News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 28 banks in Macao and number of full-time employees totalled 5,742 at the end of the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 253 year-on-year. Analysed by occupation, there were 1,573 directors and managers, and 1,904 clerks, including 694 bank tellers. In March 2015, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees amounted to MOP23,900, up by 5.9% year-on-year. Average earnings of bank tellers increased by 7.0% to MOP13,900. At the end of the first quarter of 2015, job vacancies totalled 318, an increase of 73 year-on-year; vacancies for clerk stood at 169, including 66 for bank tellers. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 45.3% of the vacancies required working experience, 86.5% required tertiary education, and requirement for knowledge of Mandarin and English accounted for 98.4% and 89.9% respectively. In the first quarter of 2015, the Banking Sector hired 245 new employees; the employee recruitment rate (4.3%) edged up by 1.1 percentage points year-on-year, while the employee turnover rate (3.7%) fell by 0.4 percentage points, indicating that the human resource situation of the Banking Sector was relatively stable in this quarter. As regards vocational training, the Banking Sector had 4,562 participants attending training courses provided by the banks (including courses organized by the banks or in conjunction with other institutions, and those sponsored by the banks). The majority (69.8%) of the participants attended Business & Administration courses, followed by Law courses (14.2%). About 92.2% of the participants attended courses organized by the banks and almost all participants were employer-sponsored.
…

In cooperation with 789 Multimedia Marketing Limited and Chon Chin Association of Macau, Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) Tourism Retail and Marketing Management year 3 students, led by Dr. Fernando Lourenço, worked on a project on finding business opportunities for multimedia products and services for leisure and entertainment industries in Macao. It is believed that this project is crucial to Macao as the Macao SAR Government and local companies need to identify ways to diversify Macao’s economy and industries. Via this project, students conducted market research to identify business opportunities, market needs, and concepts to develop mobile applications, business models and marketing campaigns. A sharing session was arranged after the project is completed. The President of Chong Chin Association of Macau, André Ritchie, and the shareholders of 789 Multimedia Marketing Limited were invited to attend and give feedback to the students as well as assess the outcomes. Certificates were given to students for appreciating their efforts and recognising the performance and quality of IFT students.
…

According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector retreated slightly in the first quarter of 2015. At end-March 2015, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 85.9% from 86.0% at end-2014, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities dropped to 81.1% from 81.6%. Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2015, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.7% and 2.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 39.6%, 37.1%, 15.8% and 6.8% of total international assets as well as 44.8%, 33.7%, 13.1% and 6.4% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets At end-March 2015, total international assets advanced by 2.6% from a quarter ago and by 11.3% from a year earlier to MOP1,036.1 billion (USD129.7 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 6.9% year-on-year to MOP762.7 billion while local assets in foreign currencies jumped by 25.7% to MOP273.4 billion. As a major component of international assets, external non-bank loans grew by 19.8% to MOP354.6 billion. International Banking Liabilities Total international liabilities increased by 2.2% from three months ago and by 11.3% year-on-year to MOP979.0 billion (USD122.6 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 14.4% to MOP515.1 billion and 8.0% to MOP463.9 billion respectively. Foreign currency deposits held by residents and the MSAR government in local banks continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 6.2% to MOP424.2 billion at end-March 2015 from MOP399.5 billion at end-March 2014. Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to the regions of Asia and Europe. At end-March 2015, claims on Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China and Singapore occupied 34.8%, 30.8% and 1.9% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom took up 5.1%, 2.8% and 1.8% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China and Thailand accounted for 46.2%, 22.1% and 7.4% of the total respectively while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 2.5%, 1.9% and 1.3%. The compilation of International Banking Statistics follows the methodology advocated by the Bank for International Settlements in order to facilitate Macao SAR’s participation in the “Locational International Banking Statistics” project of the international organisation.
…

