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The opening ceremony for the 24th annual meeting of the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities (Associação das Universidades de Lrngua Portuguesa, AULP) was held on the University of Macau's (UM) new campus today (17 September). Over 200 AULP members from Portuguese-speaking countries and regions attended the opening ceremony. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao SAR Cheong U noted that the SAR government would continue to support the AULP and would continue to promote exchange and cooperation between Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries in various areas. This is the fifth time that the AULP's annual meeting has been held in Macao. This year's annual meeting was co-organised by UM, Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM), and the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), and received sponsorship and support from the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao SAR, Macao Foundation, the Macau Government Tourist Office, and the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau. Officiating guests at the opening ceremony included Cheong U, secretary for social affairs and culture of Macao SAR; Prof Jorge Ferrão, chairman of the AULP and rector of the Universidade Lúrio, Mozambique; Prof Wei Zhao, rector of UM; Prof Lei Heong Iok, president of IPM; Dr Fanny Vong, president of IFT; Dr Wu Zhiliang, president of the Administrative Committee of Macao Foundation; and Maria Helena, director of the Macau Government Tourist Office.
Secretary Cheong U noted that Macao had hosted four previous annual meetings of the AULP, and every meeting had been very fruitful, which is testament to the close collaboration between Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries. He added that the SAR government would continue to support the AULP and would continue to promote cooperation between Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries in various areas. He believes this year's meeting will play a positive role in promoting the development of tourism industries in Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries. Rector Wei Zhao said in his speech that although higher education institutions in Macao are relatively young, they have fostered a solid foundation which allowed them to launch various academic programmes and carry out extensive international collaborations. He added that several weeks earlier UM started the new academic year on the new campus, which signalled that higher education in Macao entered a new stage of development, so in this sense the new campus has special significance for higher education development both locally and internationally. Prof Jorge Ferrão thanked Macao for providing good conditions for this year's annual meeting. He noted that the Chinese language has more native speakers than any other language in the world, and the Portuguese language is also a much-used language, by about 250 million people worldwide; both languages play a very important role in promoting the development of political, economic, trade and cultural relations between nations as well as in the development of the tourism industry. Minister of Education and Science of Portugal Prof Nuno Crato, and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil Prof Clélio Campolina Diniz, who were unable to attend the annual meeting in person, sent their good wishes through video clips. This year's annual meeting started with the plenary meeting of the AULP and the meeting of the AULP's Administrative Council, followed by roundtable sessions on four topics, namely "Networks of Higher Education", "Portuguese, a language with future?", "Language Propagation and Tourist & Commercial Promotion", and "From Internationalization to Integration". Invited speakers included Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Cape Verde Dr António Correia e Silva, and Secretary of State of Science and Technology of Angola Prof João Sebastião Teta. 32 papers which were selected from this year's submissions were presented at the meeting. Towards the end of the meeting, the Fernão Mendes Pinto Award was presented to authors of the three best PhD dissertations in Portuguese-speaking countries for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The AULP is an international academic organisation. Its members come from more than 200 higher education institutions in different countries and regions, including Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor, and Macao. Institutions that enjoy provisional membership status include Portuguese departments at universities in the United States, France and Italy. Currently there six institutions in Macao that are AULP members. They are UM, IPM, IFT, the International Institute of Macau, the University of Saint Joseph, and the Asia International Open University (Macau).
