News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for February 2015 amounted to MOP686 million, down by 4.0% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP557 million) decreased by 5.9%, but that of domestic exports (MOP129 million) increased by 5.4%. Total merchandise import expanded by 12.4% year-on-year to MOP6.62 billion, of which imports of Mobile phones rose by 72.6%. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.93 billion. In the first two months of 2015, total value of merchandise export fell slightly by 0.1% year-on-year to MOP1.65 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP1.33 billion) dropped by 1.7%, but that of domestic exports (MOP315 million) increased by 7.4%. Total value of merchandise import grew by 4.3% to MOP15.14 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP13.50 billion for the first two months of 2015. Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP1.03 billion) and Mainland China (MOP227 million) in the first two months of 2015 increased by 1.7% and 6.1% year-on-year, while export to the EU (MOP41 million) and the USA (MOP33 million) decreased by 25.0% and 43.9% respectively. Exports of Non-textiles increased by 1.4% year-on-year to MOP1.52 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP215 million) and Tobacco (MOP79 million) rose by 20.4% and 157.4% respectively, but that of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP222 million) dropped by 20.8%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP122 million, down by 15.2%. By country of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP5.16 billion) in the first two months of 2015 increased by 10.6% year-on-year, while import from the EU (MOP3.62 billion) fell by 1.0%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 5.5% to MOP8.93 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP1.44 billion) decreasing by 30.9%, but that of Food & beverages (MOP2.14 billion) increasing by 17.9%. Moreover, imports of Mobile phones (MOP2.03 billion) and Construction materials (MOP532 million) grew by 54.3% and 18.0% respectively. External merchandise trade reached MOP16.79 billion in the first two months of 2015, up by 3.8% compared with MOP16.17 billion a year earlier.
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Published by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and produced by 100 Plus Cultural Creative Development Ltd., the April issue of the magazine C2 launches its latest issue on 6 April. The feature story of the latest issue is the book publishing industry in Macao. It will share local book publishing experiences and analyse marketing strategies, which will definitely inspire the readers. The book publishing industry faces both challenges and opportunities in Macao. The feature story in the April issue invites two local writers, Chau Ka Lai and Un Sio San, together with independent bookstore Pin-to Livros to talk about the largest challenges the book publishing industry of Macao faces and how to overcome them. “Around the Globe” introduces the significant event of Art Basel in Hong Kong. “Extravaganza” presents the event, Heritage Stroll with Poems, which combines creativity, entertainment, arts and humanities. This event has been successfully held for three years and helps to provide fertilizer for the growing cultural industry of Macao. The rising young director Johnny Tam shares the success of the drama Lungs and explores the possibility for Macao theatre to go professional. The section “Blogs” welcomes new columnists, Joe Lei, Joe Tang, Xing Rongfa, Hsu Hsiu-chu, Yap Seow Choong, Hung Kuo-hsiung and Ron Lam, who will provide readers with more enriched and multi-dimensional aspects of local and international information about the cultural and creative industries. C2 is a trilingual online magazine (Chinese, Portuguese and English) with a new edition available every first Monday of the month. Readers are welcome to browse or download the magazine at www.c2magazine.mo. To receive the latest news, please find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/c2magazine.macau, or on WeChat by going to “add friend” and inputting “c2magazine” in the ID column. For enquiries, please email us at c2magazine.macau@gmail.com.
