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Florinda Chan, acting chief executive of the Macao SAR and representative of the chancellor of UM, met with Nobel laureates Prof Robert C Merton and Prof Mo Yan, who are also this year's recipients of honorary doctorates from UM. Chan exchanged ideas with the two Nobel laureates on the development of UM. Chan welcomed Prof Merton and Prof Mo and thanked them for being the keynote speakers at UM's Doctor honoris causa Forums to share their insights on finance and literature with the residents of Macao. Chan said that the new campus was a big gift to Macao from the central government on the tenth anniversary of the Macao SAR, and thus should fulfil the responsibility to nurture outstanding graduates for society. Chan added that it was unprecedented to have a campus of a Macao university physically located in Zhuhai but is under the jurisdiction of the Macao SAR. Mo Yan noted that every city should have a representative university; for example, Beijing has a Peking University, and UM is a representative university in Macao and serves as an academic and cultural window. Mo also commented on the beautiful campus, saying that he believes the campus will be more beautiful in ten years' time. Prof Merton talked about new campus, talent development, and other related topics. Adviser of the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice Tchiang Van Kei, UM University Council Chair Lam Kam Seng, UM Rector Wei Zhao, Department of Chinese Head Prof Zhu Shoutong, and Communications Office Director Katrina Cheong were also present at the meeting.
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At the Ceremony for Conferment of Honorary Degrees and Higher Degrees held today (6 December), the University of Macau (UM) conferred honorary doctorates on two Nobel laureates, namely Prof Robert C Merton and Prof Mo Yan, as well as two distinguished individuals in the field of civil engineering, namely Prof Lee Chack Fan and Ir Siu Yin Wai, in recognition of their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to society and education. PhD degrees and master's degrees were also awarded at the ceremony. Florinda Chan, acting chief executive of the Macao SAR and representative of the chancellor of UM, officiated at the ceremony. Chan said that UM's new campus provides a very good platform for the long-term development of UM, adding that in the long run the campus will not only benefit UM, but will improve the overall quality of higher education in Macao. Chan said in her speech that UM's new campus provides a beautiful and comfortable environment for students to live and study in. She noted that the state-of-the-art facilities, the rich research resources, and the cultural diversity at UM combine to create an inspiring environment that helps students to broaden their perspectives, to think creatively and independently, and to develop positive character traits. Chan added that in the long run, the new campus will not only benefit UM, but will improve the overall quality of higher education in Macao, and for this reason the Macao SAR government has high expectations for UM's future development. Chan also congratulated UM on being ranked among the world's top 300 universities. She added that the ranking is testament to the progress that UM has made in improving its hardware and software. Prof Robert C Merton, a Nobel laureate in economics, gave a speech on behalf of this year's five honorary doctorate recipients. Prof Merton said that he was honoured to be awarded the honorary doctorate, alongside Prof Chen-Ning Franklin Yang, who won a Nobel prize in physics for disproving the "parity laws"; Prof Mo Yan, a renowned contemporary Chinese writer and the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize in literature; Prof Lee Chack Fan, an expert on geotechnical and hydraulic engineering who participated in the construction of the Three Gorges Project and the Ertan Dam; and Ir Siu Yin Wai, a native of Macao who has received numerous honours in engineering, including the Structural Excellence Award from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers. Prof Merton added that just like the diversity of expertise among the five honorary doctorate recipients, the diverse disciplines that UM offers are suitable for the growth of Macao and beyond. UM Rector Wei Zhao said in his speech that as testified by their professional and academic accomplishments, as well as the numerous important positions and honours they hold in their own fields, the five honorary degree recipients are the people who know how to make their dreams come true and they certainly inspire UM students in the search for their ideals. In addition to honorary doctorates, UM also awarded certificates to 551 graduates of PhD programmes, master's degree programmes, and postgraduate diploma/certificate programmes, from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences, and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. Representative of this year's graduates, Dr Kuok Chin Him, expressed his gratitude to Rector Wei Zhao for managing the university with vision to establish and promote UM to reach world-class standards in research and teaching, while providing pathways for graduates and current students to achieve very promising futures and leading the university into a new era.
