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Consumer Council conducted its sixth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in March on 19 March for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets in São Lázaro and São Lourenço Parishes. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps. 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 over 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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To keep pace with the evolving needs of society, the University of Macau (UM) has been constantly improving its curriculum in order to provide a greater variety of choices for the students. Also, to support the SAR government’s higher education policy, UM has been constantly seeking international academic accreditation. For example, three bachelor’s degree programmes offered by UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology have been recognised by Washington Accord signatories (including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Russia, etc). Three bachelor’s degree programmes offered by the Faculty of Business Administration have also gained international accreditation. Other faculties at UM are also developing plans to seek accreditation from independent international academic institutions. UM expects to see more academic programmes gain international accreditation in the future. The reason that the new five-year Bachelor of Law programme (conducted in Chinese and Portuguese) launched after the handover of Macao and the Bachelor of Law programmes in Chinese and Portuguese that have been reformed after the handover are not automatically recognised by the Portuguese government is as follows: the programmes launched by UM before the handover of Macao were recognised automatically through publication on Portugal’s Official Gazette (Diário da República) by the Portuguese government, after an academic process was completed for each programme involving UM, the Macao government, the Ministry of Education in Portugal, and the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP). As Macao is no longer a territory under Portuguese administration, programmes launched or revised by UM after the handover will not be published on Portugal’s Official Gazette and recognised by the Portuguese government automatically. Like the other faculties at UM, the Faculty of Law is developing a plan to seek accreditation from independent international academic institutions. All law schools in the world, including those in Portugal, have been improving the syllabus of their law programmes to meet the needs of society. The purpose of the curriculum reform in UM’s Faculty of Law is to produce high-quality bilingual graduates who are proficient in Chinese and Portuguese to meet the needs of the Macao society.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) announced the preliminary financial figures of the Macao SAR Fiscal Reserve as of 31 December 2014. The total size of the Fiscal Reserve stood at MOP246.34 billion, which comprised of MOP116.46 billion as the Basic Reserve and MOP129.88 billion as the Excess Reserve. Review for the year of 2014 During the year of 2014, the AMCM, like any other public institutions of similar investment profile, continued to face a persistent wave of various risks in major investment markets worldwide. With the transfer of the fiscal budget surplus of 2012 in the beginning of 2014, the size of the Fiscal Reserve grew significantly and so did the excess reserve part as a result. While safeguarding the legally required size of the Basic Reserve, the AMCM has adopted a more progressive and diversified strategy in asset allocations in order to strive for a better investment return. Global interest rates remained at record lows in most of the major economies and traditional benchmark type government debt securities offered little interest income. The AMCM prudently adjusted the asset allocation of the Fiscal Reserve between high grade and high yield debt and increased its exposure to global corporate and financial bond sectors, aiming to lock in higher interest income from a diversified portfolio of bonds with strong credit ratings. The total allocation to bonds stood at approximately 47% by the end of the year, of which U.S. Dollar and Renminbi denominated bonds were the major components. China’s monetary policy accommodation during the year created a favorable market environment for the bond investment of the Fiscal Reserve. Market yield level for onshore bond instruments went through a period of downward moves. Holdings of the Fiscal Reserve’s onshore bond portfolio recorded a general revaluation gain as a result. The Fiscal Reserve’s efforts in diversifying its overseas bond portfolio into a wider product range, on the other hand, further helped the overall bond portfolio in securing a higher return. For the year 2014, despite widespread market volatilities, total income generated from bond investments amounted to MOP3.65 billion and continued to form the largest source of income for the Fiscal Reserve. Rate of return improved to 3.3% for the year 2014, versus 2.2% the previous year. After a comprehensive consultation with the Advisory Board of the Fiscal Reserve, the AMCM started investing into the equity sector with a diversified spectrum covering global emerging markets, global developed markets and the onshore China equity market (through QFII). Total allocation of equities amounted to an approximate 7.7% of the Fiscal Reserve as a whole as at the end of 2014, providing further diversification benefits for the overall investment process. Revaluation losses from global emerging markets equity portfolios during the year, nevertheless, were fully recouped from the relatively good performance in global developed markets equity portfolios. The major engine behind the MOP1.4 billion overall income from equity investment came from the onshore China equity portfolio where the benchmark large and medium-capitalization sector recorded significant price gains, contributing to the overall 8.7% return for the Fiscal Reserve’s equity investment in general. The movements of global major currencies in the foreign exchange market were extremely volatile, thus the relevant risk was high in foreign exchange trading. At the end of the year, US dollar index surged 12.8%, the euro and the Japanese yen fell simultaneously by 12.0% while the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar and the British pound fell 8.4%, 8.6 % and 5.9% respectively. Although the decline in offshore renminbi was more moderate, yet it fell 2.6%. During the year, AMCM increased some holdings of offshore renminbi and US dollar at appropriate levels, while the positions of other currencies remained unchanged at very low levels. In 2014, the FX revaluation loss of fiscal reserve reached MOP3.14 billion which was mainly due to the loss on