News

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in tourism with the Division of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste ("East Timor") today (4 November) to strengthen their collaborative relation for mutual benefit. The officials who attended and witnessed the signing ceremony are as follow: Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government, Cheong U; Minister of Tourism of East Timor, Francisco Kobualdi Lay; Minister of Trade, Industry and Environment of East Timor, António da Conceição; Secretary of State for Support and Promotion of the Private Sector of East Timor, Veneranda Lemos Martins; Secretary of State for Social Communication of East Timor, Nélio Issac Sarmento; Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum, Marcelo D'Almeida; East-Timor Ambassador to China, Vicky Tchong; MGTO Deputy Director, Manuel Pires; MGTO Deputy Director, Cecilia Tse; and the Representative of East Timor, the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum, Cornélio Ferreira. Director of MGTO, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Director-General of the Division of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Silvino Sampaio Gonçalves signed the MOU for cooperation in tourism. Considering the friendly and collaborative relation between Macau and East Timor, 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 East Timor, the memorandum aims at eight objectives as follow: 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 East Timor; 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 East Timor collaborate with each other through a variety of ways including familiarization visits, information and document exchange, technical assistance, offering suggestions and training. The 4th Ministerial Conference of China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macau) will soon be opened in Macau. The signing of MOU for cooperation in tourism between Macau and East Timor is listed as part of the program in this year's forum.
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The conference on "European Environmental Standards and Policies", being part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, will take place on November 5th from 9:15 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on November 6th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in the Lotus Room of the Hotel Grand Lapa, located at Avenida de Amizade n.° 956-1110. This event is jointly organized by the Institute of European Studies of Macau and by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau. This activity will feature as its guest speakers Dr. Ramos Preto, Deputy in the XII Legislature at the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, Planning and Local Government; and Mr. José Eduardo Martins, Former Secretary of State for the Environment, Heads of the Environmental and Public Law Department, and Partner with Abreu Advogados. The conference will be conducted in English with simultaneous translation into Mandarin and this training initiative is set out into five modules: 1. Law of the air and atmosphere;
2. The waste management policy in the EU;
3. Tackling climate change;
4. Environmental liability – preventing and remedying environmental damage;
5. European Environmental Law – Overview of the last three decades. The 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, which incorporates this conference, has as its main objective the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" and will take place until December 2013. The execution of this Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, with the participation of several other MSAR's entities and public departments, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macao.
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Vice Minister Mr Wang Yang is scheduled to come to Macao for the opening of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries, which takes place here on 4 to 6 November. The event will be highlighted by the presence of Mr Wang and high ranking officials from some Portuguese-speaking countries, including the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, Mr Rui Duarte Barros; the Vice President of Brazil, Mr Michel Temer; Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr Paulo Portas; Deputy Prime Minister of East Timor, Fernando de Araújo; the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Energy of Cape Verde, Mr Humberto Santos de Brito; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mozambique, Mr Oldemiro Balói, and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights Mr Rui Mangueira. A celebratory conference for the 10th anniversary of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries on the morning of 5 November. The Vice Minister will make a keynote speech at the conference, and heads of delegations from Guinea-Bissau, Brazil, Portugal, East Timor, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Angola will also be speaking. The conference will be hosted by the Minister of Commerce, Mr Gao Hucheng. The Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries will take place on the afternoon of 5 Novermber. During the conference, representatives from China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries will discuss directions and ways to boost trade and economic co-operation, and will sign related documents. On the morning of 6 November, a conference for industry representatives and a matching seminar for the development foundation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries will be launched, at Venetian Macau. The Vice Minister of Commerce, Ms Gao Yan, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, ministers from the Portuguese-speaking countries, the management from China Development Bank and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) will deliver speeches at the event. The conference will be hosted by the President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Cheong Chou Weng. Since its inauguration in 2003, the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries has increasingly become an important platform for co-operation and development between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. The Fourth edition of the event will captitalise on Macao's role as an economic and trading platform and boost economic co-operation for the participants.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is participating at a World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) regional conference about tourism development in cultural and natural heritage sites, which opened today in Cambodia. "UNWTO Regional Conference on Tourism Development in Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites" started this morning at the Kingdom of Cambodia's Siem Reap province, home of World Heritage Site Angkor Wat and several national parks. Participants were welcomed by remarks from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in-charge of the Council of Ministers of Cambodia An Sok, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, the Minister of Tourism of Cambodia Thong Khon and the Representative of UNESCO in Cambodia, on behalf of the Director-General of UNESCO, Anne Lemaistre. MGTO Deputy Director Cecilia Tse, joined by MGTO External Relations and Communication Department Head Kathy Iong, are among the delegates to the conference. During the three day-long conference, co-organized by the Government of Cambodia and UNWTO, the event will bring together experts from UNWTO and UNESCO, along with tourism government officials and academics to debate and present case studies and successful examples under the topic of the themed sessions: Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites, Communicating Heritage, The Value of Green Tourism in the Heritage Sites, and Tourism Development in Heritage Sites. Representatives from Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Africa, in a total of 25 countries and regions, participate in this UNWTO conference.
