News

Tickets to the 36^th Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) programmes organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau are now on sale, with the 30% early bird discount due to end this Sunday (25 August). Themed “And the Stars Shine”, the MIMF this year will present a star-studded musical feast with timeless melodies across 12 spectacular programmes and other outreach activities. The public are advised to purchase their tickets as soon as possible during the early bird promotion period. Moreover, tickets of The Nutcracker and I and Herbie Hancock were sold out soon after the tickets went on sale. Considering the enthusiastic response from the public, MIMF is offering additional seats for these two programmes, and anyone interested should not miss the opportunity. Tickets for the additional seats will be available for purchase starting at 10 a.m. this Saturday (24 August) via the Macau Ticketing Network.
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The 2024 Special Allocation from Budget Surplus for the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System will be paid as early as 25 September. The Social Security Fund (abbreviated to FSS in Macao) announced the fund withdrawal arrangements in mid-June. There are about 95,000 people who are eligible for fund withdrawal this year, including about 71,000 senior citizens who registered last year or before for automatic withdrawal and met the eligibility requirements for automatic payment. There is no need for them to go through formalities, and the funds will be automatically deposited in the bank accounts where they are currently receiving old-age or disability pension. As for the 24,000 people who are not eligible for automatic payment, they need to apply for fund withdrawal on their own. To date, more than 16,000 people have not yet applied for fund withdrawal.
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In order to continuously improve the anti-money laundering (AML) legal framework and further comply with the latest international AML standards, as well as to better understand the overview of the financial development of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the representatives of the Financial Intelligence Office of the Unitary Police Service (GIF) visited the relevant agencies in Hong Kong and Hengqin in mid-August 2024.
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Under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, co-hosted by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Wynn Resorts (Macau), S.A. and produced by Macao Orchestra Company, Limited, the Open Rehearsal, Closing Ceremony and Achievements Concert of the “1^st Macao International Children’s Arts Festival - Music Camp” were held today (21 August) at Macao Cultural Centre. The students showed their rehearsal and learning achievements to the public at the Concert, which concluded the six-day Music Camp perfectly amid enthusiastic applause.
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WTT Champions Macao 2024 presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group, organized by the Sports Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, World Table Tennis (WTT) and Galaxy Entertainment Group, and co-organized by the Macau Table Tennis General Association, will be held at the Macao East Asian Games Dome from 9 to 15 September 2024. The world’s leading players will engage in a series of breath-taking matches at the event and showcase their spectacular skills to residents and tourists alike.
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To nurture top-notch talent in public administration, the University of Macau (UM) and Zhejiang University (ZJU) signed the ‘Cooperation Agreement on the Establishment of Dual Degree Programme between UM and ZJU’ and the ‘Student Exchange Agreement between the School of Public Affairs of ZJU and the Faculty of Social Sciences of UM’. The signing of these two agreements marks a major milestone in educational cooperation between the two universities.
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Chief Executive, Mr. Ho Iat Seng, issued a statement today (21^st) that he would not participate in the election for the sixth-term Chief Executive, with the relevant text detailed as follows:
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of retail sales for the first half of 2024 totalled MOP36.85 billion, corresponding to 96% of the level in the same period in 2019. In comparison with the first half of 2023, the figure represented a drop of 17.5%, mainly due to a high comparison base resulting from the release of pent-up spending power amid the resumption of local economic activity in early 2023. Sales values of Communication Equipment, Watches, Clocks & Jewellery and Leather Goods for the first half of 2024 decreased by 39.4%, 24.6% and 23.5% year-on-year respectively, while sales values of Chinese Food Products and Motor Vehicles increased by 3.0% and 0.8% respectively.
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The MSAR Government has received an application from Smartone – Mobile Communications (Macau), Limited (“Smartone”) to forgo the 4G license and plans to cease renewing the 3G license after expiration. Smartone informed that it has reached a collaborative consensus on operation with Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau S.A.R.L. (CTM) and will accomplish the transition of users in an orderly manner. On the other hand, SmarTone is committed to handling employee arrangements in accordance with the Labour Relations Law and employment contracts, and will coordinate with CTM on providing employment opportunities to suitable current employees in order to retain talent for the telecommunications industry. Users can visit Smartone and CTM shops or contact the customer service hotline in case of any inquiries during the transition period. CTT will closely monitor and supervise the smooth completion of the entire transition work.
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Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) held its 2024/2025 academic year opening ceremony today (August 20) and delivered the first lecture to the new students. The ceremony included a flag-raising and singing of the national anthem, welcoming 2,700 new undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students from the Macao SAR, the Greater Bay Area, various regions across the country, Portuguese-speaking countries, and other countries and regions. Rector Im Sio Kei urged the new students to cherish our homeland, value our nation, uphold the core principles of patriotism and love for Macao, and actively contribute to the development and progress of both the country and the region.
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