The Government attaches great importance in enhancing the quality of medical services and it is carrying out reforms for a better system to meet the people’s increasing healthcare needs. This is according to the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, who told the Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Ms Li Bin, in a meeting on 17 May before the opening of the 68th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr Tam said he was looking forward to more co-operation opportunities between local institutes and the mainland, including more exchanges of medical staff, to enhance standards. He thanked Ms Lin for the country’s support in building a contact mechanism, allowing the Government to receive the latest information on epidemics to prevent outbreaks, especially during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. Ms Li said the Commission would give full support to the Macao Government in developing a better medical service system; the Commission was looking forward to more involvement from Macao in strengthening its countrywide rescue team, following the call for a new global health emergency workforce by the Assembly. The following day (18 May) Mr Tam attended the opening of the Assembly, as a member of the Chinese delegation, along with the Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Lai Ieng Kit; the Director of the Health Bureau, Mr Lei Chin Ion; and the Deputy Director of the Health Bureau and Director of the Conde S. Januário hospital, Mr Kuok Cheong U. The World Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO). This year, it is being held in Geneva between 18-26 May. Its main functions are to stipulate policies for WHO, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors in the first quarter of 2015 amounted to MOP13.36 billion, down by 16.2% from MOP15.95 billion in the first quarter of 2014. Spending of overnight visitors totalled MOP10.40 billion, down by 21.1% year-on-year, while that of same-day visitors increased by 6.7% to MOP2.96 billion. In order to provide more information on the expenditure of Mainland visitors, additional data on spending of visitors from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province are released starting from this quarter. In the first quarter of 2015, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP1,802, down by 13.1% year-on-year. Analysed by place of residence, per-capita spending of visitors from Mainland China was MOP2,152, a drop of 15.1% year-on-year; those from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province spent an average of MOP1,553 and MOP1,486 respectively. Per-capita spending of Mainland visitors travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) decreased by 14.3% year-on-year to MOP2,279, with those from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province spending an average of MOP1,721 and MOP2,811 respectively. Moreover, per-capita spending of visitors from Singapore (MOP1,782) and Malaysia (MOP1,640) decreased by 3.0% and 6.0% respectively year-on-year; spending of those from Taiwan (MOP1,616), Japan (MOP1,504) and Hong Kong (MOP850) also registered decrease. Visitors from the United Kingdom had relatively high per-capita spending among the long-haul visitors, at MOP1,628, up significantly by 32.3% year-on-year. Analysed by consumption structure, visitors spent mainly on Shopping (48.3%), Accommodation (25.6%) and Food & Beverage (18.8%). Per-capita shopping spending dropped by 17.5% year-on-year to MOP871, and the preferred shopping items included Local Food Products (28.0%), Clothing (18.0%) and Cosmetics & Perfume (16.3%). Analysed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China spent an average of MOP1,198 on shopping, and that of IVS visitors was MOP1,435. Meanwhile, long-haul visitors spent primarily on Accommodation and Food & Beverage. Per-capita spending of overnight visitors decreased by 12.5% year-on-year to MOP3,230, while that of same-day visitors increased by 4.9%, at MOP706. Overnight visitors from Mainland China and Taiwan had relatively high per-capita spending, at MOP3,885 and MOP3,316 respectively. Among the same-day visitors, per-capita spending of Mainland visitors topped at MOP861, and that of IVS visitors was MOP1,323. According to the results of Visitors’ Comments Survey in the first quarter of 2015, about 88.6% of the visitor-users were satisfied with the services and facilities of hotels, up slightly by 0.4 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2014; those who complimented about the services of gaming establishments (83.3%) and shops (83.1%) rose by 1.9 and 1.1 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, 41.0% of the visitors commented that points of tourist attractions were adequate, up modestly by 0.6 percentage points quarter-to-quarter, while 13.4% considered that public transport services should be improved, down notably by 5.4 percentage points.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 5 hospitals in Macao in 2014, providing a total of 1,421 in-patient beds, up by 55 year-on-year. The occupancy rate of in-patient beds was 75.8%, up by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year. Number of in-patients increased by 3.2% year-on-year to 52,000; those aged below 15 (11,000) rose by 3.4% while those aged 65 and above (11,000) dropped by 3.1%. The average in-patient stay was 7.3 days, up by 0.1 day year-on-year. The hospitals provided a total of 1,513,000 out-patient consultations, up by 4.8% year-on-year. Owing to an increase in live births, consultations in Gynecology/Obstetrics (100,000) and Paediatrics/Neonatology (115,000) increased by 3.8% and 2.0% respectively year-on-year. In addition, dialysis treatments (77,000 cases) registered continuous growth, up by 7.7% year-on-year. Attendances to emergency services totalled 462,000, up by 3.8% year-on-year. Emergency attendances in Macao Peninsula (337,000) increased by 5.3% year-on-year, while those in Taipa (125,000) edged down by 0.1%. There were 697 primary health care establishments in 2014, including public health centres and private clinics. Total number of consultations increased by 8.9% year-on-year to 4,136,000, with 1,167,000 consultations in Chinese Medicine, 1,104,000 in General Practice, and 779,000 in Regular Services such as Adult Health Care, Child Health Care, etc. A total of 286,000 doses of vaccine were administered in hospitals and primary health care establishments in 2014; vaccinations against Influenza totalled 86,000 doses. Number of blood donors totalled 10,018 in 2014, down by 8.4% year-on-year; first-time blood donors (2,728) decreased by 14.1%. In 2014, there were 1,592 doctors and 1,990 nurses, up by 5.2% and 7.3% respectively year-on-year; number of doctors and nurses per 1,000 population was 2.5 and 3.1 respectively, similar to those in 2013.
…

To boost public understanding of Sac Pai Van public housing area which was completed and occupied in recent years, the Government Information Bureau (GCS) has produced a video clip and an album of still photographs of the new community, offering viewers snapshots of this new corner of the city. The Sac Pai Van public housing cluster includes On Son Building, Koi Nga Building and Ip Heng Building under the Home-Ownership Scheme, and public rental housing in the Lok Kuan Building, with a total of 9,015 residential units. The first Chinese characters of these four buildings can be combined as “On-Koi-Lok-Ip”, which means “Homes for all in a contented society”. Developed wholly with government funds, Sac Pai Van public housing area is currently the largest public housing project in Macao. It is the first community in Macao to utilise natural gas as domestic fuel and recycled water for toilet flushing. Various public departments are closely monitoring the provision of community facilities related to transportation, livelihoods, medical and healthcare, education, grocery markets, sports and recreation, and social services, ensuring local residents’ basic needs are met. The video and the album of photographs are the work of GCS photographer Luo Kam Lit. The video clip “The New Face of Urbanised Sac Pai Van”, produced with time-lapse techniques combining ground shots and aerial views offering different perspectives, has been uploaded to GCS’s Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/user/macaogcs). The album of photos “Sac Pai Van Public Housing”, has been uploaded to the photo albums column of GCS’s MSAR News app. The album features 10 photos, showing the outside and inside of the public housing cluster in broad daylight and at night.
…

