News

According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new SME lending approved by Macao banks continued to grow in the first half of 2014. Concurrently, the utilisation of SME credit in proportion to the credit limit approved by banks remained stable when compared with the previous survey period. New lending approved In the first half of 2014, new SME credit limit approved by Macao banks totalled MOP23.2 billion, up by 42.5% from the second half year of 2013 or 84.0% from the same period last year. The collateralised ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 75.3%, down 2.4 percentage points when compared with the last survey period but up marginally by 0.1 percentage point when compared with the same period of 2013. Credit utilisation As at end-June 2014, the outstanding value of total SME loans increased 28.9% from end-2013 or 57.9% from a year earlier to MOP52.1 billion. When compared with end-2013, SME loans to "wholesale and retail trade", "construction and public works" and "transport, warehouse and communications" increased at respective rates of 64.5%, 31.7% and 17.1%, whereas those to "electricity, gas and water", "education" and "agriculture and fisheries" dropped 49.4%, 8.7% and 6.1% respectively. The utilisation rate, defined as the proportion of outstanding credit balance to the credit limit granted, dropped 0.6 percentage points from six months ago to 64.4%. Delinquent loans At the end of June 2014, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans decreased by 1.5% from six months ago to MOP142.4 million. Compared to a year ago, the balance dropped 13.8%. The delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, dropped 0.08 percentage points from end-2013 or 0.23 percentage points from a year earlier to 0.27%.
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Aiming to implement the Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Framework Agreement, further expand the trade and economic cooperation horizons between Guangdong Province and Macao SAR and to jointly promote the development of Guangdong and Macao´s MICE industry, following the success of the 2013 Macao-Foshan Famous Products Fair, held in Foshan last year, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Jiangmen Municipality will jointly organize the 2014 Macao-Jiangmen Famous Products Fair, which will take place on December 5-7 at the Wuyi Overseas Chinese Plaza Exhibition Center, located in Jiangmen Municipality, Guangdong Province. The coverage of the 2014 Macao-Jiangmen Famous Products Fair will include: MinM (Made in Macao), souvenirs, cultural and creative products, consumer goods, food, wine, products from the Portuguese-Speaking Countries, and other commodities. Famous and high-quality Macao and Jiangmen products will be on display and for sale to the residents of Jiangmen and neighbouring areas. During the Fair, apart from business matching and procurement negotiation sessions, there are also cultural performances. The said Fair is designed as a meeting and cooperation platform between Macao and Jiangmen enterprises as well as a channel to help Macao enterprises to expand to the domestic markets of Mainland China, by promoting, in a pragmatic way, the economic and trade cooperation between Guangdong and Macau, by offering a rich and diversified content on site. In order to encourage local businesses to participate in the above-mentioned event as exhibitors, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute has especially set up an incentive plan with the following concessions: standard booth, accommodation, transportation, round-trip freight and temporary work arrangements. Eligible Macao enterprises are only required to pay MOP2,000.00 for a standard booth or MOP1,800.00 for a raw exhibition space. The scope of the exhibition will include: products made in Macao, Macao´s branded products and overseas branded products with distribution channels in Macao (priority will be given to products made in the Portuguese-Speaking Countries). Active participation from Macao enterprises is welcome, with a view to tapping business opportunities. Interested local enterprises are invited to contact Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (World Trade Centre, 4th Floor), to obtain the relevant application form and to deal with the application process from 18th to 29th August, during office hours. Due to the limited number of booths available, distribution of the booths will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Final decision on the selection of exhibitors rests with the Organizers. For application and enquiries, please call 8798 9262 (Mr. Leong), 8798 9267 (Mr. Chang) or 8798 9295 (Ms. Leong).