revaluation of MOP2.63 billion in renminbi. However, after incorporating the total interest income MOP3.93 billion derived from renminbi bonds and deposits, the actual renminbi investment income was MOP1.3 billion, representing an investment return about 1.11%. Had there been no holdings in the renminbi assets but holding in USD denominated assets instead, and by comparing with the rate of return of US Treasuries 1-3 years at 0.63%, the interest income in USD would have been MOP0.74 billion only. In money market operations, AMCM held adequate amount of short-term deposits to await optimal opportunity for assets relocation while other funds were adequately allocated for longer term deposits at different time intervals, and taking the advantages of higher renminbi interest rates, and to strive for the maximization of interest income. As for the whole year, total deposits interest amounted to MOP2.75 billion, with the corresponding rate of return of 2.40%, which was about 67 basis points higher than the 1.73% in 2013. In general, investments in bonds and equities for the capital market portfolios generated an overall positive income on the back of benign market performance, together with interbank deposits in the money market section, bringing together a reasonable annual return for the Fiscal Reserve. Although the renminbi exchange rate fell again at the end of the fourth quarter and thus suffered further FX revaluation loss. But after including the higher renminbi interest income, the actual earnings of overall renminbi investment were still at a reasonable level after incorporating comparatively higher interest income in renminbi. For the Fiscal Reserve as a whole, the year 2014 registered a total income of MOP4.67 billion, representing an approximate annual return of 2.0%. Outlook for the year 2015 It is anticipated that the rising trend of official U.S. interest rate, the economic situation and the direction of financial policies of major countries will lead to the volatility of global bond markets, exchange rates and stock market. Such risk factors in turn could substantially affect the short term revaluation results of the Fiscal Reserve. Against this backdrop, the AMCM will closely track market developments and aim to safely and effectively implement dynamic portfolio allocations based on an overall appropriate risk level. In particular, the Fiscal Reserve will make use of market opportunities to further strengthen the portfolio’s weighting on the equity sector. In regard to the outlook on the renminbi exchange rate, it is predicted that, under the backdrop of foreseeable rate cuts by world's major central banks, the PBOC may possibly follow the rate cut to stimulate the economy during the year, and therefore there will be sustainable downward pressure on the renminbi. AMCM will monitor closely the relevant developments in the market, make timely assessment on the consolidated income between the loss on FX revaluation and interest income, follow up closely and execute necessary hedging strategy, and adjust appropriately the ultimate asset allocation in renminbi based on risk and return consideration, thus ensuring the safety of funds invested while at the same time pursue a steady medium to long term rate of return. * Please find the attached file
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After comprehensive analyses, the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will submit an evaluation report to the Central Government for the optimisation of the facilitated individual travel scheme. Reports on the city’s capacity for tourists -- compiled by the Secretary for Security, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, and the Institute for Tourism Studies -- have been submitted to the Chief Executive’s Office. The optimisation of the facilitated individual travel scheme will be based on the city’s actual situation and the report, finding a balance between tourism development and the people’s living quality. The Government places great importance on Macao’s capability for receiving visitors, especially during peak holiday periods: and for this Mr Chui convened an inter-departmental meeting before the Lunar New Year and deployed a tourism reception strategy with crowd management at checkpoints and major attractions over the holidays. The facilitated individual travel scheme was introduced in 2003 as a full support from the Central Government to help Macao recover from the economic slowdown brought about by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome disease (SARS). The Government felt that after having been implemented for more than a decade, the time had come to review the scheme and to plan ahead.
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The Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On will deliver his Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2015 on Monday (23 March) at 3 pm in the Legislative Assembly. This will be followed by a press conference at Government Headquarters, at 5 pm, where Mr Chui will take questions from the press. The following day, Mr Chui will attend a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly between 3pm to 6pm to explain his policies blueprint and answer questions from legislators. The five policy secretaries and their subordinates will present their 2015 policy guidelines to the Assembly from 3 pm to 8 pm, on the following dates: Secretary for Administration and Justice: 26-27 March, Secretary for Economy and Finance: 30-31 March, Secretary for Security: 9-10 April, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture: 13-14 April, and Secretary for Transport and Public Works: 16-17 April. Teledifusão de Macau (TDM) will broadcast these live on its television and radio services. Members of the public could also watch the live broadcast online through 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). Chinese and Portuguese versions of the Policy Address for download will be available on these websites. After the Chief Executive speaks on Monday, hard copies of the Policy Address and pamphlets will be available at the Government Head Office Auxiliary Bureau, Government Information Bureau, Printing Bureau, Government Information Centre, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Macao Central Library, and the Macao Post. To ensure a better understanding of the policies, the Macao Post will deliver pamphlets in Chinese and Portuguese with highlights of the Policy Address to every household in Macao. In addition, members of the public can pick up the pamphlets at locations, such as libraries of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, environmental information service centres, citizen service centres, centres of the Social Welfare Bureau, social affairs centres, centres of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, associations, non-government organisations and schools.