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Macao and the United States of America have substantially concluded discussions on an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) Model 2 that will facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) by financial institutions in Macao. FATCA is an anti-tax evasion regime enacted by the US to detect US taxpayers who use accounts with non-US financial institutions to conceal income and assets from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). FATCA requires financial institutions outside of the US to report financial account information of US taxpayers to the US IRS. Failing this, relevant institutions will face repercussions in the form of withholding tax imposed by the US IRS on relevant US-sourced payments to them. Following the completion of the substantive discussions, Macao and the US have reached agreement in substance as of November 30, 2014 to sign the IGA Model 2 in the near future. Under the IGA, financial institutions in Macao already did the registration and concluded separate individual agreements with the US IRS. Under these agreements, these institutions will seek consent of their account holders who are US taxpayers for reporting their account information to the US IRS annually. The IGA demonstrates Macao's commitments to enhancing tax transparency in the international arena. It will lower compliance costs for the financial industry and safeguard the interests of the financial institution s and their clients. The due diligence and reporting requirements under FATCA will only target specified US taxpayers including US citizens, or US resident individuals, or specified entities established in the US or controlled by US persons.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that a total of 13,272 Wholesale & Retail establishments, market stalls and fixed stalls on the street were operating in 2013, up by 639 year-on-year. Total number of persons engaged increased by 2,597 year-on-year to 54,414. Receipts reached MOP 103.79 billion and Expenditure totalled MOP 92.03 billion, up by 20% and 17% respectively year-on-year. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy rose by 20% to MOP 20.81 billion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation amounted to MOP 1.39 billion, down by 18% year-on-year. Analysed by industry, number of establishments operating in Sales of Motor Vehicles & Automotive Fuel increased by 28 year-on-year to 928. Receipts expanded by 24% to MOP 7.66 billion, on account of a 30% growth in receipts from Sales of motor vehicles (MOP 5.16 billion) boosted by strong auto sales, as well as a 7% rise in receipts from Retail sale of automotive fuel (MOP 1.45 billion). Meanwhile, Expenditure grew by 26% to MOP 7.35 billion. Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 881 million, down by 6% year-on-year. There were 4,622 Wholesale establishments, up by 589 year-on-year. Receipts increased by 13% to MOP 28.63 billion, of which receipts from Wholesale of food, beverages & tobacco (MOP 9.24 billion) rose by 16%, while receipts from Wholesale of other consumer goods such as electrical appliances, medicine, hygiene and cleaning products, etc. (MOP 6.10 billion) dropped by 6%. Expenditure totalled MOP 26.41 billion, up by 9% year-on-year. Gross Value Added went up by 28% to MOP 4.21 billion. There were 6,051 Retail establishments, up by 54 year-on-year. Spurred by the continuous growth in visitor spending and domestic demand, Receipts increased by 24% year-on-year to MOP 65.91 billion, of which receipts from Retail sale of watches, clocks & jewellery goods (MOP 20.96 billion), goods in department stores (MOP 11.07 billion), leather articles (MOP 7.45 billion), adults' clothing (MOP 6.42 billion) and goods in supermarkets (MOP 4.28 billion) registered growth. Expenditure rose by 21% year-on-year to MOP 56.94 billion, on account of rising costs of purchased goods (+22%) and higher operating expenses (+19%). Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 15.41 billion, up by 20% year-on-year. A total of 744 market stalls and 927 fixed stalls on the street were operating in 2013. Receipts and Expenditure amounted to MOP 1.58 billion and MOP 1.32 billion respectively, both down by 4% year-on-year. Gross Value Added decreased by 1% to MOP 311 million.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will lead a delegation to Beijing on Sunday to attend the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition to show Macao's achievements in the 15 years after its return to the motherland. Titled "Thriving Together – the Introduction to the Achievements Exhibition for the 15th Anniversary of the Macao Special Administrative Region", the exhibition will be held at the Beijing Exhibition Center from 8 to 28 December. Mr Chui will deliver a speech at the opening on Monday. The officiating guests include state leaders, officials of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and Beijing Municipal People's Government. The incumbent and designated principal officials of Macao Government, members of the Executive Council, members of the Legislative Assembly, officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR; Macao deputies to the National People's Congress, Macao delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as well as dignitaries from the community will also present in the opening ceremony. With a rich variety of photos, in-depth illustrations and graphs displayed on the interactive monitors, the exhibition will showcase the new progress and the achievements of the Government in economic development, livelihood betterment, social harmony maintenance and other areas. It also reflects the long-term strong support from the Central Government and Macao people's love for the country and Macao. While Mr Chui is away, the Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuok Va, will be the Acting Chief Executive.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, money supply rebounded in October. 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 and demand deposits grew 3.0% and 6.1% respectively. M1 thus increased 5.6% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities dropped 0.3%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, increased 0.5% to MOP489.6 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 1.7% and 9.9% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 25.4%, up 0.2 percentage points from a month ago or 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 49.4%, down 0.1 percentage point month-to-month or 3.8 percentage points year-on-year.
