News

(Macao – 12 November 2015) The English edition of Macao Yearbook 2015, published by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) of the Macao SAR, has been completed and will be launched on 13 November 2015. The Macao Yearbook has been published annually since 2002 in Chinese, Portuguese and English editions. This year the yearbook is divided into four sections: Administrative Priorities of the MSAR Government; Calendar of Events; Review of the MSAR; and Appendices. The English edition of the Macao Yearbook 2015 comprises 609 pages and is enriched by 196 photographs. Meticulous efforts has been made during the translation process of the English edition of the yearbook to ensure that local legislation, international treaties, names of organisations and geographical names are properly and faithfully translated. The Macao Yearbook 2015, together with a complimentary CD-ROM containing the PDF version of the yearbook, can be purchased at the following places at 120 patacas or 120 Hong Kong dollars per copy from 13 November: major local bookstores and Government’s Public Information Centre at Rua do Campo. The yearbook will be available for purchase at the Macao Post Office (Macao Post)’s Philatelic Division, Rua do Campo Branch, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal Branch, Macau International Airport Branch, and Nova Taipa Branch from 17 November. Taking into account the rising popularity of digital reading and for the sake of the environment, the Chinese, Portuguese and English editions of the Macao Yearbook will no longer be available in print starting from 2016. We will focus on improving the yearbook’s digital edition by adding more pictures and even video contents to meet changing needs.
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The Government will introduce flexible working hours in all public departments for the first time, in an effort to ease traffic pressure during the 62nd Macau Grand Prix next week. The announcement on flexible working hours for public servants was made by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, when he made an on-site inspection of the race circuit on 11 November. Mr Tam is also the Chairman of the Macau Grand Prix Committee. Public servants would be allowed to start work at any time between 8am and 10am on Thursday and Friday next week, he said. As the Grand Prix is a street race, major traffic diversions are required during practice and race days. Mr Tam told reporters that the Grand Prix is one of the important elements in helping Macao to become a world centre of tourism and leisure. He noted that tourists from neighbouring regions, Europe and the Americas gather in Macao for this annual event. Macao needed to expand its own tourism resources and develop more tourist products, Mr Tam stated. The Government would make more effort to popularise further the Grand Prix’s Guia Circuit and the whole event, he added. Mr Tam noted that there were similar races in neighbouring cities that were also aimed at boosting local tourism. The Secretary expressed his gratitude to local residents for their support of the event over the years. He said that without such support, the Grand Prix might not have achieved the success it has. Macao has completed preparations for the four-day race meeting from 19 to 22 November, said the Coordinator of the Grand Prix Committee, Mr João Manuel Costa Antunes, speaking at the on-site visit. Mr Costa Antunes said ticket sales this year were up 30 percent compared to the same time last year, having grossed 7 million patacas. Sponsorship for the event had risen 8 percent year-on-year, he added.
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Consumer Council conducted its fourth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 11 November 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. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided over 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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Consumer Council reminds consumers to purchase infant formula from secure sources. Consumers can get access to the latest information and services of infant formula providers on the Council’s website. The SAR Government took measures to ensure stable supply of infant formula by appointing the Council to keep close contact with the 7 infant formula retailers in Macao. The Council periodically updates the highest and lowest prices of the 7 brands to safeguard consumer rights. Consumer Council reminds parents who choose to purchase infant formula online that buying food from the internet is risky, for the safety and health of infants and toddlers, consumers are suggested to purchase from secure sources, including registered drugstores and ‘Certified Shops’. Infant formula brand retailers can be contacted through the hotlines listed on the ‘Milk Powder Suppliers Service Hotlines Details’ page (http://www.consumer.gov.mo/commodity/milk.aspx?lang=en) for urgent needs of infant formula. The ‘Hotline’ page has been running since 2013, the Council indicates that through the assistance of the 7 brand retailers, consumers are able to acquire prices of the market and purchase infant formulas that are safe at a reasonable price.
