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Consumer Council conducted its second ‘Supermarket price survey’ in June on 8 June 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 Government hopes to take advantages of the 6th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum to leverage its bridging role in fostering the construction of international facilities and investments worldwide. The Forum brings significant development opportunities to Macao, in line with the country’s increasing emphasis in infrastructure. This is according to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, who was speaking at a meeting with more than 40 officials from 31 countries and areas on 4 June, ahead of the opening of the Forum. Mr Leong said the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (“Belt and Road”) and establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank also brought new opportunities to Macao in regional co-operation. Both the country and Macao were experiencing the “new normal” in economic development, the Government would step up its efforts to transform Macao into a world centre of tourism and leisure and a commercial and trade co-operation service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries. Deputy China International Trade Representative of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr Zhang Xiangchen, expressed his gratitude to the Macao Government for organising the Forum and said “Belt and Road” would bring opportunities in international infrastructure and investments. This year’s Forum is held on 4-5 June with the theme “Regional Economic Integration Spurs New Development of International Infrastructure Co-operation”. As the host of the Forum for the fourth consecutive year, the Government expected it to create a platform for international infrastructure and bring in more elements in Macao’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) industry. Officials in the meeting included the Vice President and Minister of Finance of Costa Rica, Mr Helio Fallas Venegas; the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development Bahamas, Mr Philip E. Brave Davis; the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao, Mr Yao Jian; the Director of the Macao Economic Services, Mr Sou Tim Peng; and representatives from the mainland, Antigua and Barbuda, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guinea-Bissau, Fiji, Maldives, Honduras, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Niger, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, East Timor, Britain, Uganda, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) organized today a seminar on international business etiquette and professional image building, tailored for local travel trade professionals, to enhance participants’ and companies’ corporate image, enabling them to raise their competitiveness, and ultimately solidifying the city’s image as a tourism destination. Famous Hong Kong etiquette expert and celebrity Mary Cheung conducted the training. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, together with some 200 management level staff from local hotels and travel agencies, and association representatives, attended the seminar, held this morning at MGM Macau. Etiquette and public relations expert, Mary Cheung conducted the training in a practical and interactive way, heightening participants’ knowledge on professional image building, international social manners and business etiquette, among other professional skills. The seminar is part of a series of industry training activities that MGTO has been organizing in order to enhance industry management and service quality, in line with the goal of positioning Macau as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. Last year, more than 4,300 tourism professionals attended training courses and workshops organized by MGTO.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, broad money supply rebounded in April. As total deposits increased at a faster pace than total loans, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking sector dropped from a month earlier. Money supply Currency in circulation grew 0.6% whereas demand deposits dropped 0.7%. M1 thus decreased 0.4% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities rose 3.6%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, increased 3.1% to MOP492.5 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 7.1% and 5.9% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 26.8%, down 0.7 percentage points from a month ago but up 2.5 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 51.2%, up 1.4 percentage points month-to-month or 2.0 percentage points year-on-year. The share of Chinese Yuan (CNY) was 11.6%, down 0.3 percentage points month-to-month or 5.2 percentage points year-on-year. The share of United States Dollar (USD) was 8.1%, down 0.4 percentage points month-to-month but up 0.6 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits increased 3.2% from the preceding month to MOP481.0 billion. Of which, MOP, HKD, CNY and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 0.6%, 6.0%, 0.4% and 4.4% while USD deposits decreased 1.8%. Non-resident deposits grew 0.8% to MOP238.4 billion. Public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 8.4% to MOP123.0 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector rose 3.2% from a month earlier to MOP842.4 billion. The shares of MOP, HKD, CNY and USD in total deposits were 19.2%, 41.9%, 13.2% and 21.2% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector increased 1.7% from a month ago to MOP360.1 billion. Among which, MOP96.3 billion was MOP-denominated, MOP238.8 billion was denominated in HKD, MOP2.6 billion was denominated in CNY and MOP20.7 billion was denominated in USD, representing 26.8%, 66.3%, 0.7% and 5.7% of the total respectively. On the other hand, external loans grew 1.2% to MOP358.7 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP, HKD, CNY and USD accounted for 1.4% (MOP5.2 billion), 21.7% (MOP77.8 billion), 17.9% (MOP64.3 billion) and 53.1% (MOP190.3 billion) respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios The loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-April dropped 1.5 percentage points from the previous month to 59.6%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors also declined 1.5 percentage points to 85.3%.
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Consumer Council conducted its first ‘Supermarket price survey’ in June on 4 June 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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Establishing a joint working committee with the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) would help the work of transforming Macao into a world centre for tourism and leisure. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, told CNTA Chairman Mr Li Jinzao this when they met at Government Headquarters in Macao on 2 June. On the same day, representatives of CNTA and the Macao Government signed an agreement to set up a joint working committee to foster Macao becoming such a centre, a strategic positioning laid down by the Central Government. Following the signing ceremony, a seminar that explored strategies to facilitate Macao achieve its goal under the emerging opportunities was held where the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, and Mr Li Jinzao spoke. Developing tourism along with new industries such as MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions), commerce, and cultural and creative, was the direction to follow in tourism development, said Mr Tam. Regional integration also favoured achieving the goal, especially in co-operation with Guangdong, which would help Macao reach more cities in Western China. In his speech, Mr Li outlined four highlights in Macao’s tourism development that included acquiring views from tourists, residents and other government departments; developing with Macao’s own features; studying the integration with Hong Kong and Zhuhai, especially strengthening ties with Zhuhai; and review the city’s capacity amid a growing number of visitors. After the seminar, Mr Tam told reporters that the Government would make policies not only to offer a pleasant journey for visitors but to ensure that it would not affect the people’s livelihood. The Government had been working on promoting temples and religious culture that could help Macao become a more favourable destination. The agreement just signed is aimed promoting Macao as a world centre for tourism and leisure, with the formation of the joint working committee in tourism, make regulations and plans for promotion, arrange Mainland-Macao exchanges, manage the sector and conduct researches on regional co-operation.
