Centre, Dom Pedro V Theatre and Old Court Building, with various discount packages. Additionally, in order to raise the public’s participation possibilities in the Festival, the Cultural Affairs Bureau will launch the contest “Win air tickets by playing jigsaw puzzles”. Participants will have a chance to win a round-trip economy class ticket from Macau to any NX operated destination offered by Air Macau (3 winners), a one-night accommodation at MGM MACAU Grand Room with breakfast for two (5 winners) and a 60-minutes body massage at The Spa at MGM MACAU (3 winners). For more information on this contest, please visit the Festival’s page on Facebook or the ICmacao’s WeChat account. The MAF has been highly sought after, with few tickets remaining for some shows. The public is advised to purchase their tickets as soon as possible. Tickets are available through the Macau Ticketing Network. The Festival’s programme can be found in the respective booklet, which can be downloaded from the MAF’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/fam. Ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; online ticketing: www.macauticket.com.
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In order to tie in with the development of e-government services, enhance administrative efficiency and step up informatisation for the provision of convenient and quality services, the Immigration Department of the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will, on the basis of the original Online Application System for Non-resident Workers, introduce the second phase of online application services – new online application service for Non-resident Worker’s Authorization to Stay of the non-professional category on 3 May 2016. The processing time of the service will be shortened from 5 working days to 4 working days in a bid to enhance application efficiency. Target applicants mainly include employment entities and employment agencies authorized by employment entities and there is no limit of time and number for applications. When using the Online Application System for Non-resident Workers for the first time, employment entities or employment agencies applying on behalf of employment entities need to complete a Representative Registration Form (http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/cht/pdf/psp_top6/CTNR-M22_e.pdf) and bring the form to the Non-resident Workers Subdivision of the Immigration Department of the PSP to apply for an e-account for the Online Application System for Non-resident Workers. Eligible applicants will be given a username and password to log in to the system to make applications. Employment entities that have authorized employment agencies to make applications do not require separate application for the e-account for the Online Application System for Non-resident Workers. New online applicants have to complete the information upload process as directed by the system. During uploading, the system will check the application information, immediately label the wrong information and remind users to make corrections so as to reduce the number of rejected applications. Users can check the result of application through the system after 1 working day upon the completion of information upload process. If the application is approved, users are required to sign and stamp the company chop on the printed Registration Form and bring the form and other relevant documents to the Non-resident Workers Subdivision for preliminary or initial examination. Preliminary or initial examination will be completed after 4 working days from the day of submission of all the documents. Prior to the launch of the online application service for Non-resident Worker’s Authorization to Stay of the non-professional category, the Immigration Department of the PSP have held a number of briefing sessions to introduce the service to employment agencies, gaming enterprises and some employment entities and collect views and suggestions from relevant parties. The service has thus been adjusted and improved to meet public expectation and anticipated effectiveness. The PSP first introduced online application service on 10 November last year with the online application service for renewal of Non-resident Worker’s Authorization to Stay of the non-professional category rolled out at the first phase. During 10 November 2015 to 19 April 2016, 48,802 applications were made successfully through the system, accounting for 70.28% of the total of 69,439 applications of this category. The figures reflect high usage and also recognition of the new service. The launch of the new service helps to promote e-government services of the Special Administrative Region, streamline administrative procedures and further enhance service efficiency. In the future, the PSP will continue to research and develop more types of online application services, enhance the stability of the system and improve all functions so that the public can use efficient and convenient public services on the go.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitors on package tours totalled 564,000 in March 2016, down by 36.2% year-on-year and down slightly by 0.6% month-to-month. Package tour visitors from Mainland China (446,000) decreased by 37.4% year-on-year, and those from the Republic of Korea (20,000) and Taiwan (31,000) declined by 44.3% and 38.9% respectively. In the first quarter of 2016, visitors on package tours totalled 1,701,000, down by 34.3% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 108,000 in March 2016, down by 18.3% year-on-year. Residents travelling on package tours decreased by 20.3% year-on-year to 45,000; those travelling to Mainland China dropped by 35.6%, while those to the Republic of Korea and Taiwan soared by 250.4% and 38.3% respectively. In the first quarter of 2016, outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 314,000, down by 17.6% year-on-year. There were 106 hotels & guesthouses operating at the end of March 2016, an increase of 7 year-on-year. Number of guest rooms totalled 32,000, up by 4,000 (+13.6%) year-on-year, with rooms of 5-star hotels (20,000) and 4-star hotels (8,000) rising by 11.7% and 28.4% respectively. A total of 893,000 guests checked into hotels & guesthouses in March 2016, up by 12.7% year-on-year. Guests from Mainland China (557,000) increased by 9.8%, while those from Hong Kong (145,000) surged by 44.7%. The average length of stay of guests held stable at 1.4 nights as in March 2015. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses was 76.5%, down by 0.9 percentage points year-on-year, with that of 4-star hotels and 3-star hotels leading at 79.9% and 79.7%, up by 2.4 and 5.4 percentage points respectively. In the first quarter of 2016, guests of hotels & guesthouses totalled 2,660,000, up by 13.4% year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 77.2% and the average length of stay of guests was 1.4 nights, down by 1.9 percentage points and 0.1 night respectively. Visitor-guests accounted for 71.3% of the total overnight visitors, up notably by 3.3 percentage points year-on-year.
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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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