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Hosted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM), the “7th Meeting of ICAO Asia-Pacific Flight Procedure Programme Steering Committee (7th FPP SCM)” is held from 11 – 13 November 2015 in Macao in which delegates from 7 states and administrations as well as International Civil Aviation Organization will discuss among themselves on issues of flight procedures design, as well as to review the work implementation and deliberate thoughts on future plans. ICAO Asia-Pacific Flight Procedure Programme was developed in 2010 with the objective of gathering states and administrations to discuss on how assistance can be offered to each other on performing the quality control on flight procedures and providing training to increase personnel’s professionalism. At present, the Programme has a membership of 10 active participating countries and administrations as well as 7 user states. Macao SAR has become a member of the Programme since its inception. Throughout all these years, AACM and the Administration of Airports Ltd. have benefitted from the Programme by taking part in the training courses on flight procedures design. The Programme organizes the steering committee meeting once every year in order that participating states and administrations can brief each other about the latest development of their flight procedures implementation. The Programme started the Phase II work in 2013 which will run for 5 years. The 7th FPP SCM will discuss the work for the remaining two years of Phase II and will also deliberate thoughts on the direction for Phase III. The 7th FPP SCM is being held in Macau Science Centre with a participation of more than 20 delegates who come from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, France, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and International Civil Aviation Organization.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) declined while commercial real estate loans (CRELs) increased in September 2015. With regard to outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed increases. New lending approved In September 2015, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased 35.3% month-to-month to MOP3.6 billion; of which, 96.7% was extended to residents. In terms of value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents decreased 2.6% and 94.1% respectively. When compared with the same period of 2014, new approvals of RMLs fell by 20.6%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) decreased by 12.1% month-to-month to MOP1.0 billion. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 91.4% of the total, fell 13.7%. When compared with the same period of 2014, new RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units decreased by 13.8%. New CRELs increased by 7.8% month-to-month to MOP10.5 billion; of which, 99.5% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents rose 8.2% while those to non-residents decreased 35.4%. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs rose by 116.9%. Outstanding balances As at end-September 2015, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP170.2 billion, an increase of 0.7% from one month earlier or 15.9% from a year ago. The resident component made up 94.1% of the total. Compared to end-August 2015, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose 0.7% and 0.1% respectively. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs increased 2.3% from end-August 2015 and was up 33.0% from end-September 2014 to MOP153.8 billion. Residents accounted for 88.4% of the loans. Compared with one month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents grew 2.6% and 0.4% respectively. Delinquency ratios At the end of September 2015, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.08, down 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or up 0.01 percentage point from end-September 2014. The ratio for CRELs was 0.01, down 0.03 percentage points from a month ago or 0.07 percentage points from a year ago.
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Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on over-the-counter drugs on 10 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Result of the mentioned survey has been uploaded to the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and is available in the Council’s ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. For inquiry, please call the Council’s hotline: 8988 9315.
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Macao Post will participate the “HONG KONG 2015 – 31st Asian International Stamp Exhibition”, located at Hong Kong during 20th to 23rd November, 2015. To commemorate this Exhibition, Macao Post issues the commemorative envelopes and provides the commemorative postmark cancellation service on site of the exhibition. For the convenience of the philatelist, the commemorative envelope with stamp priced at MOP4.50 will also be available for sale at the Philatelic Shop of Macao Post Headquarters starting from 20th November. You may send your mail of this cancelled commemorative envelope at the following locations *: Philatelic Shop at Macao Post Headquarters: 20th November 9:00 – 17:30 Post Offices: 20th to 23rd November Office Hours to Public * No commemorative postmark cancellation service will be provided in Macao.
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To celebrate the 62nd Macao Grand Prix, Macao Post announced that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up behind the Lisboa Stand (Restriction area for ticket entry) and the Philatelic Shop of Macao Post Headquarters on 21st and 22nd November 2015, providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “62nd Macao Grand Prix”. Two designs of commemorative envelopes priced at MOP2.50 each will be issued on the respective dates. Various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. The service hours are as following: Behind the Lisboa Stand (Restriction area for ticket entry) 21/11 10:00 to 17:00 22/11 10:00 to 17:00 Philatelic Shop of Macao Post Headquarters 21/11 10:00 to 17:00 22/11 13:00 to 17:00 Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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The University of Macau (UM) Swimming Team recently broke eight records and won 11 gold medals and one silver medal at a national inter-varsity swimming competition. This year’s competition is the largest in its history. The five-day event attracted 728 students from 59 universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Some of the participants are members of the Chinese National Swimming Team. This is the first time that UM has participated in this competition. Five UM students, namely Lo Wai Lam from the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST); Lei On Kei from the Faculty of Education (FED); and Tan Chi Yan, Mak Chong Hin, and Chao Man Hou from the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS), won gold medals with record-breaking performances in eight categories in Grade 1B of the competition, namely women’s 200-metre freestyle category, women’s 100-metre freestyle category, women’s 50-metre butterfly stroke category, women’s 50-metre breaststroke category, women’s 50-metre freestyle category, men’s 100-metre breaststroke category, men’s 50-metre butterfly stroke category, and 50-metre breaststroke category. FED student Li Jinding won a gold medal in the men’s 400-metre freestyle category. Lo Wai Lam won a silver medal in the 100-metre freestyle category. In addition to individual awards, Chao Man Hou, Mak Chong Hin, Lei On Kei, and Tan Chi Yan also won championships in the mixed 4 x 100-metre freestyle relay category and the mixed 4 x 100-metre medley relay category.
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