News

To further satisfy public demand regarding zodiac notes, the two Issuing Banks have already started accepting the online registration, via AMCM’s webpage (www.amcm.gov.mo), for the exchange of the four previously issued Zodiac Banknotes (including the Dragon, Snake, Horse and Goat Zodiac Banknotes) by Macao residents on 29th June 2015. Up until now, the registration process has been conducted smoothly. As the registration period will end at 6:00 pm on 24th July 2015, the Monetary Authority of Macao would like to remind those citizens who are interested in exchanging for the said notes to complete their registration before the mentioned deadline. Besides, all branches of Bank of China and Banco Nacional Ultramarino will provide online registration service for those elderly citizens who require assistance. For any enquiry, please call our hotline for zodiac notes: (28565071/28565072), or browse our website.
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A preliminary revision of the legislature election law would be completed by this year, said the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan. This move aims to further improve competitiveness of indirect election and fairness when electing members of the Legislative Assembly. Ms Chan told reporters on 20 July that the Government would take into consideration the recent case that two defendants had been found guilty of bribery in 2013 legislature election, when drafting amendments to the electoral law. She said the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau was analysing the conclusion report compiled by the Electoral Affairs Commission for the fifth Legislative Assembly; and the result would be the ground for amendments. On co-operation of legal assistance with the mainland and Hong Kong, Ms Chan said she hoped the proposal would be endorsed by this year. The Government had drafted a bill for regional co-operation on legal and criminal issues, but it had to be dealt cautiously as it covered arrangements with the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said Ms Chan. She said she would strive to deliver the bill to the legislature within this year and would commence the discussion with Taiwan in the near future. When asked, she said the Government had not yet decided the arrangement for the surrender of political criminals and of fugitive offenders, stressing the strict adherence of “one country, two systems” was the principle to follow in regional co-operation of legal affairs.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for June 2015 increased by 4.91% year-on-year to 105.90, down slightly from the 4.93% growth in May 2015. The increase was attributable to dearer rentals for dwellings, rising charges for eating out and higher rentals for parking spaces. In comparison with June 2014, notable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+9.17%); Health (+6.22%); Household Goods & Furnishings (+5.24%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.15%) on account of higher rentals for dwellings, rising wages of domestic helpers, as well as dearer charges for out-patient services and eating out. On the other hand, price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-2.94%) showed marked decrease. The CPI-A (106.07) and CPI-B (104.43) increased by 5.36% and 4.06% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for June 2015 increased by 0.48% month-to-month. Higher prices of summer clothing & footwear and automobiles, as well as rising rentals for parking spaces, pushed up the price index of Clothing & Footwear and Transport by 1.69% and 1.37% respectively. Moreover, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased by 0.38% upon dearer prices of vegetables and fresh pork. On the contrary, price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Communication decreased by 0.24% and 0.22% respectively. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.46% and 0.67% respectively month-to-month. For the 12 months ended June 2015, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.43% from the previous period. Price index of Housing & Fuels (+11.09%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.52%) and Health (+5.12%) showed remarkable increase. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.90% and 4.93% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the second quarter of 2015 increased by 4.79% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.25% and 3.84% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the first half year of 2015 increased by 4.92% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.35% and 4.14% respectively. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP29,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP30,000 to MOP54,999.
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Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Administration Committee of Hengqin Area and Macao Chamber of Commerce will co-host the Seminar for Macao Enterprises – Investment Policy of Hengqin Area of Zhuhai, China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone from 14:30 to 17:30 on Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at World Trade Center Macau – Lotus Room (Address: Av. da Amizade, No.918, 5 Floor). Following the establishment of Hengqin Area of Zhuhai, China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the cooperation between Guangdong and Macao will be strengthened, which provides significant opportunities for Macao enterprises. Recently, numerous Macao enterprises are interested in developing their business in Hengqin Area. In order to enhance and strengthen the recognition of Hengqin investment and business environment, the Seminar will introduce the policies and procedures in Hengqin, including the approval for foreign investors, real estate policies and procedures, commercial registration in Hengqin (Macao investors) and related policies, cross-border foreign exchange management and innovative policies and Inno Valley HQ and supportive fund etc. Should you be interested to participate the Seminar, please contact Investor Service Department of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute Ms. Kan (Tel: +853 87989680, e-mail: irenekan@ipim.gov.mo) or Ms. Cheang (Tel: +853 87989707, fionacheang@ipim.gov.mo).