Deposits
Resident deposits increased 0.4% from the preceding month to MOP479.2 billion. Of which, MOP deposits and HKD deposits increased at respective rates of 1.2% and 0.2% whereas other foreign currency deposits kept virtually unchanged. Non-resident deposits dropped 0.4% to MOP233.9 billion. Public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 1.2% to MOP89.1 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector grew 0.3% from a month earlier to MOP802.2 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 18.4% and 41.3% respectively.
Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector increased 0.8% from a month ago to MOP331.4 billion. Among which, MOP92.0 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP212.2 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 27.8% and 64.0% of the total respectively. On the other hand, external loans rose 0.6% to MOP348.2 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 1.3% (MOP4.5 billion) and 23.3% (MOP81.2 billion) respectively.
Loan-to-deposit ratios
The loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-October rose 0.1 percentage point from the previous month to 58.3%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors also grew by 0.3 percentage points to 84.7%.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) held the "Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme" Awards Gala Dinner today (4 December). Launching the Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme (QTSAS) in April, the Office targets the catering industry this year. During the Awards Gala Dinner, 86 qualified merchants were presented the "Star Merchant Award", with four of them also entitled to the "Service Star Award". The Gala Dinner was held at Grand Hyatt Macau. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; Deputy Directors Cecilia Tse and Cheng Wai Tong; President of the Institute for Tourism Studies, Fanny Vong; Head of Department of Cultural Activities and Recreation of Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Choi Chi Hong; Head of Training and Quality Management Department of MGTO, Alice Coelho; Head of Consumer Arbitration Centre of Consumer Council, Ao Weng Tong; President of Macau Hotel Association, Samuel Yeung Chun Yip; President of the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macau, Chan Chak Mo; President of the Association of Macau Small and Medium Enterprises of Catering, Ieong Weng Seng and Chief Operating Officer of Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, P. C. Chan were present at the Gala Dinner. Dedicated to "strengthen industry training and management; enhance tourism service quality" as one of its main goals this year, MGTO launched the QTSAS this April, aiming not only to establish service quality standards for the tourism industry but also to encourage and support industry partners to provide services of higher quality. The scheme's objective is also to acclaim tourism businesses for their excellent services provided to customers and their remarkable service management. The scheme includes two accolades namely "Star Merchant Award" and "Service Star Award". Targeting the catering industry this year, the Office intends to extend the QTSAS to other tourism-related industries in Macau in the long run. Based on the categorization of license, MGTO set up four categories including "Deluxe Restaurant", "First Class Restaurant", "Second Class Restaurant" and "Food and Beverage Establishments". A total of 99 merchants entered into the assessments. Starting in May, the participating businesses were given two types of assessments, "Service Management System Audit" and "Mystery Shopping Assessment" with regard to their management level and frontline service. 86 qualified merchants received the "Star Merchant Award" for their quality tourism services this year, with four of them entitled to the "Service Star Award" as well because of the highest score they received in their respective category. During her speech, Director Senna Fernandes remarked, "Being an international tourist city, Macau has all the motives to keep improving and developing its tourism facilities and products. More than that, we shall not cease upgrading our service quality, considering it as one of the key factors that determine visitors' travel experience in Macau and their impression about the city." She hopes that local industry partners will continue to be a part of the scheme to improve their service quality, while together fostering the quality