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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will answer legislators’ questions on government policy and social issues at a plenary session of the Legislative Assembly next Wednesday (12 August). The session, will start from 3 pm, will be broadcast live on television channels and radio of the Teledifusão de Macau (TDM), the Portal Website of the Macao SAR (http://www.gov.mo), the website of the Office of the Chief Executive (http://www.gce.gov.mo), the website of the Legislative Assembly (http://www.al.gov.mo), the website of the Government Information Bureau (http://www.gcs.gov.mo), and government news channel in YouTube (www.youtube.com/macaogcs). Mr Chui pays great attention to the communication with the Legislative Assembly, besides attending the plenary session at the end of every year for delivering the Policy Address and for answering questions from legislators on his policy blueprint, he also attends session in every April and August as to update the public with the progress of government work, enhancing communication with legislators, and optimising administrative transparency.
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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Institute for Tourism Studies(IFT), the Institute invited five renowned local photographers, Ao Peng, Carlos Dias, Tam Kai Hon, Ao Chi Keung and Kong Iu Lam to organise the “Reminiscence - Macao Old Photos Collection Exhibition", hoping that the public can take the opportunity to appreciate the old photos of Macao and also look into the future, while recalling the memory of the past. In the recent years, Macao's economy has been growing and developing very quickly. The urban landscape has also been changing fast. The traditional industries such as fishing, ship building, fireworks which once were in great prosperity have been declining gradually and even ceased to exist. However, the demolition of buildings, the change of the coastlines, and the emergence of new industries have affected deeply the environment of the citizens’ lives. The precious photographs selected for this exhibition were taken during the period from 1960 to 1990 by the 5 above-mentioned photographers. They walked through the streets and lanes of Macao and not only registered the historical change of the buildings and streets with their delicate camera lenses, but also captured wonderful cultural landscapes for life. The precious old photos of Macao in this exhibition are valuable historical materials, in addition to image recordings. Besides, the advanced artistic techniques and the exalted professional spirit of the photographers also deserve admiration. IFT has been dedicating to the promotion of Macao’s culture and education. In recent years, in addition to providing diversified courses of culture and creativity, the Institute also cooperated with local artists and organised related exhibitions, aiming to promote the local creations to the public and integrate arts into people's lives. This photo exhibition will take place from 5 August to 30 November at the Educational Restaurant and the Team Building of the Institute. All are welcome to come and visit. To cope with Macao SAR Government’s policy to develop and promote creative industries, IFT started to offer short and fundamental courses in this area since 2011. IFT has continuously explored courses which are up-to-date, interesting and practical for the community. IFT will continue offering more diversified cultural and creative courses to develop more local professional in this area.
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Consumer Council conducted its second ‘Supermarket price survey’ in August on 5 August 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 1,294 new companies were incorporated in the second quarter of 2015, a decrease of 160 year-on-year. Total value of registered capital dropped by 67.7% year-on-year to MOP368 million, attributable to a 87.6% plunge in registered capital of Financial Services, Recreational, Cultural, & Other Services. Analysed by industry, the majority of new incorporations were operating in Wholesale & Retail (459) and Business Services (328). In the second quarter of 2015, companies in dissolution totalled 116, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to MOP10 million. Analysed by size of registered capital, there were 841 new companies (65.0% of total) registered with capital under MOP50,000, and the total value of capital was MOP22 million. On the other hand, there were 30 new companies registered with capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, and the total value of capital amounted to MOP286 million (77.7% of total). In the second quarter of 2015, capital of the new companies came mainly from Mainland China (MOP234 million), including MOP150 million from the 9 Provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region; capital from Macao amounted to MOP89 million. Analysed by combination of shareholders, there were 826 new companies established solely by Macao shareholders, and 155 joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. In the first half year of 2015, a total of 2,749 new companies were incorporated, up by 6.6% year-on-year; total value of registered capital decreased by 60.6% year-on-year to MOP524 million. Number of companies in dissolution totalled 274, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to MOP36 million. At the end of the second quarter of 2015, number of registered companies totalled 51,103, an increase of 5,055 from a year earlier.
