News

For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June, Consumer Council conducted its specific price surveys on personal hygiene products, household cleansing products, and shampoo & shower gels on 28th November. Results of the mentioned 3 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.
…

A carnival and an exhibition featuring the services of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' will be held by Consumer Council this Saturday (30th November) from 3PM to 5PM at Iao Hon Market. Citizens are welcome to participate in the event. Consumer Council continues to hold its carnivals and 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' exhibitions on Saturdays in November. This week, the Council will have another carnival held at Iao Hon Market from 3PM to 5PM. On-site quiz games, booth games and information about 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' will be exhibited during the event. For inquiry, please call 8988-9315.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for October 2013 amounted to MOP700 million, up by 10% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP533 million) and domestic exports (MOP167 million) rose by 13% and 1% respectively. Total merchandise import reached MOP7.15 billion, up by 23% year-on-year. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP6.45 billion for October 2013. In the first ten months of 2013, total value of merchandise export increased by 9% year-on-year to MOP7.43 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP5.76 billion) increased by 18%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.67 billion) decreased by 13%. Total value of merchandise import grew by 13% to MOP65.70 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP58.27 billion for the first ten months of 2013. Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP3.92 billion) and Mainland China (MOP1.35 billion) in the first ten months of 2013 increased by 14% and 21% respectively year-on-year, while export to the USA (MOP302 million) and the EU (MOP230 million) decreased by 28% and 12% respectively. In addition, exports of Non-textiles (MOP6.71 billion) expanded by 14% year-on-year, of which exports of Electronic components (MOP847 million) and Diamond & diamond jewellery (MOP497 million) surged by 77% and 164% respectively. Exports of Textiles & garments (MOP717 million) decreased by 20%, of which exports of Knitted or crocheted garments (MOP244 million) declined by 28%. By country of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP21.43 billion) and the EU (MOP15.27 billion) increased by 14% and 12% respectively year-on-year in the first ten months of 2013. Imports of Consumer goods rose by 19% to MOP41.96 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP7.71 billion), Watches (MOP5.03 billion) and Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products (MOP2.21 billion) increasing by 27%, 22% and 74% respectively. Imports of Construction materials (MOP2.23 billion) grew by 45%. External merchandise trade reached MOP73.13 billion in the first ten months of 2013, up by 13% compared with MOP64.71 billion a year earlier.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 1,678 restaurants & similar establishments (1,626) as well as cooked-food stalls in markets (52) were operating in 2012, down by 36 year-on-year owing to a notable decrease in drinking places. Despite a decrease in number of establishments, total number of persons engaged increased by 4% year-on-year to 21,999. Receipts and Expenditure of the industry amounted to MOP 6.99 billion and MOP 6.31 billion, up by 15% and 11% respectively year-on-year. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy went up by 19% to MOP 2.80 billion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation dropped by 36% year-on-year to MOP 191 million on account of a significant decrease of 49% in that of restaurants. There were 1,626 restaurants & similar establishments operating in 2012. Number of persons engaged increased by 4% year-on-year to 21,900. Receipts of restaurants & similar establishments reached MOP 6.97 billion, up by 15% year-on-year. Analysed by type of industry, eating places (1,312) accounted for 81% of the total, and their Receipts soared by 23% year-on-year to MOP 4.21 billion; Receipts of restaurants amounted to MOP 2.46 billion, an increase of 8%. Expenditure of restaurants & similar establishments amounted to MOP 6.30 billion, up by 11% year-on-year. Major expenditure items included Purchase of Goods (MOP 2.60 billion) and Compensation of Employees (MOP 2.12 billion), both up by 11% year-on-year; Operating Expenses totalled MOP 1.58 billion, an increase of 10%. Analysed by type of industry, Expenditure of eating places reached MOP 3.79 billion (60% of total), and that of restaurants amounted to MOP 2.24 billion. Gross Value Added of restaurants & similar establishments rose by 19% year-on-year to MOP 2.80 billion; Gross Fixed Capital Formation decreased significantly by 36% to MOP 191 million. A total of 52 cooked-food stalls were operating in markets in 2012, down by 2 year-on-year. Number of persons engaged totalled 99. Receipts of cook-food stalls amounted to MOP 20 million, up marginally by 0.4%. Expenditure (MOP 11 million) and Gross Value Added (MOP 9 million) dropped by 8% and 2% respectively year-on-year. Coverage of the Restaurants & Similar Establishments Survey includes licensed restaurants, eating & drinking places and cooked-food stalls in municipal markets in 2012, excluding hotel-operated restaurants and similar facilities, as well as street hawkers.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2013 expanded by 10.5% year-on-year in real terms. Economic growth in the third quarter was mainly led by increase in exports of services, of which exports of gaming services grew by 13.3% and exports of other tourism services went up by 8.1%. The implicit deflator of GDP that measures changes in prices increased by 7.5% year-on-year. In the first three quarters of 2013, GDP grew by 10.5% year-on-year in real terms. Total employment and working income sustained growth, and the unemployment rate remained low at 1.9%, driving private consumption expenditure up by 5.3% year-on-year. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market increased by 4.6% and consumption expenditure abroad went up by 1.2%. Government final consumption expenditure increased by 3.4% year-on-year, of which compensation of employees and net purchases of goods and services grew by 1.0% and 6.3% respectively. As the gauge of investment, gross fixed capital formation held stable as the third quarter of 2012. Private investment increased by 15.1%, attributable to a 23.4% increase in construction investment; however, equipment investment shrank by 12.7%. Government investment declined significantly by 51.4%, owing to a notable decrease of 57.8% in public construction after the completion of construction of the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau in the first half year of 2013; on the contrary, equipment investment went up by 67.8%. Growth in merchandise exports slowed down to 6.8% year-on-year; meanwhile, merchandise imports expanded further by 16.2% on account of the increase in visitor spending, private consumption expenditure and private construction investment. In respect of trade in services, the tourism and gaming sector showed satisfactory performance, causing exports of services to increase by 11.9% year-on-year, of which exports of gaming services rose by 13.3% and exports of other tourism services grew by 8.1%. On the other hand, imports of services decreased by 0.6% year-on-year, due to a significant decline in Government expenditure abroad after the completion of construction of the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau.
…

The Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS), jointly conducted by the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) and the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), is aimed at collecting information on Macao residents' investment in securities issued by unrelated non-residents, in terms of market value and geographical distribution. Starting in 2013, in response to the request of the International Monetary Fund and to reinforce the continuous surveillance of cross-border fund flows, the CPIS has been changed from an annual task to a bi-annual survey, collecting information on Macao residents' investment in external securities at end-June and end-December of each year, respectively. The results as at 30 June 2013 are summarised as follows: On 30 June 2013, investment of Macao residents (including individuals, the government and other legal entities but excluding Macao's foreign exchange reserves) in securities issued by unrelated non-residents reached a record-high of MOP310.6 billion at current market value, up by 18.4% from a revised value of MOP262.3 billion at end-2012. Among the total portfolio investment abroad of Macao residents, equity securities, long-term debt securities and short-term debt securities were valued at MOP138.6 billion, MOP159.4 billion and MOP12.6 billion respectively. In comparison with end-2012, investment in equity securities, of which mutual funds and investment trust units accounted for MOP21.6 billion, rose by 3.9%. Investment in long-term debt securities and short-term debt securities increased by 35.6% and 11.6% respectively. By geographical distribution, Macao residents' holdings of securities issued by entities in Asia held the largest share of 75.5% in the total external portfolio investment. The rest was placed in Europe (11.2%), Americas (11.0%) and Oceania (1.3%). Mainland China continued to assume the leading position, occupying 41.7% of the total market value of local residents' portfolio investment outside Macao. The rest was mainly invested in Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, the United States, the United Kingdom, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and the Netherlands. Investment in securities issued by entities in Mainland China, including those securities listed on non-Mainland exchanges, amounted to MOP129.6 billion, a marked increase of 39.9% or MOP36.9 billion from end-2012. It consisted of MOP25.0 billion in equity securities, MOP96.7 billion in long-term debt securities and MOP7.9 billion in short-term debt securities, constituting 18.0%, 60.7% and 63.1% of the respective total. The share of investment in securities issued by entities in Hong Kong fell from 32.4% at end-2012 to 30.0%. Nevertheless, the corresponding market value increased by 9.7% to MOP93.3 billion, of which investment in equity and debt securities rose to MOP77.1 billion and MOP16.2 billion respectively. The share of investment in European securities dropped by 3.0 percentage points from end-2012 to 11.2% and the corresponding market value also dropped by 6.9% to MOP34.7 billion. Among the European countries, Luxembourg took the largest share with a total market value of MOP11.2 billion, an increase of 31.1% from end-2012. On the other hand, the market value of Macao residents' portfolio investment in the United Kingdom stood at MOP7.3 billion, a reduction of 11.8% from six months ago. Meanwhile, the market value of portfolio investment in the Netherlands, Germany and France also slid by 20.6%, 17.4% and 15.2% respectively. The share of US securities held by Macao residents edged down from 3.5% at end-2012 to 3.1% but the corresponding market value rose by 4.3% to MOP9.5 billion. The investment in long-term US debt securities rebounded from MOP6.6 billion at end-2012 to MOP7.0 billion, taking up the third largest position in the respective category.
…