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has formed a delegation of local travel trade to jointly visit Beijing and promote Macau as an incentive and business travel destination in the "The China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition" (CIBTM). Through participating in the event, the Office facilitates networking and cooperation between Macau and Mainland trade partners to create new business opportunities. As an event co-organized by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, CIBTM 2014 is held in China National Convention Centre in Beijing on 17 – 19 September. MGTO participates in the exhibition along with delegates who represent 19 enterprises including hotels, resorts, convention & exhibition companies, travel agencies, entertainment businesses as well as ferry companies and airlines from Macau. The key program this year comprises China Meetings Week, professional education forums, seminars, opening ceremony, networking functions, welcome dinner and so forth. MGTO promotes Macau among incentive travel organizers and presents the destination's latest business tourism trends and products to industry buyers in the event. In recent years, MGTO has sought to encourage different types of visitors, entities and enterprises to choose Macau as their incentive and business travel destination through its "Incentive Travel Stimulation Program". From January to August 2014, MGTO has received a total of nine subsidy applications from the Mainland which involved over 32,000 participants. According to the Statistics and Census Service, a total of 503 MICE events were held in Macau in the first half of this year. The number of attendees sums to 827,000. CIBTM is recognized as one of China's largest and most well-established professional exhibitions for the meetings and incentive travel industry. For the past few years in a row, MGTO has participated in the event and leveraged this valuable platform to develop a nice communication and business network between Macau and Mainland trade partners, and thus enhanced local trade's cooperation with their counterparts from the Mainland. 5,300 professionals are attending the exhibition this year including over 449 exhibitors and 424 hosted buyers.
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Given the recent security situation in the Philippines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel security alert to Chinese citizens that reads as follows: "The Philippine police recently confirmed that a criminal gang planned to attack the Chinese Embassy, institutions of Chinese investment, Philippine shopping malls and other public facilities.
In view of the worsening security situation in the Philippines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds Chinese citizens not to travel during this recent period to the Philippines; Chinese citizens and Chinese institutions in the Philippines should raise their risk awareness.
In case of emergency, please report immediately to the Philippine police, and contact the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the Philippines for assistance. Consular Assistance and Protection hotline of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines
Tel: 0063-9178972695 Consular Assistance and Protection hotline of the Consulate General of China in Cebu
Tel: 0063-9175495614 Consular Assistance and Protection hotline of the Chinese Consulate in Laoag
Tel: 0063-9178051226" The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) alerts Macao residents not to travel to the Philippines during this recent period.
From information gathered through the Macao travel industry, there is no Macao tour group currently in the Philippines. The Tourism Crisis Management Office received, up to the present moment, one enquiry but no requests for assistance. If necessary, Macao residents can call the 24-hour Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000 or contact the Chinese Embassy and consulates for assistance.
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In the first half-year of 2014, a total of 250 applications for temporary residency for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders were received by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) (a decrease of 39 compared with the same period last year), 47 applications for major investment / investment plans (an increase of 1 compared with the same period last year), representing 84.18% and 15.82% of the total of 297 new applications in the first half-year of 2014. Approved cases for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders amounted to 121 (a decrease of 17 compared with the same period last year), approved applications for major investment / investment plans totalled 29 (an increase of 9 compared with the same period last year). In accordance with the Administrative Regulation No. 7/2007, temporary residency applications for fixed asset purchases have been suspended since 4 April 2007. There were over 4,000 applications lodged before the closing date of the policy and are still being processed. Statistics of Investment Residency Applications and the Cases and Number of Beneficiaries in the First Half-Year of 2014 (* please find the attached file) For further enquiries on the residency application guidelines, please contact IPIM by visiting the website: www.ipim.gov.mo, email: gjfr@ipim.gov.mo, tel: 28712055 or fax: 28713950. Applicants may also visit the website and enquire about the progress of their residency application status online.