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Consumer Council started its second phase of on-site evaluation on its ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ in early August. The Council indicates that continuous inspection ensures stability in the services provided by ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’, shops’ continuous improvement also help to safeguard consumers’ rights. Consumer Council finished its first phase on-site evaluation on about 1,500 of its ‘Adherents’ earlier, and the second phase evaluation just started earlier this month. The Council aims to ensure the service quality of all shops being assessed through continuous inspection, and encourages self-improvement among its ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’. The Council indicates that the assessment team has been trained specifically to conduct the evaluation; each ‘Adherent’ or ‘Certified Shop’ is given comments for improvement for enhancing their service quality Assessments of ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ include on-site evaluation and mystery shoppers, etc., qualified ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ will be awarded the ‘Certified Shop’ emblem for the next year and are classified into different classes according to their scores, and those with excellent performance will be awarded the ‘Class A’ award. The grading system on ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ helps to ensure quality of the shops and encourages them to further enhance both their services and products. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), in cooperation with the Macao Architects Association and the Macao Urban Planning Institute, organises the Macao Pavilion at the 2015 Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen), and is now inviting applications for the Pavilion until 16th of September 2015. Macao, for the second time, was invited to participate in this year’s Biennale, the theme of which is ‘Re-living the City’. Individual curators or curatorial teams are both invited to apply for this Project. The Biennale was first organised in Shenzhen in 2005, and an invitation to participate was extended to Hong Kong in 2007, with both cities co-organising the exhibition from this year on and turning it into a “Bi-City Biennale”. It is currently the only biennale in the world dedicated to urbanism; in the five editions already held in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, more than 770 works from around the world went on display and over 310 forums and activities were organized, attracting approximately 860,000 exhibition-goers. Macao was first invited to participate in the Biennale in 2013, and the results were remarkable. This year’s Biennale is the second time Macao has set up a Macao Pavilion in Shenzhen; the organiser estimates that over 300,000 visitors will attend the exhibition with more than 100 exhibitors from over 25 different countries. IC wishes to further promote the cultural exchange between Macao and other regions, forge a deeper understanding of the cultural trends of city and architecture in cities in China and overseas, as well as enhance the locals’ awareness and participation in international events; all with the purpose of encouraging the younger generation to use their creativity and enhance the quality of their design, as well as their knowledge and understanding of world-class works. IC also hopes that the Biennale will help cultivate the integration of Macao talents in the international community; promoting the development of art and culture in Macao, and showcasing the outstanding work and unique perspective of Macao in the international arena. The theme this year is ‘Re-living the City’, and with its main objective of making a better world by remaking our cities and homes, this exhibition calls for the reuse, rethinking and re-imagination of existing buildings and cities, encouraging us to use what we have and use it well, as well as to rethink and reinterpret our daily lives. The Bi-City Biennale will be curated by Aaron Betsky, Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner, Doreen Heng Liu, and the team from ETH Zurich. IC will hold a clarification session, on 8th of August 2015, at 10:00am, at the IC Building, located at Tap Seac Square, to introduce the Biennale’s background, location and theme, as well as other relevant contents. The exhibition project will be supervised by the Organising Committee of the Macao Exhibition – 2015 Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, and the selection of applications will be carried out by the Jury Commission for the Macao Pavilion Exhibition Plans – 2015 Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture. Interested parties who have any questions relating to this project can send an email to pr@icm.gov.mo until 21st of August 2015. The organizer will reply all queries by email before 31st of August 2015, and all replies will be made available for consultation at the IC’s website. The application form and regulation are available for download at the IC’s website, at www.icm.gov.mo.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, broad money supply retreated in June. As total loans increased at a faster pace than total deposits, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking sector rose from a month earlier. Money supply Currency in circulation dropped 1.8% whereas demand deposits grew 15.5%. M1 thus increased 12.1% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities fell 2.7%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, decreased 0.9% to MOP488.8 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 12.0% and 1.1% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 27.2%, up 0.5 percentage points from a month ago or 3.2 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 50.0%, down 0.9 percentage points month-to-month but up 0.6 percentage points year-on-year. The share of Chinese Yuan (CNY) was 11.4%, kept virtually stable month-to-month but down 5.6 percentage points year-on-year. The share of United States Dollar (USD) was 9.2%, up 0.4 percentage points month-to-month or 1.6 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits decreased 0.9% from the preceding month to MOP477.4 billion. Of which, MOP and USD deposits increased at respective rates of 1.1% and 3.9%. HKD and CNY deposits decreased 2.8% and 0.9% respectively while other foreign currency deposits kept virtually stable. Non-resident deposits grew 7.1% to MOP266.0 billion. Public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 2.5% to MOP121.7 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector rose 1.9% from a month earlier to MOP865.0 billion. The shares of MOP, HKD, CNY and USD in total deposits were 18.3%, 41.3%, 13.7% and 22.5% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector increased 2.4% from a month ago to MOP376.0 billion. Among which, MOP100.7 billion was MOP-denominated, MOP247.0 billion was denominated in HKD, MOP3.1 billion was denominated in CNY and MOP22.8 billion was denominated in USD, representing 26.8%, 65.7%, 0.8% and 6.1% of the total respectively. Analysed by economic sector, “transport, warehouse and communications”, “education” and “restaurants, hotels and similar” increased at respective rates of 18.6%, 18.6% and 13.1% compared with a quarter ago, whereas “exhibition and conference” and “gaming” dropped 35.1% and 9.3% respectively. External loans grew 4.8% to MOP385.7 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP, HKD, CNY and USD accounted for 1.6% (MOP6.1 billion), 22.2% (MOP85.6 billion), 19.7% (MOP75.8 billion) and 50.6% (MOP195.0 billion) respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios The loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-June grew 1.6 percentage points from the previous month to 62.8%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors also rose 1.4 percentage points to 88.1%.