Consumer Council conducted its 'Supermarket price survey' for November on 27th November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June. Surveyed locations included 11 supermarkets in Taipa area. 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.
…

The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of Survey on Participation of Residents in Cultural Activities conducted, for the first time, in the second quarter of 2013. This Survey aims to collect data on residents aged 16 and above, regarding their participation in cultural activities such as going to cinema, visiting museum or World Heritage site, going to library, attending performance and art exhibition, six months prior to the date of interview. Excluding those participate due to working or learning. In the second quarter of 2013, a total of 285,000 participated in cultural activities and the cultural activity participation rate (percentage of those participate in cultural activities to the population aged 16 and above) stood at 56.7%, up by 1.8 percentage points in comparison with 54.9% in the second quarter of 2012. Analysed by type of cultural activity, there were 163,000 going to cinema, up by 10.8% year-on-year; in addition, this type of activity was more popular among youngsters, with the participation rate of those aged 16-24 reaching 63.1% when the participation rate of those aged 55 and above was merely 10.0%. Those visiting museums or World Heritage sites totalled 137,000, an increase of 12.4% year-on-year. The majority were the middle-aged and the elderly; the participation rate for the residents aged 35-44 was 34.5% and those aged 45-54 was 23.3%. The average visit per participant was 3.1 and 67.9% of the participants visited at least twice. There were 116,000 going to the library, up by 4.8% year-on-year. Among the participants, the participation rate of students reached 68.4%, higher than the rate of non-students (18.4%) by 50.0 percentage points. Those attending performances totalled 104,000, down by 3.1% year-on-year. Analysed by age group, the participation rate of those aged 16-24 had the highest rate of 30.0%, with an average attendance of 1.9 performances per participant. Moreover, the participation rate of those aged 45-54 was 16.3%, and 16.4% for those aged 55 and above; the average attendance per participant was 2.6 and 2.7 performances respectively. There were 42,000 attending art exhibitions, up by 2.1% year-on-year. It is noteworthy that 94.7% of those attending art exhibitions also took part in other types of cultural activities.
…

