News

The application deadline for the “Academic Research Grants”, launched by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), is 31st May 2015. Eligible academics may now submit their applications. Late applications will not be considered. The new “Academic Research Grant Regulations” came into effect on 1 February 2015, with the aim of encouraging original academic research on the culture of Macao and on the cultural exchange between Macao, Mainland China and other countries. Local or overseas doctorate degree holders with proven academic research experience, and local or overseas individuals with sufficient research experience and recognized academic production are eligible to apply for the Grants by submitting the duly filled out application form to IC by double registered mail or in person. Applicants must also submit their curriculum vitae, research project plan and certified copies of certificates and academic transcripts. Applications may be submitted in person at the Cultural Affairs Bureau building, or at the Services Centre of the Macao SAR Government (located at No. 52, Rua Nova da Areia Preta), during office hours (the date of the receipt stamp will be considered as the date of submission). Applications may also be submitted by double registered mail to the following address: Praça do Tap Seac, Edif. do Instituto Cultural, Macao(the date of the postmark will be considered as the date of submission). The following must be written on the envelope: "Application for the Academic Research Grants of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government"; applications must be submitted within the deadline, and incomplete applications or applications that fail to comply with the above will not be accepted. In accord with the Regulations, the Cultural Affairs Bureau receives applications every year from 1 March until 31 May. All applications submitted outside this time period will not be accepted. The “Academic Research Grant Regulations” and application forms are available for reference and download at IC’s webpage: www.icm.gov.mo. For more information, please contact Ms. Silvia Kuan, staff member of IC, through tel. no. 8399 6381 during office hours, or by email to silviak@icm.gov.mo.
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Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on over-the-counter drugs on 8 May for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Result of the mentioned survey has been uploaded to the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and is available in the Council’s ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. For inquiry, please call the Council’s hotline: 8988 9315.
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The Macao Special Administrative Region Government has decided to donate 20 million patacas to support the Government of Nepal in its post-quake reconstruction and relief for disaster victims. Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On met with the Consul General of Nepal in Hong Kong and Macao, Mr Mahesh Prasad Dahal, on May 7 and expressed the Government’s concern regarding the post-quake rescue operations and relief efforts. He said he hoped to expedite the fund allocation process. On behalf of the Government and the people of Macao, Mr Chui extended his condolences for those who had perished and sympathy to the surviving victims and the Nepalese community in Macao. He said he hoped the areas affected by the disaster can recover as soon as possible. Mr Dahal told Mr Chui of the earthquake's substantial impact on lives and cultural heritage, and of the rescue operations in Nepal, describing the earthquake damage as "Immeasurable". On behalf of the Government of Nepal, Mr Dahal expressed gratitude for the assistance offered by the Central People’s Government of China, and the care and support for the people of Nepal from the Chief Executive, the MSAR Government and the people of Macao. He also thanked the Chief Executive for his letter of condolences to the Government of Nepal. He said the Government of Nepal would make its best efforts in post-disaster reconstruction.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao released today the credit card statistics for the first quarter of 2015. The total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 846,825 at the end of March 2015, equivalent to an increase of 1.9% over a quarter earlier. The numbers of Pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) cards and Renminbi (RMB) cards were 611,010, 78,138 and 157,677 respectively. MOP cards, HKD cards and RMB cards witnessed respective growth of 2.0%, 0.5% and 2.4% quarter-to-quarter. Compared with a year ago, MOP cards and RMB cards (the majority of which are MOP/RMB dual-currency cards) rose 12.4% and 9.6% respectively whereas HKD cards dropped 2.7%. As at end-March 2015, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP18.3 billion, up 5.4% from end-December 2014. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.0 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP549.0 million, accounting for 28.0% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, edged up to 1.07%. For the first quarter of 2015, the credit card turnover decreased 5.7% quarter-to-quarter to MOP4.3 billion. The cash advance turnover was MOP217.3 million, accounting for 5.0% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, went up 5.4% from the previous quarter to MOP4.6 billion.
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Two brand new photo albums – Elegant Orchids and Young Dancers - were uploaded today to the MSAR News app of the Government Information Bureau (GCS). The public is welcome to download the app, and appreciate the photographs in the albums via smartphones and other mobile devices. Elegant Orchids brings you images from the Spring Tropical Orchid Exhibition organised by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau which is currently open to the public until 10 May at the Taipa Houses Museum. This exhibition features up to 30,000 potted flowers, mostly orchids, from the Asian tropics. The main pavilion is designed like a natural forest to give visitors the feel of walking into a tropical orchid garden. Young Dancers captures fantastic moments of the 35th Inter-school Dance Competition organised by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau. The performances by teams from secondary schools were particularly wonderful and very well received by the audience. Each album features 10 photo, by GCS photographer Ho Kuok Wai and will definitely provide you with an enjoyable visual experience. If you are interested in seeing the photos in these or other albums, simply visit App Store or Google Play, and type “MSAR News”, to search for and download the MSAR News app for free.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) launched this week in Paris a “Macau à table!” promotion to introduce the city’s gastronomy and culture as a calling card to invite more visitors from France - Macau’s second largest market in Europe, after the United Kingdom. Following a grand opening night held at the French capital yesterday, Macanese cooking classes will be conducted in several cities of France until October. The opening of “Macau à table!” took place at the historical monument of Palais Brongniart in the heart of Paris, with a Macanese menu prepared by chefs from Macau and France as the main attraction of the event. Two Macau Culinary Association chefs Mário Fernandes Gil and Wilson Fam, joined by executive chef of L’Atelier des Chefs Jean-Sébastien Bompoil, elaborated a Macanese food inspired menu for the occasion. The foods and deserts were cooked and served in demonstration booths for guests to taste and see the blend of East and West flavors that make up Macanese food. Around 200 travel trade, media and other guests joined the occasion, which besides offering a taste of Macau through its food it also brought in the atmosphere of the city with the display of a collection of images by Macau photographer António Leong. Touch-screen kiosks featuring the eight “Step Out, Experience Macau's Communities - Walking tour routes”, and more, were also set up to invite guests to explore the destination. The Macanese gastronomy promotion in France is organized by MGTO in partnership with the popular French cooking school L’Atelier des Chefs. To prepare the promotion, Macau Culinary Association chefs Mário Fernandes Gil and Wilson Fam were invited to conduct a training on Monday in Paris to teach chefs from L’Atelier des Chefs how to cook Macanese food. In the training session, the French chefs also learned about Macau as a tourism destination, its history and culture. Following the launch of “Macau à table!” at Palais Brongniart, the French chefs will now share their knowledge about Macanese food in a total of 90 cooking classes to be held between May and October in eight cities of France (Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Paris, Strasbourg and Toulouse) through L’Atelier des Chefs’ school network. During the cooking classes, participants will experience Macau through learning how to cook a typical Macanese menu. In addition, L’Atelier des Chefs produced a Macanese cooking book introducing five dishes, to support the project and help to further promote the city’s gastronomy and culture.