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The 26th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presents in Macao several world-level ballets, from the Asian premieres of Lied Ballet and Trust to the commissioned performance Aerodynamics and the award winning Out of Context – for Pina, uniting masterpieces and top dancers and allowing the audience to enjoy the charms of dance from different epochs and styles. Lied Ballet, a premiere in Asia, is a work by world renowned and contemporary choreographer Thomas Lebrun, bringing together classical and modern ballet elements, taking the audience on a journey through different eras, raising the MAF’s curtain in the best way possible. The Festival comes to a close with another Asian premiere – Trust, a production interpreted by the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz’s talented dancers, is inspired by the financial crisis of 2008, criticising the modern world through body language. The commissioned performance Aerodynamics is the result of cooperation between Taiwan and Macau dancers, led by prominent theatre director Wen-Chung Lin, that explores the relationship between human body and aeronautics. Contemporary Belgian company les ballets C de la B presents the award winning Out of Context – for Pina, reflecting the luxury and wildness of modern civilization through unadorned movements and postures that represent the essence of human feelings. This edition on the Festival also organizes a series of outreach activities, such as the Contemporary Theatre Criticism Workshop, led by Shih Ming-Huei and Wu Shi-Fong, from Taiwan, Lo Ching-man and Chan Kwok Wai, from Hong Kong, and Mok Sio Chong, from Macao, hoping to lead its students to write their own performance critiques; the Theatrical Interpretation Workshop offers a sign language experience, taking it to an artistic level. Available places for both workshops are now limited and interested members of the public should apply as soon as possible. For more information on the performances, please refer to the Macao Arts Festival booklet at www.icm.gov.mo/fam. Ticketing hotline 2855 5555; online reservations at www.macauticket.com. Information on the Outreach Programme activities and respective applications are available at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event, and can also be done through the number 8399 6699, during office hours.
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Consumer Council conducted its first ‘Supermarket price survey’ in April on 1 April for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais 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 over 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, money supply retreated in February. As total loans increased whereas total deposits decreased, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking sector rose from a month earlier. Money supply Currency in circulation grew 8.1% whereas demand deposits dropped 4.5%. M1 thus decreased 2.2% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities fell 2.4%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, decreased 2.4% to MOP481.7 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 5.5% and 5.4% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 27.6%, up 0.9 percentage points from a month ago or 3.0 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 50.3%, down 0.4 percentage points month-to-month or 0.1 percentage point year-on-year. The share of Chinese Yuan (CNY) was 11.9%, down 0.8 percentage points month-to-month or 4.3 percentage points year-on-year. The share of United States Dollar (USD) was 8.1%, up 0.3 percentage points month-to-month or 1.4 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits decreased 2.6% from the preceding month to MOP469.6 billion. Of which, MOP and USD deposits increased at respective rates of 0.1% and 1.5% while HKD, CNY and other foreign currency deposits decreased 3.1%, 8.7% and 0.6% respectively. Non-resident deposits grew 1.6% to MOP244.7 billion. Public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 3.0% to MOP105.8 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector dropped 0.7% from a month earlier to MOP820.1 billion. The shares of MOP, HKD, CNY and USD in total deposits were 19.1%, 42.1%, 13.7% and 20.4% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector increased 0.4% from a month ago to MOP346.2 billion. Among which, MOP94.2 billion was MOP-denominated, MOP224.9 billion was denominated in HKD, MOP1.6 billion was denominated in CNY and MOP24.4 billion was denominated in USD, representing 27.2%, 65.0%, 0.5% and 7.1% of the total respectively. On the other hand, external loans grew 1.8% to MOP355.0 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP, HKD, CNY and USD accounted for 1.3% (MOP4.8 billion), 21.9% (MOP77.6 billion), 17.5% (MOP62.0 billion) and 54.5% (MOP193.6 billion) respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios The loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-February rose 1.2 percentage points from the previous month to 60.2%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors also grew 1.5 percentage points to 85.5%.
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Following the use of the new labels with franking impressions, indication of the latest posing time, 2D barcode and publicity slogan impressions of EMS at Carmo, Seac Pai Van and Mong Ha Post Offices on 9 October 2014, Macao Post announces that the Communications Museum Shop will also use the new labels with effect from 14th April 2015 as below. This label is applicable only to mail correspondences, small packets and printed matters at postal counters, and it is not for individual sale.