improvement of local tourism services along the path of building Macau into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. She congratulated all the awarded merchants and exhorted the catering and tourism sector to keep providing quality services for locals and visitors. Each awarded merchant in the QTSAS was presented an accreditation certificate of "Star Merchant Award", an accolade which shows to customers their ability and commitment to provide quality tourism services. Valid for a period of three years, the accreditation also helps the merchants to better promote their service. The merchants who received the highest score in their respective category were also presented the "Service Star Award" trophy and a cash prize of MOP5,000. MGTO held an array of activities to support the scheme including an explanation session about the QTSAS assessment criteria and a mid-term session for participating merchants to share their progress, as well as other training opportunities to optimize frontline staff service. On the other hand, the Office has produced a special video to promote the scheme and showed it as a debut during the dinner. Besides that, MGTO will promote the scheme through bus advertisements and other different channels as well. In the future, MGTO will carry on the scheme and organize more different training activities in partnership with local trade and training institutes based on the demands of the tourism and related sectors. Details about the awarded merchants are listed in the "Star Merchant Award" – Restaurants and Eateries Guide, with printed copies given out at MGTO's Tourist Information counters starting from around the end of this year. 24 deluxe restaurants, 22 first class restaurants, 13 second class restaurants and 27 food and beverage establishments are awarded the "Star Merchant Award"; one merchant out of each category is also presented the "Service Star Award". The awarded merchant list is also available to the public on MGTO's website: http://industry.macautourism.gov.mo.
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This year, over 1,100 businesses are entitled to the 2015 'Certified Shop' emblem and 14 'Certified Shops' are awarded as 'Class A Certified Shop' by the Consumer Council. The Council conducts the assessment annually to evaluate if the shops are being qualified for the 'Certified Shop' emblems and the assessment elements include on-site evaluation, evaluation by "mystery shoppers" and complaint records of the shops being assessed. This year, 1,105 shops passed the evaluation and are entitled to the 2015 'Certified Shop' emblem, with a pass rate of 80%, while 274 shops failed the assessment and are disqualified for the new 'Certified Shop' emblem. The Council will continue to improve its assessment scheme to ensure the standards of the 'Certified Shops' are maintained. Besides adding a grading system of 6 levels to its assessment mechanism of 'Certified Shop' in 2011, to ensure consumers are well informed, the Council is concerned whether the 'Certified Shops' have the prices of goods/services, and the exchange rates for other currencies to Patacas clearly displayed, and that after sales services are being provided to consumers.
The Council states that through continuous improvement in the evaluation scheme, the status of the 'Certified Shops' is thus augmented. Any shop that fails the assessment will be disqualified for the 'Certified Shop' emblem, and those shops that pass the assessment will be entitled to the emblems and consumers can shop with confidence at the 'Certified Shops'. The assessment result this year is satisfactory and nearly 60% of the shops are graded A and B.
14 'Certified Shops' are awarded as 'Class A Certified Shop' and the award ceremony of 'Class A Certified Shop' was held on 4th December at Macau Fisherman's Wharf. Out of the 14 'Class A Certified Shops', 7 are jewellery and goldsmiths stores, the other 'Class A Certified Shops' include retail businesses such as are mobile phone retailing, money exchange and drug stores, etc.. 53 representatives from different organizations were also awarded certificates for their continuous support as consultants of the 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' during the award ceremony.
The Council held a Chinese news writing competition earlier to arouse the public's interest and participation in social affairs and enhance their awareness of consumer rights. The winners were chosen and certificates were presented at the ceremony.