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The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau has verified that Macao’s gross gaming revenue in July was 18.615 billion patacas, while the accumulated gross gaming revenue during the period from January to July was 140.259 billion patacas. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said that since the average monthly gross gaming revenue is still above the level of 20 billion patacas, as estimated by the Revised Financial Budget for the Fiscal Year 2015, there is no need to implement austerity measures for public expenditure. In view of the gaming industry still facing uncertainty in the second half of the year, the Government will persist with its policy of financial prudence, by adopting some cost cutting measures. Meanwhile, the Government will also maintain vigilance regarding the trend in Macao’s gross gaming revenue, and will immediately implement austerity measures should the gross gaming revenue fall below the above-mentioned figure. The Government again stressed that any austerity measures would not affect the welfare and livelihood expenditure that has already been announced, including this year’s Wealth Partaking Scheme and the Investment and Development Expenditure Scheme (PIDDA). The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, earlier mentioned that the MSAR's financial status remains solid, and its well-established fiscal reserve system is strong enough to withstand emergencies and economic fluctuations. According to the Revised Financial Budget for the Fiscal Year 2015 submitted by the Government, which passed its first reading by the Legislative Assembly in March, if the average monthly gross gaming revenue of 2015 reaches 20 billion patacas, the estimated surplus for the year would be 18.8 billion patacas. Macao’s gaming industry is currently facing uncertainties. The Government will closely monitor all gaming operators, including the operations of VIP rooms, and promptly react to emergencies, giving priority to safeguarding local residents’ employment rights. Meanwhile, the Government is pleased to witness the healthy development of non-gaming industries, such as tourism, conventions and exhibitions, regional economic and trade, and young entrepreneurship, which are full of vitality. The Government will render full support to them, to promote adequate economic diversification in Macao.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) presented the initiative “Take Selfies to Win Prizes” for tourists to join under the project “Step Out, Experience Macau’s Communities – Walking Tour Routes” in June. The first round of lucky draw took place on 3 August for the part “Upload Selfies to enter the Lucky Draw”. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Deputy Directors Cecilia Tse and Cheng Wai Tong were present at the lucky draw and drew out the names of 11 lucky winners. The lucky winners are tourists who came from Hong Kong; Taiwan, China; Korea; the United Kingdom and Canada. The prizes include tablets (10 winners) and economy-class roundtrip tickets for two (one winner). Since the activity “Take Selfies to Win Prizes” was launched on 12 June, over 6,600 users have downloaded the “Step Out, Macau” mobile app. During the period from 12 June to 31 July, some 460 visitors uploaded selfies to enter the lucky draw. The participants came from Hong Kong; Taiwan, China; Mainland China; Korea; Malaysia; the United Kingdom and so forth. Most of the visitors took selfies at sights along the three tour routes namely “Bygone Days of Taipa Village”, “Footsteps into the Historic Centre” and “The Marriage of East and West in St. Anthony’s Parish”. Since the launch of stamp collection fun last June, the Tourist Office launched another prize-winning activity named “Take Selfies to Win Prizes” under the project “Step Out, Experience Macau’s Communities – Walking Tour Routes”. The activity comes with two parts – “Show Selfies for Souvenir” and “Upload Selfies to enter the Lucky Draw”, the latter with three rounds of lucky draw in total. The “Take Selfies to Win Prizes” activity is held from 12 June until 30 November to encourage locals and visitors to explore the hidden gems of local neighborhoods. The activity aims to promote community and smart tourism. For “Show Selfies for Souvenir”, locals and visitors can just download the “Step out, Macau” mobile app, take selfies at two designated sights along any of the walking tour routes with the app and show the two selfies to staff at any Tourist Information counter of MGTO in Macau for a souvenir to redeem. Visitors can also enter the lucky draw by uploading selfies and sharing about their trip experience in Macau on the “Step out, Macau” mobile app. MGTO launched the first four walking tour routes under the theme “Step Out, Experience Macau's Communities” back on 27 September 2013. Following that, the Office redesigned some of the existing routes and presented a total of eight walking tour routes this February. The project aims to encourage visitors to explore different neighborhoods, lead the visitor trends off the beaten path and promote community tourism. Residents and visitors can download the free App “Step Out, Macau” from App Store or Google Play. For details, please visit MGTO’s website http://www.macautourism.gov.mo or dial Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000 to make an enquiry.
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Consumer Council conducted its first ‘Supermarket price survey’ in August on 3 August for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais 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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