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Consumer Council conducted its fourth 'Supermarket price survey' in September on 15 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Horte e Costa, Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga and Rua da Emenda 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 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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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) decreased month-to-month in July 2014 whereas commercial real estate loans (CRELs) increased. With regard to outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed increases. New lending approved In July 2014, new RMLs approved by Macao banks dropped 40.0% month-to-month to MOP5.5 billion; of which, 97.8% was extended to residents. In terms of value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents decreased 22.3% and 94.7% respectively. When compared with the same period of 2013, new approvals of RMLs witnessed increase of 23.6%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) decreased by 60.6% month-to-month to MOP1.1 billion. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 96.0% of the total, increased 58.1%. Attributable to the lower base for comparison after the implementation of the Legal Regime for Title Transfer of Buildings Under Construction in June 2013, new RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units expanded year-on-year by 3,116.7%. New CRELs increased by 60.5% month-to-month to MOP17.5 billion; of which, 88.2% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents and non-residents increased 43.0% and 1,838.5% respectively. The surge of CRELs to non-residents was mainly driven by loans approved for the development of some large-scale tourism-related projects. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs grew by 580.3%. Outstanding balances As at end-July 2014, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP140.8 billion, an increase of 2.2% from one month earlier or 29.9% from a year ago. The resident component made up 94.1% of the total. Compared to end-June 2014, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents grew 2.3% and 0.4% respectively. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs increased 5.7% from end-June 2014 and was up 43.4% from end-July 2013 to MOP111.1 billion. Residents accounted for 90.7% of the loans. Compared with one month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents grew 4.2% and 23.5% respectively. Delinquency ratios At the end of July 2014, the delinquency ratio for RMLs remained virtually unchanged at 0.06% or increased by 0.01 percentage point from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs decreased to 0.07%, down 0.01 percentage point from a month ago and from end-July 2013. Annex 16 September 2014 Detailed figures on Mortgage Loans Statistics are available on: http://www.amcm.gov.mo/economic_statistics/economic.htm.
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Macao Ideas - the Macao branded products display centre of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), currently located on the ground-floor of the Tourism Activities Centre ("CAT"), will move to the Macao Business Support Centre on the 19 floor of China Civil Plaza, 263, Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpcao, Macao. The exhibits will be displayed in the new venue from 1 October. Macao Ideas - has been promoting Products Made in Macao, Macao Brands, Macao Design and Sole distributorship of Portuguese Speaking Countries products since 9 May 2011. The numbers of exhibitors has increased from 80 to the current 110 and 600 exhibits to more than 1,000 since its opening. The product categories include garments, wedding gowns and evening dresses, jewellery, food, wine, medical products, furniture, industrial supplies, IT products, cultural and creative design products and handicrafts. With the rapid development of SMEs information technology and e-commerce, Macao Ideas will also follow the trend and computerise its service, as well as promote the centre and its exhibits through varies digital media to build up brand awareness and explore more business opportunities for its exhibitors. Such as the Macao Ideas Wechat account has been set up recently (Id number: gh_00ca43f93002) to allow for the most up-to-date on and offers on Macao's different branded products, interesting business stories to be released regularly and swiftly. Besides getting more information on the centre, follow Macao Ideas on Wechat now can receive a free gift. Other digital media promotions including EDM for procurement agents, banner advertisement placement on the international sourcing website and electronic magazine to introduce the individual exhibitors of the centre will be updated on a regular basis. Moreover, IPIM takes products currently on display in "Macao Ideas" to different Mainland, local and overseas exhibitions with an aim of promoting Macao Ideas and its exhibitors and exploring more opportunities for exhibitors in overseas markets. Macao Ideas - the promotional platform for local enterprises to introduce their products to overseas market. For more information, please visit the centre or our website http://macaoideas.ipim.gov.mo. Macao Ideas
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm
Address: 1). 263, Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpcao, 19th floor, China Civil Plaza Bldg, Macao. (From 1 October 2014) 2). Centro de Actividades Turisticas, 431, Rua Luis Gonzaga Gomes, Macao (Until 30 September 2014) Tel: 853 2870 0620 / 28702123 / 2870 2021
Fax: 853 2870 0621
Email: macaoideas@ipim.gov.mo
Website: http://macaoideas.ipim.gov.mo
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP130.2 billion (USD16.31 billion) at the end of August 2014. The reserves increased by 2.0% from the revised value of MOP127.6 billion (USD15.99 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-August 2014 represented 13 times the currency in circulation or 108.3% of Pataca M2 at end-July 2014. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, rose 0.39 points month-to-month and 0.14 points year-on-year to 97.71 in August 2014.