Delegates attending the ceremony included Mr. Tong Hio Fong, Judge of the Court of Second Instance; Ms. Kan Cheng Ha, Arbitration Judge of the Consumer Arbitration Centre; representatives from government departments and members of the Consumer Council General Committee, etc.. The 2015 'Certified Shop' emblems were distributed during the ceremony to those 'Certified Shops' that passed the annual assessment.
(Please see attached chart for the list of 14 'Class A Certified Shops')
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The Macao Museum - under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau - and its affiliated galleries - including the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt, the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre, the Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business, the Mount Fortress Corridor, and the Guia Chapel located in Guia Fortress - will remain open as usual during the December 2014 public holidays in and on New Year's Day. The public holidays include the Feast of the Immaculate Conception - 8 December, the Macao Special Administrative Region Establishment Day - 20 December, Winter Solstice - 22 December, Christmas Eve - 24 December, Christmas Day - 25 December and New Year's Day - 1 January. Free admission will be offered on 20 December. Macao ID cardholders and student cardholders can also visit the museum for free on Sundays. Residents and tourists may take this opportunity to visit the Macao Museum and enjoy the exhibition "Historical Imprints of Lingnan: Major Archaeological Discoveries of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao" on display during the above mentioned public holidays. Through this exhibition, visitors can better understand the fascinating historical and cultural progress in the Lingnan region and the recent achievements of archaeological works conducted in the three regions. Moreover, the Organizer will host a lecture entitled 'Macao's Recent Archaeological Works and its Results' on 6 December. All are welcome to register and attend the lecture. For more information on the abovementioned events, please call the Macao Museum through tel. 2835 7911 during office hours or visit the websites of the Macao Museum at www.macaumuseum.gov.mo and the Cultural Affairs Bureau at www.icm.gov.mo.
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IFT is hosting The 5th International Conference on Destination Branding and Marketing (DBM-V) from 3 to 5 December 2014. Themed "Building Enduring Place Brands", the Conference attracted 70 delegates representing 20 countries and regions as well as more than 30 higher educational institutions in addition to several representatives of DMOs and creative agencies. During the opening session of the Conference, President of IFT Dr. Fanny Vong delivered an opening address and welcome remark as the Chair of the Conference. The DBM-V gathered destination marketing experts from academia, industry and tourism agencies to discuss effective strategies to overcome the myriad challenges many destinations and communities now face in a moment-obsessed, social-media savvy world and where originality and lasting authenticity of place brands become increasingly difficult to achieve. Co-organisers of DBM-V included University of South Carolina, US, the Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK and University of Surrey, UK. During the Conference, speakers from around the world presented notable keynote addresses, those included: - Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, Macao
Leverage on Both Old and New Elements to Unveil Macao - Dr. Robert Govers, Managing Research Partner of Good Country Index
Nation Brands and Good Countries - Dr. Steven Pike, Associate Professor of Queensland University of Technology, Australia
A Narrative Analysis of the First 40 Years of Destination Marketing Literature: 1973 – 2013 - Mr. Malcolm Allan, Managing Director of Placematters Ltd.
The Cork City Region Brand Proposition - Dr. Alan Fyall, Professor of Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, US
Destination and Place Brands: Collaboration, Coexistence and Common Goals? - Dr. Nigel Morgan, Professor of School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, UK The Wild Atlantic Way: Developing a Brand Proposition for the World's Longest Drive-Tourism Route
Founded in December 2005 at IFT, the DBM conferences series has become one of the leading fora for practitioners and thinkers in the area of tourism destination branding and marketing. It has attracted a growing and very loyal following among its regular participants, which includes scholars, postgraduate students as well as industry practitioners in destination branding and tourism marketing. The first three biannual DBM conferences were held in Macao, and the fourth DBM conference was hosted at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. Through organising and participating in international conferences, ITRC of IFT plays a more active role in fostering research locally and internationally. Its collaboration with other universities helps bring attention to the most relevant issues about tourism related developments as well as benefit the tourism development of Macao in the long run.
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