News

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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To celebrate the Macao – Chongqing Joint Stamp Exhibition, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at the Gallery of Lin Zexu Memorial Museum of Macau at 10:00 to 17:00 on 28th November 2015 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Macao – Chongqing Joint Stamp Exhibition”. A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the total population was 643,100 as at end-September 2015, a slight increase of 200 quarter-to-quarter; the slowdown in growth was attributable to a decrease in non-resident workers living in Macao. Female population (326,800) accounted for 50.8% of the total. There were 1,819 live births delivered in the third quarter of 2015, an increase of 157 or 9.4% quarter-to-quarter. Male babies totalled 942 and the sex ratio at birth stood at 107.4, corresponding to 107.4 male babies per 100 female babies. In the first three quarters of 2015, a total of 5,193 live births were recorded, down by 81 year-on-year. Meanwhile, mortality totalled 490, an increase of 10 quarter-to-quarter; the top three underlying causes of death were Neoplasms (188), Diseases of the Circulatory System (107) and Diseases of the Respiratory System (80). From January to September 2015, mortality increased by 60 year-on-year to 1,512, of which mortality due to Neoplasms (543) went up by 22. In the third quarter of 2015, there were 1,982 Chinese immigrants and 405 individuals granted right of abode, up by 316 and 20 respectively quarter-to-quarter. Non-resident workers totalled 180,751 at the end of the third quarter, an increase of 228 over the previous quarter. A total of 862 cases of marriage registration were recorded in the third quarter, down by 77 quarter-to-quarter. In the first three quarters of 2015, there were 2,753 cases of marriage registration, down by 316 year-on-year.
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Consumer Council conducted its third ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 9 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima 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 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 Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, said the Government would step up enforcement action against unlicensed passenger transportation services that are accessed via a mobile application from digital services company Uber. Mr Tam made the remark at the sidelines of a public event on 7 November. He stressed Macao has its own legislation and its public transportation system. He urged travel agents not to take part in such unlicensed passenger transportation services requested via the private car hailing mobile application of Uber. The tourism sector backed the Government’s decision to tackle such unlicensed private car-hailing services, said the Secretary, noting the Government had kept in close contact with the sector over the issue relating to Uber. This issue was also discussed in last week’s meeting of the Tourism Development Committee. There Mr Tam reiterated to Committee members the Government’s stance – act according to the law in order to crack down on any suspected illegal case of such car-hailing services. The Secretary said the Government would dedicate further effort to developing Macao’s tourism sector. He said he believed the sector would not take part in providing such unlicensed transportation services to residents, noting that travel agencies were only allowed to provide pre-arranged transportation services for tourists. The authorities have so far detected three cases of unlicensed passenger transportation services requested via Uber, which allegedly involved a local travel agency. Charges will be filed against those suspected of illegally providing such services and any person found guilty of the offence could face a fine of 30,000 patacas.
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SIGGRAPH Asia, Asia´s largest and most prestigious conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques will be held in Macao next year. SIGGRAPH Asia, which is organized by ACM SIGGRAPH, aims to promote and develop software and hardware technologies for computer graphics and animation production, and encompasses computer animation, floating images, interactive applications for media and educational symposiums, among others. Every year, a large number of hardware and software vendors launch their latest research achievements at SIGGRAPH Asia, while many games and animation production creators also take the opportunity to showcase their most remarkable works at the same venue. For this reason, SIGGRAPH exerts considerable influence in the fields of computer graphics and computer animation production. SIGGRAPH Asia was started in Asia in 2008, and various events were held in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Mainland China. “SIGGRAPH Asia 2015” took place on 2-5 November, 2015 at the Kobe Convention and Exhibition Center, in Kobe, Japan. At the closing ceremony held on 5 November, the committee chair of “SIGGRAPH Asia 2016” – Mr. Hongbo Fu announced that Macao has won the right to hold “SIGGRAPH Asia 2016”. The Executive Director of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mrs. Irene V. K. Lau, subsequently took the floor and warmly welcomed all the guests present at the said event to come to Macao for the next edition of SIGGRAPH Asia, either as exhibitor and/or participant in the symposia. After a rigorous selection by the Organizer, including site visits to Macao, to learn about the convention and exhibition environment and supporting measures offered by Macao, the committee chair announced that Macao has been selected as the destination for “SIGGRAPH Asia 2016”, which will be held in December, 2016. It is expected that over 5,000 professionals from the computer graphics and computer animation production sectors from all over the world will come to Macao to participate in this event, as exhibitors or visitors. In this connection, IPIM will continue to provide to the Organizer of the above-mentioned event its “One-Stop Service” for MICE support in Macao, having also designated staff to follow-up and provide the necessary assistance, so as to ensure the success of this important event, which has chosen Macao as its stage.
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The Government expects its mid-term review of the city’s gaming industry to be completed this year, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said today. The results would be announced to the public by early next year at the latest, once the Government has carefully assessed a preliminary report submitted in September by the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau, he added. Mr Leong gave the news to reporters this afternoon, after he attended the inauguration of the Coordinator of the Supporting Office to the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), Ms Cristina Morais. The mid-term review is examining what has been achieved by the city’s six gaming concessions since the liberalisation of the gaming industry in 2002. The concessions will expire on dates between 2020 and 2022. In addition, the Secretary said he was considering candidates for the role of director at the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The current Director, Mr Manuel Joaquim das Neves, is due to retire this month. The Deputy Director, Mr Leong Man Ion, would lead the bureau in the interim period if no replacement is appointed by the time of Mr Neves’ retirement, the Secretary added. The existing sound structure of governance in the public administration would allow to accommodate any changes in a particular bureau’s management without affecting its operations and the quality of its service, the Secretary stressed. Mr Leong said that no other senior officials under his portfolio had asked to leave, but he added that the Government would respect the decision of any public official that wished to leave the public administration. The Secretary also commented on Macau’s Wealth Partaking Scheme. Mr Leong said he was confident there would be adequate funds accumulated during this year to continue the measure in 2016, while noting that the maintenance of favourable economic conditions was one of the major factors to be considered in order to guarantee the scheme’s continuation.
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