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The 27th Asia Trade Promotion Forum (ATPF) was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 10 to 12 September. This year's ATPF, hosted by the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI), was participated in by the representatives of trade promotion organisations from 19 Asian economies, including Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Participants of the forum included China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Deputy Secretary General Chen Zhengrong, IPIM's President Jackson Chang, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Assistant Executive Director Lawrence Yipp and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) Vice Chairman San Gee. The theme of this year's forum was "TPOs for Sustainable Development – The Role and Engagement of TPO's in Promoting Green Business, Foreign Direct Investment and Trade Facilitation". The inaugural session was officiated over by Prime Minister of Mongolia Norov Altankhuyag. MNCCI Chairman and CEO Sambuu Demberel and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hiroyuki Ishige gave the welcome speech and opening speech respectively. The forum was divided into three parts, the first part was the report on working meeting and report for the convention and exhibition committee, the second part was a thematic discussion based on the theme of "regional economic co-operation to attract foreign direct investment", and "economic integration and regional free trade agreement", the third part was speeches from respective TPO representatives. IPIM's Promotional Activities Department Senior Manager Sam Lei shared IPIM's experiences in promoting the development of the green industry by citing the Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF) as an example. ATPF was established in 1987 at the suggestion of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) with members from more than 20 Asian TPOs. It aims to enhance trade co-operation and development in the region through information exchange, implementation of co-operative projects and strengthening networks among ATPF members. IPIM become a member in 1999 and hosted the 19th ATPF in Macao in 2006, and co-organised the ATPF Capacity Building Initiative Programme with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in 2008 to provide training for TPO members and share trade promotion experiences. The 28th ATPF is tentatively scheduled to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in August 2015.
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The 8th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM8) concluded on the afternoon of 13 September, adopted the Macao Declaration. Following is the full text of the Declaration: 1.We, Tourism Ministers and representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; the People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Republic of the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; and Viet Nam, attended the 8th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Macao, China on September 13, 2014. 2.The theme of APEC 2014 in China is "Shaping the future through Asia-Pacific partnership." We recognize the important role of tourism in promoting economic cooperation, trade, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges among APEC member economies, and that it can make important contributions to the building of a new type of Asia-Pacific partnership. 3.In addition, the year 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of APEC. Over the years, APEC has had fruitful cooperation in many areas including tourism. On that basis, APEC member economies share a common will to carry forward and steadily enhance APEC cooperation. We therefore agree to set "Building a new future for Asia-Pacific tourism cooperation and development" as the theme of the current Tourism Ministerial Meeting. We will make efforts to achieve the target of 800 million international tourists among APEC economies by 2025. We call on APEC economies to attach higher importance to tourism and develop it as a pillar industry. We hope that APEC Leaders will fully recognize the important significance of promoting Asia-Pacific tourism cooperation and development and consider the aforementioned aspiration in the Declaration of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in Beijing. 4.We recognize that the Asia-Pacific region is the largest tourism market in the world, and that there is great potential for promoting the integration of the Asia-Pacific tourism market. We therefore encourage APEC member economies to actively implement the APEC Tourism Strategic Plan (ATSP), and take relevant follow-up steps to improve medium- and long-term roadmaps and collective plans of action for integrated cooperation in tourism. 5.We recommend that APEC member economies discuss the necessity and feasibility of enhancing tourism coordination mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific region, to guide and encourage member economies to further enhance cooperation in tourism products development, marketing and promotion, tourist services, international tourism investment, taxation policy for tourism growth, personnel education and training, job creation through tourism, etc. We recognize and respect that tourism can be utilized as a fundamental and strategic mode to preserve socio-cultural equity, heritage sites and local wisdom for the sake of community-based, rural- or village-based, and cultural tourism development to ensure alignment with sustainable economic development and poverty eradication within the Asia-Pacific region. We encourage member economies to increase cultural exchange and integration to create a better enabling environment for the integration of the Asia-Pacific tourism market. 