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Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on tissue papers on 12 August 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. For inquiry, please call the Council's hotline: 8988 9315.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) increased in June 2014. With regard to outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed increases. New lending approved In June 2014, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose 51.8% month-to-month to MOP9.2 billion; of which, 75.5% was extended to residents. In terms of value, new RML to residents and non-resident increased 16.4% and 2,251.2% respectively. The surge of RMLs to non-residents was mainly driven by loans approved to enterprises, using uncompleted units of residential properties already acquired as collaterals and for purposes other than purchase of residential properties. When compared with the same period of 2013, new approvals of RMLs witnessed increase of 207.4%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) soared by 214.8% month-to-month to MOP2.7 billion. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 23.9% of the total, decreased 22.0%. When compared with the same period of 2013, new RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units expanded 29,167.0%. New CRELs increased by 95.1% month-to-month to MOP10.9 billion; of which, 99.0% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents increased 97.0% while those to non-residents decreased 0.7%. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs grew by 181.2%. Outstanding balances As at end-June 2014, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP137.8 billion, an increase of 5.4% from one month earlier or 29.5% from a year ago. The resident component made up 94.0% of the total. Compared to end-May 2014, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents grew 4.0% and 34.6% respectively. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs increased 2.7% from end-May 2014 and was up 34.0% from end-June 2013 to MOP105.1 billion. Residents accounted for 92.1% of the loans. Compared with one month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and to non-residents grew 2.8% and 2.0% respectively. Delinquency ratios At the end of June 2014, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.06%, down 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or levelling off from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs stayed virtually unchanged at 0.08% from a month ago and from end-June 2013.
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In order to encourage consumers to keep their shopping receipts and invoices, Consumer Council will hold an activity called 'Keep your shopping receipts' from 15 August to 14 November. Consumers can exchange draw tickets with their shopping bills, receipts or other forms of invoices, participants are entitled to a draw of MOP1,500 cash prize. Consumer Council indicates that consumers may lodge complaints at the Council when they have doubts with their purchased products or services, however, there may be difficulties if consumers do not have their invoices or receipts on hand. The Council therefore organizes a 'Keep your shopping receipts' activity to encourage and remind consumers to ask for their shopping receipts when making purchases. When making purchase of MOP50 or above, consumers can use their receipt, together with a 'Keep your shopping receipts' sticker provided by the participating shops, to exchange a draw ticket at the Council's office (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 26) from 15 August to 14 November. The first three prize winners are entitled to cash prizes of MOP1,500, MOP1,000, and MOP500 respectively. Another 20 winners will also be drawn for cash prizes of MOP100 each. Interested parties may visit the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) to check for details of the activity and a list of all participating shops. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Consumer Council conducted its fourth 'Supermarket price survey' in August on 13 August 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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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP127.6 billion (USD15.99 billion) at the end of July 2014. The reserves increased by 1.4% from the revised value of MOP125.9 billion (USD15.76 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-July 2014 represented 13 times the currency in circulation or 109.9% of Pataca M2 at end-June 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, dropped 0.13 points month-to-month and 0.97 points year-on-year to 97.32 in July 2014.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) announces the launch of its revamped website today. The new platform is now more uniform and user-friendly, focusing on more relevant information to its users. With five new topics in focus: "Loss of Macau ID or Travel Documents", "Repatriation and Medical Services", "Visa and Immigration Related Issues", "Consular Missions of the PRC and Requests for Assistance", and also, "Credit Card or ATM Card Loss", it is the GGCT's intention to target some of the issues and questions frequently raised by Macau residents and tourists that are traveling to Macau, thus providing the information in a clear and simplified way. The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) website is available in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Portuguese and English languages and can be accessed via your computer or mobile navigation device through the address: www.ggct.gov.mo .
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As the legal deposit institution for Macao publications, the Macao Central Library undertakes the responsibility of collecting, preserving and collating local publications as well as providing them for research and use purposes. To aid publishers' fulfilment of the legal deposit obligation, the Macao Central Library has added a publication collection venue. In addition to the Centre for International Standard Book Number (ISBN) located at the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library (No. 3, Santo Agostinho Square), the Macao Central Library (Main Library) (No. 89 A-B, Av. Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida) located in Tap Seac Square also accepts publications since 28 July. Publishers can choose to send publications via post or process the relevant procedures at the Macao Central Library during office hours (except on Macao SAR public holidays). For enquiries, please contact the Library though phone (853) 8598 6600 during office hours.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council conducted its specific price surveys on oral care products and milk powder on 12 August. Results of the mentioned surveys have been uploaded to the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and are available in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. For inquiry, please call the Council's hotline: 8988 9315.
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