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The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, was in Beijing to foster closer co-operation with Mainland authorities in food safety and environment protection. The visit on 1 June took Ms Chan and her delegation to the China Food and Drug Administration, the State Forestry Administration and the General Administration of Quality Supervision. Ms Chan exchanged views with the Director of the China Food and Drug Administration, Mr Bi Jingquan, on the sharing of food safety information, supervision and management in production, distribution and consumption, establishment of food security standards, and the training of personnel. In the meeting with the Director of the State Forestry Administration, Mr Zhao Shucong, Ms Chan introduced Macao Government’s efforts in environment protection and thanked the Administration for its help during the transfer of the pair of giant pandas, a gift from the Central Government which started meeting the public in Macao this week. Mr Zhao expressed his full support for the diversifying features in parks in Macao, strengthening education in environmental conservation, and training of specialists in identifying species. After the meetings, the delegation also visited the General Administration of Quality Supervision, where Ms Chan exchanged views with the Deputy Director, Mr Mei Kebao, on inspection and quarantine, food safety, prevention of bird flu, changing the supply of live poultry with frozen ones in Macao, and an increase in the supply of agricultural produce from the Mainland. The both parties were in agreement with building a long-term communication mechanism. Ms Chan was accompanied on this trip by the Chief of Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Iao Man Leng; President of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Mr Vong Iao Lek; and consultants from Ms Chan’s office.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) is paying close attention to the ship sinking incident that occurred yesterday night in Yangtze river, China, and maintaining close contact with the Macao travel industry for further developments. From the preliminary information gathered through the Macao travel industry, until the present moment, there is no indication that any Macao tour groups were travelling in the sunk ship and that any Macao resident has been affected. Until the present moment, GGCT has not received any request for information or assistance. If necessary, Macao residents can call the 24-hour Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000.
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Recently, the CCAC received a letter from the New Macau Association reporting that the representatives of the proprietors of flats at Sin Fong Garden told the media that, after seven of the Sin Fong Garden proprietors were arrested last year by the police for the charge of aggravated disobedience, some government officials pledged “not to prosecute the arrested proprietors” in exchange for the withdrawal from the public road that the proprietors occupied for the protest. The association pointed out that such promise had allegedly constituted serious interference with judiciary independence and, therefore, requested the CCAC to carry out an in-depth probe into the case. Upon receipt of the said report, the CCAC proceeded with the procedures of recusal and substitution according to the relevant provisions under the Organic Law of the CCAC and subsequently commenced a formal investigation. In the course of the investigation, the representatives of the committee of Sin Fong Garden proprietors and those who had been prosecuted for occupying public road both stated that they never heard that some government officials had promised “not to prosecute” them. Meanwhile, the members of the cross-departmental task force set up by the Macao SAR Government to follow up the case of Sin Fong Garden and the officials of relevant government departments also stated that they had never made such promise. The CCAC also found in the investigation that last year the proprietors mainly staged two protests by occupying public road. The first one started on the afternoon of 23rd March and ended at around 9:00pm on 24th March as the protesters left on their own. No arrest occurred during the protest. The second one started on the night of 10th April. After several warnings in vain, the police started to clear up the site at around 1:00am on 11th April and arrested seven of the proprietors. The protesters had already withdrawn from the public road they occupied at that time and most of them had left when the police took action. Only some dozens of them camped at the parking lot of the building and the pavements nearby. The traffic condition at the site returned to normal quickly afterwards. Therefore, the saying that “some government officials requested the proprietors to withdraw from the public road by pledging not to prosecute them” is not reasonable. Since there is no evidence showing that government officials had ever promised not to prosecute the proprietors of the flats at Sin Fong Garden arrested for the charge of aggravated disobedience, the report of alleged interference with judicial independence is groundless. Therefore, the CCAC archived the case according to the law.
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The Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On has assured the public that the Government has adequate resources and facilities, including clear legislation for the prevention and control of diseases. Mr Chui gave this the assurance on 30 May, following the report that a Korean male who travelled to Guangdong via Hong Kong was infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus. Mr Chui said effective quarantine and tracing measures were necessary, as symptoms might appear days later. According to the latest information from Hong Kong health authorities, no Macao resident was on the same flight as the man who flew from Seoul to Hong Kong on 26 May. The Health Bureau said they saw no sign of the spreading of the disease by the five of the 29 who had close contact of the man on the plane: the five visited Macao briefly on 27 and 28 May. However, a Korean visitor who was on the same flight and now in Macao is urged to contact the Bureau. The Bureau will keep in touch with the World Health Organization and health authorities in neighbouring areas on the latest situation and health status of the close contacts. In another case, a resident who returned from Korea with fever was tested for MERS, but results showed the virus was H3N2 influenza. The Bureau urged the public, especially those who have visited the Middle East and Korea recently, to immediately seek medical treatment if fever or cough symptoms developed.
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