6.We recognize that promoting integrated development of tourism and other industries can be an important contributor to value chain cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. At present, the economy of the Asia-Pacific region is still recovering from the financial crisis. Finding new and additional driving forces for economic development and promoting inclusive and balanced growth is the shared objective of each and every APEC member economy. Therefore, integrating the development of tourism with other industries could not only bring into full play the geographical advantage, tourism resources and social and economic conditions of member economies, but could also help realize the transformation and sustainable development of tourism. To this end, we encourage the APEC Tourism Working Group (TWG) to share the best practices of integrated development of tourism and various industries and to initiate a series of demonstration projects within APEC. We encourage APEC member economies to make use of their resource advantages, and facilitate study tours, health tourism, rural tourism, sport tourism, marine and cruise tourism and other niche tourism products that can grow tourism-related industries. 7.We note that wide use of the latest science and technology, information technology in particular, has become a key feature of modern tourism. We therefore encourage APEC member economies to boost innovation, explore and promote smart tourism and related cooperation, and share business and other opportunities that come along with smart tourism. We urge the TWG to conduct a comprehensive survey and assessment of the current state of smart tourism in all APEC member economies, collect successful experiences and outstanding issues, and on that basis, identify priority areas of cooperation. 8.We recognize that tourism can be a good example for promoting green and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. We therefore encourage all member economies to take the APEC Growth Strategy 2010 for low-carbon development as a reference and, while implementing their respective tourism policies, consider cooperating on low-carbon tourism development in the Asia-Pacific region. 9.We unanimously agree that strengthening tourism cooperation is an effective way to promote connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region. With respect to physical connectivity, growth of tourism can push forward infrastructure development, such as land, maritime and air transport, highways, railways, seaports, airports, water delivery, communications, and Internet access. In terms of institutional and people-to-people connectivity, the growing number of international tourists across the Asia-Pacific region will be a driving force for APEC member economies to steadily increase tourism market access, improve the mechanism for tourism market management, and simplify visa and customs clearance procedures. To this end, we agree to update the ATSP, and include in it interactive development of connectivity and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region. We encourage APEC member economies to share their best practices in which tourism pushes forward connectivity, and to disseminate successful experiences in the Asia-Pacific region. 10.We encourage APEC member economies to continue to implement the APEC Travel Facilitation Initiative and the APEC Guidelines on Ensuring Tourist Safety. In this regard, we welcome the outcome of the High Level Dialogue on Travel Facilitation held in 2013 in Bali, Indonesia, that highlights the importance of making travel more accessible, convenient, and more efficient, while maintaining secure travel. We believe these actions are important to deepening Asia-Pacific tourism cooperation. 11.We recognize the significant differences among APEC member economies in economic development, culture and history. We therefore stress that diversity and flexibility should be maintained when conducting Asia-Pacific tourism cooperation so as to strike a balance among member economies' tourism interests. 12.We encourage the APEC TWG to have closer cooperation with the Transportation Working Group, the Business Mobility Group, the Telecommunications and Information Working Group, the Counter Terrorism Working Group, the Group on Services, the Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation, and other forums related to APEC, and jointly launch cross-cutting initiatives or demonstration projects for the implementation of ATSP. 13.We recognize that involving other multilateral and regional tourism organizations, private travel services and the business community will significantly boost and complement APEC's efforts in building a new future for Asia-Pacific tourism cooperation and development. We therefore encourage the APEC TWG to continue to enhance partnerships, communication and coordination by increasing cooperation with industry, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the World Travel and Tourism Council, the APEC International Center for Sustainable Tourism, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the APEC Business Advisory Council, and other relevant institutions and organizations. 14.We look forward to the next Tourism Ministerial Meeting to be held in 2016. 15.We express our sincere thanks to the distinguished guests attending this Ministerial Meeting from the World Tourism Organization, the World Travel and Tourism Council, the APEC International Center for Sustainable Tourism, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, and other international and regional tourism organizations. We look forward to continued comprehensive cooperation with them. 16.We express our sincere thanks to the APEC Secretariat and the Lead Shepherd for their efforts and contribution to the success of the Tourism Ministerial Meeting. We also express our heart-felt appreciation to China for hosting the APEC TWG Meeting and the Tourism Ministerial Meeting, and to the Macao Special Administrative Region of China for the warm hospitality.
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