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As one of the work items in the yearly plan, the fuel farm exercise at Macau International Airport, simulating a fire in the farm, was carried out this afternoon (19 March 2015) to test and assess the capacity of the government entities and the operators in handling a fuel farm emergency when a case arises. All entities involved cooperated closely with each other in resolving the crisis. The exercise was deemed smooth. The “Fuel Farm Exercise 2015” started at 14:30 and lasted for one hour. The scenario was of a fire incident taking place in a fuel tank top due to static electricity. Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals Co. Ltd., the fuel provider, immediately activated the safety systems according to their internal procedures and moved away the vehicles parked in the area. Simultaneously, they informed all concerned entities involved in the emergency in accordance with the Airport Emergency Plan. The airport fire fighting station delivered their trucks to the spot at once to put off the fire. Although there were no injuries, the commander-in-chief asked for additional support from the Fire Services Headquarters and evacuated the staff in the vicinity of the incident, considering the high critical degree of the incident area. The exercise was coordinated by the Administration of Airports, Ltd. The communication between all personnel involved and the delivery of fire fighting facilities were all carried out efficiently; the staff was also evacuated in a timely and orderly manner. About 300 people took part in the exercise, who represented the Unitary Police, the Public Security Police Force, the Fire Services, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR, CAM-Macau International Airport Company Ltd., the Administration of Airports Ltd., Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals Company Ltd., the Macau Security Company Ltd., Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd., MCS-Macau Catering Services Company Ltd. and Air Macau Company Ltd.
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The Macao Orchestra de Macau, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presents the chamber music concert Obsessed with Beethoven, to be held on 27 March, Friday, at 8pm, at the Dom Pedro V Theatre. The programme of the concert includes three of the composer’s chamber music pieces. Tickets are available at the Macau Ticketing Network. The classical period was the golden age of chamber music and Beethoven was one of the most important composers of the 18th and 19th centuries, crucially contributing for the evolution of chamber music. The concert begins with Wind Octet in E-flat major, a refined work of the initial period and one of the most remarkable pieces of chamber music. The Orchestra also interprets two of the most brilliant works that helped establish Beethoven’s name as one of the world’s greatest composers, String Quartet No. 1 in F major and his latest composition Grosse Fugue. Tickets for Obsessed with Beethoven are for sale at MOP100 and MOP80. Ticketing hotline: 2855 5555. For more information on this concert, please access Macao Orchestra’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/om.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met with the Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Mr Liu Jieyi, and exchanged views with him on Macao’s external affairs and socio-economic development. In the meeting at Government House, Mr Chui said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in Macao had played an important role in fostering stable and prosperous development, managing the Special Administrative Region’s external affairs and in establishing contact with foreign countries. In response, Mr Li said the Ministry would make every effort to help Macao in foreign affairs matters and create a better international network. Visiting Macao after an absence of more than a decade, he said the city had changed tremendously and that he had learned from the Ministry that it had developed prosperously. Mr Chui said the Government would continue to co-operate with the country’s developments, be more vigilant in time of peace, make the most of development opportunities, strictly follow the principle of “One country, two systems” and strengthen the people’s patriotic sense. Officials who also attended the meeting were the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the Macao SAR Mr Hu Zhengyue, the Deputy Commissioner Mr Pan Yundong; the Secretary for Administration and Justice Ms Chan Hoi Fan, Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office Ms O Lam, and the Director of Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Mr Fung Sio Weng.
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Consumer Council conducted its fifth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in March on 17 March for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets at Lam Mau, Patane and San Kio areas in Santo António Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps. 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 over 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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A seminar was held in Zhongshan to study the planning of the Cuiheng New District and developments to adequately diversify the economy of Macao. Organised by Guangdong authorities and the Macao Polytechnic Institute, the seminar was attended by academics from Beijing, Guangzhou and Macao, and representatives of the Macao Government: they discussed issues on the framework agreement for the development of the Cuiheng New District in Zhongshan and the first meeting last month of the Taskforce for the Promotion of Zhongshan-Macao Co-operation. At the seminar, held on 10 March, the group discussed the positioning of the Guangdong-Macao co-operation display zone, measures to combine Zhongshan’s geographic advantages and experience in light industry with Macao’s “One country, two systems”, platform and management experience, and to bring more opportunities to small- and medium-sized enterprises and young people. In the long run, the governments should make best use of the country’s strategic development and the development of Guangdong and Macao. Representing the Macao Government at the seminar were the head of the committee for the strategic development of Guangdong and Macao, Consultant of the Chief Executive’s Office Mr Kou Chin Hung; and the deputy head of the committee, Mr Yang Daokuang.
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