Macao Post organizes the “Secure Electronic Postal Box – SEPBox” Mascot Design Competition to encourage participants’ creativity to design a Mascot which can express the functions and high-tech professional image of SEPBox. The main functions of SEPBox enable recipients to receive, electronically and securely, government notifications, Postal Registered electronic Mail, electronic bills and eDirect Mail (eDM), avoiding junk mail and electronic virus. There are General Group and Secondary Group in the “Secure Electronic Postal Box – SEPBox” Mascot Design Competition. Macao Post welcomes participants to either hand-paint or create computer graphic to design the mascot for the “Secure Electronic Postal Box – SEPBox”. Participants are free to create and imagine, but the entry theme shall be the functions of SEPBox. The deadline of submission is 17:45 of 18th August, 2015. There are three winners in each group respectively: champion, 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up. Winners will be awarded certificate and rich prize. The champion of the General Group will receive cash prize of MOP 8,000, 1st runner-up will receive MOP 5,000 and 2nd runner-up will receive MOP 3,000. While champion of the Secondary Group will receive cash prize of MOP 5,000, 1st runner-up will receive MOP 3,000 and 2nd runner-up will receive MOP 2,000. Winning entries will have the opportunity to be selected and made as the ambassador or promotional materials of SEPBox by Macao Post. For regulation and application form download of the “Secure Electronic Postal Box – SEPBox” Mascot Design Competition, please visit our website http://seps.macaupost.gov.mo/mascot. For enquiries, please contact us at Tel: 8396 8504 or email us at: ns@macaupost.gov.mo.
…

The country’s strategy in building the “Belt and Road” and Macao’s long-term development pattern and social achievements would bring a bright future for Macao, the Vice Premier, Mr Wang Yang, said today. Meeting the Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On in Wuhan during the 9th Central China Investment and Trade Expo (Expo Central China 2015), Mr Wang said he was optimistic in the future of Macao because of the strong support from the Central Government and the country’s development strategy in the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (“Belt and Road”), along with Macao’s own vitality and capability. In views of the Framework Agreement on Cooperation between Guangdong and Macao, a number of co-operation projects were realised in the country’s 12th Five-Year Plan which outlined the 2011-2015 development blueprint, such as the development of Hengqin in Zhuhai. Other projects would be moved forward in the 13th Five-Year Plan for 2016-2020; Mr Wang said it was more than a Guangdong-Macao co-operation, but a strategic move in national development. In the meeting, Mr Chui thanked Mr Wang for supporting Macao, especially during last year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Ministerial Meeting, 24-hour boundary crossing at checkpoints connecting Macao and Zhuhai, and the work on specifying Macao’s jurisdiction over its customary waters, which is expected to be completed this year. He said the Government would press ahead with turning 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, working in line with adequate economy diversification, and promotion of regional economic development and integration. To follow the Central Government’s policy direction, the Macao Government would strive to fortify commercial and trade ties in all aspects with the Portuguese-speaking countries. After meeting Mr Wang, the Chief Executive proceeded to meet with the Secretary of CPC Wuhan Municipal Committee, Mr Ruan Chengfa, and the Governor, Mr Wan Yong, to exchange views on high-end services, tourism, culture, and trade co-operation. Mr Chui said promoting a multi-destination travel model would bolster bilateral development; the Government would take into consideration setting up a contact office in Wuhan to enhance exchanges with places in Central China. Prior to the meetings, Mr Chui attended the opening of the Expo and visited the Wuhan City Planning Museum to learn of its latest development. Mr Chui will attend the tourism event promoting Macao “Experience Macao – Fujian” tomorrow in Fujian Province. Among those with Mr Chui in the meeting were the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms O Lam; member of the Standing Committee of Hubei Committee People's Political Consultative Conference and Vice President of the Office for Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Foreign Affairs, Mr Ma Io Hang and Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping.
…

Prof Shigefumi Mori, a world-renowned mathematician and recipient of the Fields Medal in 1990, will give the first lecture of the University Lecture Series, titled ‘Algebraic Geometry – How I Became Fond of It’, at the University of Macau (UM) on 2 June. He will talk about his passion for mathematics and the beauty of algebraic geometry. The talk will take place on Tuesday 2 June in Room G062 in Anthony Lau Building (E4) from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. It will be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Cantonese. Advance registration is required due to limited seating. Those interested please complete online registration at https://isw.umac.mo/evm/register/smori. For enquiries, please call 8822 4392 or email to uls@umac.mo.
…