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Owing to the annual inspection and maintenance of some automatic stamp vending machines and postal kiosks, please be informed that the service of some machines will be suspended with effect from April 2, 2015 until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in tourism with the Office of International Exchange, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism of the Republic of Angola (‘Angola’) today (1 April) to strengthen their collaborative relation for mutual benefit. The officials who attended and witnessed the signing ceremony are as follows: Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Alexis, Tam Chon Weng, Liaison Officer and Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Angola for Asia and Oceania, André Panzo; Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Macau), Chang Hexi; Angola Ambassador to China, João Garcia Bires; Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Lai Ieng Kit; Deputy Secretary-General, representing Portuguese-speaking countries, of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum, Vicente de Jesus Manuel; Deputy Secretary-General, representing the Macao SAR Government, of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum and Coordinator of its Supporting Office, Echo Chan; Representative of Angola from the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum, Belarmino Paredes Vieira Barbosa, and MGTO Deputy Directors Cecilia Tse and Cheng Wai Tong. Director of MGTO, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Director of the Office of International Exchange, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism of the Republic of Angola, Rosa António Gomes Cruz, signed the MOU for cooperation in tourism. Considering the friendly and collaborative relation between Macau and Angola, both parties agreed to sign the MOU in order to begin and promote their multifaceted cooperation in tourism. For the main purpose of training talents in the tourism industry while considering its significance to the economy of Macau and Angola, the memorandum aims at eight objectives as follows: exchange information on formulation, definition and implementation of policies in the tourism sector; share experience regarding planning, management and certification system of tourism activities; develop collaborative relations and partnership between small and medium-sized tourism enterprises of Macau and Angola; assist the tourism sector, travel agencies and hotels in organizing promotional activities; exchange information on tourism market trends as well as other technical and statistical data; assist in establishing an incentive system for promotion of the tourism industry; tourism promotion primarily through studies on the tourism image of both destinations, promotional activities, participation in travel fairs and business forums as well as other related activities; training and skill development of technical talents in the above fields. Macau and Angola collaborate with each other through a variety of ways including familiarization visits, information and document exchange, technical assistance, offering suggestions and training. Macau and Angola signed the MOU for cooperation in tourism while the 10th General Meeting of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Macau) took place in Macau. MGTO also signed Memoranda of Understanding for cooperation in tourism with Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique in 2010, and with East Timor in 2013. In order to reinforce mutual learning and exchange, hence contributing to training tourism professionals for these Portuguese-speaking countries, MGTO already welcomed a total of 57 tourism government trainees from these countries between 2012 and 2014. This press release is available at: http://industry.macautourism.gov.mo/en
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In order to promote the development of classical music in Macao, raise the training and musical interpretation ability of young musicians and offer learning and performance opportunities, the Cultural Affairs Bureau organises the 33rd Macao Young Musicians Competition, dedicated this year to piano, to take place between August 2 and 8. All interested parties are invited to apply online from April 13 to 18 and in person from April 19 and 22. For purposes of convenience, aside from applications in person, online applications are also available and can be done from 10am on April 13 to 9pm on April 18 through the webpage www.icm.gov.mo/cjmm; supporting documents and the application fee of MOP80 per category must be submitted at the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building, daily from 10am to 7pm (opens during lunch time and weekends) from April 23 to 26. Applications in person can be done at the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building, daily from 10am to 7pm (opens during lunch time) from April 19 to 22, by submitting the application form duly filled out, the supporting documents and the application fee of MOP100 per category. Applicants must necessarily be holders a valid Macau ID card and must have been born on or after 1994. More information on application, the competition’s regulations, the application form and the list of compulsory pieces are available on the website of the Macau Young Musicians Competition. Applicants who wish to consult the scores of the compulsory pieces can do so at the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building as well as the Macao Central Library and its branches, namely the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, the Ilha Verde Library, the Mong Há Library and the Red Market Library, during office hours. For more information call 8399 6911, 8399 6620, 8399 6637, 8399 6609 and 8399 6618, during office hours. During the online application period, a related hotline will be available daily up to 9pm through the number 8399 6911.
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A Government group has chosen two pandas for Macao after a long selection process. The eight-year-old female called “Shurong” and its seven-year-old male partner “Yalin” are expected to arrive in June. According to the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, who led the co-ordinating group for the selection, an expert team had shortlisted the two best pairs from 55 pandas that met stringent criteria including age, physical and psychological health, behaviour, breeding capabilities and heredity, from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The group decided on “Shurong” and “Yalin” after visiting Chengdu. As for Hoi Hoi, which lost its female partner last year, the team suggested that it be returned to Chengdu for further breeding because of his potent fertility. The offer of two more pandas for Macao was announced by President Xi Jinping when he was here for the inauguration ceremony of the new government team last December.
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