The 2013 "Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System" (MORS) Gold Pin Competition Award Presentation Ceremony was held today at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, Ms. Teng Nga Kan, Deputy Director of Labour Affairs Bureau, Mr. Lei Pou Loi, President of Macao Hotelier Association, Mr. William Wong, President of Macau Retail Management Association, Mr. Samuel Yeung, Chairman of Macau Hotel Association, and Mr. Johnson Chan, General Manager of Grand Lisboa Hotel presented awards to the winners. This year, there are 11 sessions of competitions altogether, including Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen), Bartender, Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate level), Chinese Cook - Dim Sum (Intermediate Level), Concierge and Bell Attendant, Front Desk Agent/Customer Relations Officer, Security Officer for Tourism and Gaming Industry, Retail Sales Officer, Room Attendant, Waiter/Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service) and Waiter/Waitress (Western Restaurant Service). The final round of the competitions was held on 19, 20 and 25 November at IFT and Grand Lisboa Hotel respectively. The competition adapted a process of elimination, with 3 rounds of contests for each competition. The first 2 rounds of contests were held in forms of written examination and skill evaluation according to the fundamental knowledge covered in the MORS training manuals. Participants without MORS certificates needed to go through the first round. In order to be admitted to the second round, the contestants must reach a minimum score of 75%, and compete with those who possess the certificate. Contestants with excellent performances in the second round from each competition will be invited to join the final and given the certificates. Contestants aimed at the 2 winning positions in each competition. Juries formed by over 30 respectful executives from the industry observed closely and assessed the contestants for the final winners. Winners would receive a MORS Gold Pin, MOP6,000 cash award and a scholarship of MOP2,000 for THS training courses. Launched in 2001, Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (MORS) is a joint effort of the Tourism Industry of Macao and IFT with the main objective to upgrade human resources in the industry through the introduction of a certification scheme for a number of professions. At this moment, skills standards are introduced for the following occupations:  Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen)
 Bartender
 Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Elementary)
 Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate)
 Chinese Cook – Cantonese Dim Sum (Elementary)
 Chinese Cook – Cantonese Dim Sum (Intermediate)
 Concierge and Bell Attendant
 Customer Relations Officer
 Front Desk Agent
 Retail Sales Officer
 Room Attendant
 Security Officer for Tourism and Gaming Industry
 Travel Consultant
 Waiter / Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service)
 Waiter / Waitress (Western Restaurant Service) To reward and demonstrate outstanding MORS recognised professionals, IFT has been organising the Gold Pin Competition since 2002. Participants can be Entry-level Professionals sent by each training centre or they can be entering by themselves. There are 30 organisations, 404 participants taking part in the competitions this year. Gold Pin Competition final round contests examine contestants on their practical skills and details are as follows: Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen) Contestants are to be given a 1.5 kg whole chicken (on the bone), 1 chicken supreme off the bone and a 'black box' of assorted ingredients and other general ingredients during the competition. Contestants will have 2 hours to produce one main course dish with the given ingredients. Contestants will have access to the black box half an hour before the start of the competition. During this half hour, NO cooking or preparation will take place – the half hour is solely for the purpose of 'idea generation'. A final recipe of the contestants chosen dish will also be required to submit. Jury team assessed the contestants on various criteria from kitchen management skills, hygiene and safety practices, workflows, technical skills, creativity, dish presentation and flavour. Bartender Within a time frame, contestants had to create a cocktail for 2 persons with the theme of Christmas. The jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, presentation, flavour, speed and consistency of the drink. Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate level)
Contestants brought in their own ingredients to prepare 2 dishes (one assigned by IFT with the main ingredients of pigeons and another one was secret dish designed by IFT), the time frame for preparation was 90 minutes. Jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, organisational skills, hygiene, taste, presentation and consistency. Chinese Cook – Dim Sum (Intermediate level)
Contestants brought in their own ingredients to prepare two types of dumpings and created a dim sum designed by IFT. The time frame for preparation was 2 hours. Jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, organisational skills, hygiene, taste, presentation and consistency. Concierge and Bell Attendant
A total of 3 rounds of quizzes and a final presentation were adopted in the final round. Contestants are requested to prepare a power point file (without any animation) to sell one of your hotel's restaurants. 2 minutes will be given to each contestant. Questions were designed to test the contestants' job knowledge, information about Macao, tourist attractions, current events, language competence, etc. Front Desk Agent/Customer Relations Officer
A total of 3 rounds of quizzes including the language proficiency test and presentation were adopted in the final round. Questions were designed to test the overall knowledge of a Front Desk Agent or a Customer Relations Officer. Jurors assessed them through their group management skill, language skill, presentation skill, level of difficulty, etc. Retail Sales Officer
Finalists were asked to do a product presentation/demonstration. Their skills to handle complain were also been assessed. Room Attendant
The participants were tested about their techniques of making up beds. The jury team assessed the contestants on their knowledge, speed and quality of work. Security Officer for Tourism and Gaming Industry
Quiz Bee and a fire control technical skills competition was adopted in the final round. Questions were designed to test the contestants' job knowledge, skill, guest relations, language and listening competence, etc. In the fire control technical skills competition, contestants will be asked to do one of the tasks assigned by IFT and judges will base on skills, speed, procedure, Occupation Safety and Health to score the contestants. Waiter / Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service)
Contestants were asked to share/spilt a special dish of food equally on trolley and to serve afterwards in 20 minutes. Assessment was based on technical skills, knowledge, speed and service quality. Waiter / Waitress (Western Restaurant Service)
Contestants were requested to perform a western restaurant table set-up with Christmas theme within a certain time frame. Juries based on performance related to the evaluation standard of the candidates' grooming and their western restaurant table set-up skills. IFT is a public institution of higher education that offers tourism, hospitality, heritage and events management degree programmes, as well as professional training courses. The main objective of MORS is to upgrade human resources in the Macao tourism industry through the introduction of a certification scheme for a number of professions, to the general public, so as to benefit Macao in a more competitive future. MORS Gold Pin Competition 2013 – Gold Pin Winners
(* please find attached file)
…

The Macao Government would allocate five millions patacas to support the relief and reconstruction works in disaster areas affected by super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met today with the Philippines Consul General in Macao, Mr Danilo T. Ibayan, at the Government Headquarters, to learn more about the subsequent rescue works after the typhoon, which had swept the central part of the country in the earlier this month. He said the money would help reconstruction and at the same time, on behalf of the people of Macao, Mr Chui sent his condolences to the victims and wished the disaster areas would resume normal operation shortly. Mr Ibayan thanked Mr Chui for his condolence letter, as well as his concern and support and that of the people of Macao. He said that the super typhoon had caused heavy casualties and economic losses. He also updated Mr Chui on the relief works in the affected areas. Also presented at the meeting was the Chief of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng. Mr Chui had on 11 November wrote to the Philippines Consul General in Macao to send his condolences to the victims of the super typhoon.
…