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Consumer Council conducted its fifth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in June on 20 July 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), ‘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 Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, has met with the Mayor of Porto, Portugal Mr Rui Moreira to exchange views on the co-operation in sports, tourism, and cultural affairs. In the meeting held in Porto on 17 July, Mr Tam and Mr Moreira discussed a string of activities, such as organising “Porto Week” in Macao and “Macao Week” in Porto in 2016, to broaden co-operation of the two places. Mr Tam visited a number of World Heritage sites in Porto to have better understating on the conservation of heritage, and visited the renowned Câmara Municipal the hall for musical performance to know better of its features, concept of design, construction and operation. Prior to his visit to Portugal, Mr Tam had visited the Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande in Cape Verde, where he learnt more the contribution of the Portuguese architect Mr Siza Vieira during the inscription on the World Heritage List in 2009. The Secretary took the opportunity to meet with Mr Vieira while in Porto to exchange views on heritage conservation
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The Government would study all opinions to consolidate consensus on development of the new urban reclamation areas and to meet the best interest of society. The Land, Public Works, and Transport Bureau, which is responsible for the co-ordination of planning the five reclaimed lands, said they had given full consideration to the community needs when drawing the blueprint of Zone A and had reserved adequate space for facilities such as healthcare, education and recreation. Speaking at the second consultation session on 18 July, official of the Bureau said the planning Zone A would be considered together with other infrastructures, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Outer Harbour, to better co-ordinate transport and community facilities in the eastern area. The Bureau had so far received more than 340 contributions. In last Saturday’s session, participants raised concerns on the accommodation of transport and facilities in Zone A, height of buildings and visual landscape in Zone B, the forth channel that connects Macao peninsula and Taipan island, and a more convenient and environmental-friendly transport network. The Government re-iterated that acting in line with the laws to conserve cultural heritage was a common goal in the society; the planning of Zone B would be determined only after listening to experts, the public opinion, and proposals comprised by public works and cultural affairs departments. For the fourth channels, the Government had commissioned a research group to study whether an underwater tunnel or a bridge across the two islands would better fulfil the needs of development. Before 8 August, people may contribute their opinion to the Bureau through email (abcde@dsspot.gov.mo) or fax (2834 0019), or take part in the third consultation session on 1 August at the commercial centre of Tap Seac.
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The opening ceremony of the 25th annual meeting of the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities (Associação das Universidades de Lrngua Portuguesa, AULP) was held in Praia county, Cape Verde. Cape Verde Prime Minister José Maria Neves, Cape Verde Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation António Correia e Silva, and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Tam Chon Weng attended the meeting. University of Macau (UM) Rector Wei Zhao delivered an address at the opening ceremony in Portuguese, winning a big applause from the participants. Rector Wei Zhao stressed in his speech that UM has been an active participant in the AULP’s work over the past 28 years and now serves as its president. He noted that Portuguese is one of the official languages in Macao, and UM is the strongest among all higher education institutions in Asia in terms of the presence of the Portuguese language, which is particularly reflected in the programmes offered by its Faculty of Law and Department of Portuguese. He added that as the president of the AULP, UM will continue to promote communication among AULP members and will work with the other members in promoting the development of teaching in the various institutions as well as the popularisation of the Portuguese language worldwide. After the opening ceremony, UM signed a collaboration agreement with the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Cape Verde. The agreement aims to promote academic collaboration between both parties, especially in the field of talent training. The AULP’s Board of Directors also held a meeting on the same day. UM Vice Rector (Research) Prof Rui Martins is the president of the Board of Directors. One of the important items on the meeting agenda was a discussion of the AULP’s three-year activity plan, which was initiated by UM, with the participation of all members of the Board of Directors.
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The Government decided to conduct water testing in all newly-constructed public housing estates to ease public concerns on water quality following the incident in Hong Kong. It was announced after a cross-departmental meeting on 16 July convened by the Marine and Water Bureau, with representatives from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Health Bureau, the Housing Bureau, the Infrastructure Development Office and the Macao Water Supply Company Limited. Officials re-iterated that the current mechanism had a set of strict supervising procedures over water quality: water was tested at least twice before distributing to household, plus a regular testing for the level of metals. All results shown that water in Macao is safe for consumption and meets the World Health Organization’s standards. In addition, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau would examine the public water supply network regularly and the Macao Water Supply Company Limited would submit a periodic report on water quality to the authorities. Considering the situation in Hong Kong, where excessive lead content was found in drinking water in public housing estates, the Government had asked the Company to strengthen its water testing procedures to further safeguard the quality of water supply.
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Consumer Council conducted a test on the efficiency of disposable batteries and the result is featured in the latest issue no. 262 Consumer Report. Both AA and AAA types of disposable batteries are common in the market, and they are further divided into two types: alkaline and carbon zinc batteries. Consumers are concerned with the durability of batteries; the Council conducted a test on the efficiency of 20 battery samples and provides consumers with scientific information for reference. The mentioned test was conducted according to international standard IEC 60086-2:2011 on AA and AAA types of alkaline and carbon zinc batteries. Batteries are tested under the same condition to record their discharge time, and to calculate the amount of time that can be used by consumers per MOP1. Details of the test, and suggestions on the correct use of both alkaline and carbon zinc batteries can be found in the latest issue Consumer Report. Consumers tend to travel often in summer time, an article about different types of air ticket and the relevant information is featured in the latest issue as well. Further, a detailed introduction of the Council’s ‘Macao Fuel Prices Information Platform’ app is included in this issue. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Consumer Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 24-A, Edf. Cheung Heng, R/C), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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