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Representatives of the Identification Services Bureau met with the representatives of the “Association of Macao Permanent Resident Parents of Non-beneficial Children” (hereinafter called “Association of Parents”) on 6th May 2015. In the meeting, representatives of the Identification Services Bureau reaffirmed that the Central Government has been employing the same principles and scopes for the residents in Mainland to enter Macao for residence. Even the “Adult Children” in the measure, which was initiated in December 2009, must also fulfill the regulations at that time. Before 1st November 2001, children (aged under 14) of Macao residents in Mainland could apply to enter Macao for residence if they fulfill the requirements administered by the Public Security Authority in Mainland regarding the entry into Macao for Mainland residents. Nonetheless, if applicants became the age of 14 or above during the process of examination, their applications would be declined. “Adult Children” refers to the Mainland-born children of Macao residents, who have become overage during the application process. “Adult children” issue is solved on the condition that the applicants have fulfilled the relevant requirements of the Public Security Authority in Mainland in regard to Mainland residents entering Macao for residence at the time of submitting the application. In the meeting, representatives of the “Association of Parents” mentioned that Mainland children entering Macao for residence can solve the shortage of human resources in Macao. Besides, the representatives said that some elderly parents residing in Macao do not have any children to take care of them, so they request that their Mainland children can be permitted to reside in Macao for taking care of these parents. The representative of the Identification Services Bureau replied that, in accordance with the stipulations of “Interim Regulations for Administration of Mainland Citizens Entering or Exiting Hong Kong or Macao for Personal Affairs” in Mainland, Mainland children can apply for entering Macao for residence at the Immigration Department of the Public Security Authority in Mainland if they are in the situation that their parents who are residing in Hong Kong or Macao are old and weak and they can only be looked after by their Mainland children. There are strict regulations on Mainland residents entering Macao for residence in Mainland. Relatives of Macao residents in Mainland must make the application in Mainland. Only those who are qualified will be permitted to reside in Macao.
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Recently, the CCAC has received the file of the inquiry procedure of a case involving staff of the Cultural Industries Fund and documents related to the case referred by the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture. After conducting an analysis on the information provided by the Office and a necessary supplementary investigation, the CCAC agreed on the conclusion of the inquiry procedure carried out by the Office, which is, no sign or evidence showing that the then member of the Administrative Board of the Cultural Industries Fund had committed any illegal or irregular acts in the process of the assessment and approval of an subsidy application related to his relatives. As to the report alleging that somebody has put pressure on or exerted his influence with his colleagues in the inquiry procedure, according to the findings of the investigation, there is no evidence supporting that allegation. Therefore, the CCAC archived the case.
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Consumer Council conducted its third ‘Supermarket price survey’ in May on 6 May for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers was MOP726 in the first quarter of 2015, rising at a slower pace of 1.8% quarter-to-quarter due to less intense activity for some major construction projects in Cotai nearing completion. The average daily wage of local construction workers decreased by 2.1% to MOP935, while that of non-resident construction workers rose slightly by 1.2% to MOP614. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers was MOP731, up by 1.7% quarter-to-quarter. The average daily wages of structural iron erectors (MOP935) and plumbers (MOP719) increased by 17.0% and 9.8% respectively. However, the average daily wages of electricians and electrical workers (MOP738) and air-conditioning mechanics (MOP738) decreased by 2.5% and 3.3%. Meanwhile, the average daily wage of unskilled workers was MOP393, up by 1.3%. The real wage index of construction workers and local construction workers registered slower growth or decrease in the first quarter of 2015, following the respective quarter-to-quarter surge of 4.3% and 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2014. In the first quarter of 2015, the wage index of construction workers (98.4) rose modestly by 0.3% quarter-to-quarter in real terms; meanwhile, the wage index of local construction workers decreased by 5.3% to 122.5, slightly higher than the index (121.7) in the third quarter of 2014. As regards construction materials, the average price of concrete increased by 6.4% quarter-to-quarter, at MOP745 per cubic metre in the first quarter of 2015; the average price of spiral & round reinforcing steel bars was MOP4,687 per tonne, down by 1.8%. Meanwhile, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings (131.4) in the first quarter of 2015 increased by 1.3% quarter-to-quarter.
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