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The Macao Orchestra (MO), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presents a concert titled Impressionism, included in its Classics' series, to be held on 16 November, at 8pm at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium, under the baton of Swedish conductor Daniel Blendulf and with the cooperation of Chinese pianist Song Siheng. Song Siheng was born in Shanghai in 1981 and started learning to play the piano when he was 3 years old only. In 1996 he won the National Piano Competition in Beijing and later conquered prizes in several international competitions in the UK and Ireland, namely in the Leeds and Dublin piano competitions, as well as in Paris and Shanghai. So far, he is the Chinese pianist who won more prizes. In 2004 Song Siheng won first prize in the Marguerite Long International Piano Competition in Paris, being the first Chinese to achieve such a feat in the 70 years of existence of the contest. In 2004 and 2006 he was the youngest juror in international piano competitions in Paris and Morocco. He cooperated with the Hallé Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre Nationale de France, amongst others. Besides classical music, Song Siheng has been holding multimedia concerts, a new musical experience for the public. In 2011, he gathered music and literature in a multimedia musical inspired in Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, entitled "Searching for Murakami". Swedish conductor Daniel Blendulf, winner of the Swedish Conducting Competition is one of the most promising Scandinavian conductors of his generation. In this concert he will direct the Petite Suite and La Mer by Debussy, as well as Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major. The tickets for the concert at MOP 180, 120 and 80, are available at all Kong Seng Ticketing Network outlets as well as through the ticketing hotline 2855 5555. For more information, please check MO's website at www.icm.gov.mo/om, or www.icm.gov.mo.
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The latest issue of Consumer Report (no. 241) is available and the contents include a consumer opinion survey on consumption with prepayment, and an introduction to the General Committee members of 2013-2015. Shops use various sales techniques, such as offering discounts, to attract consumers to make purchase at their shops. In recent years, consumption with prepayment becomes popular in Macao. To better the Council's work on promoting consumer education, information on the prevalence of prepayment consumption pattern and consumers' awareness of possible risks involved is essential. Therefore, the Council conducted a consumer opinion survey on consumption with prepayment. Results showed that prepayment consumption is common among consumers in Macao. Survey also found that consumers are aware of the possible risks involved and hence making less prepayment consumption that are considered to be of possible risks. Details regarding the survey result can be found in the current issue. Pursuant to Dispatch No.73/2013 of Secretariat for Economy and Finance, Mr. Vong Kok Seng, Mr. Henrique M. R. de Senna Fernandes, Mr. Lei Loi Tak, Mr. Kok Lam, Mr. Fong Koc Hon, Mr. Elias Lam, Mr. Mok Chi Wai, Ms. Sio Un I, Ms. Au Ieong Ut Seng, Ms. Lei Wai Peng and Mr. Tse Ka Ming were appointed members of the new General Committee of Consumer Council for 2 years. The new General Committee members held their first meeting on 12th September and Mr. Vong Kok Seng was again elected president of the General Committee for year 2013-2015. Committee members reviewed the current and future work plans of the Council in the meeting. The current issue also features articles on tips for choosing suitable desks for children and news about the Council's recent activities. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at Consumer Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 24-A, Edf. Cheung Heng, R/C), and the service counter of Consumer Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the resources online on the Council's official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the total number of licensed motor vehicles reached 224,146 at the end of September 2013, up by 5% year-on-year, of which motorcycles and light private cars accounted for 53% and 41% respectively. New registration of motor vehicles increased by 6% year-on-year to 13,945 in the first three quarters of 2013, with light private cars and motorcycles sharing 50% and 44% of the total. In the first nine months of 2013, number of traffic accidents totalled 11,228 cases, up by 2% year-on-year, resulting in 3,951 victims and 14 of them were killed. Cross-border vehicle traffic by land between Macao and Mainland China reached 3,446,796 vehicle trips in the first three quarters of 2013, up by 5% year-on-year, of which vehicle traffic through the Border Gate accounted for 82%. Meanwhile, passenger ferry between Macao and Hong Kong and between Macao and Mainland China totalled 104,455 ferry trips, a decrease of 497 ferry trips year-on-year, with those between Macao and Hong Kong sharing 79% of the total. Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport increased by 18% year-on-year to 33,224 in the first nine months of 2013, on account of the significant increase in flight movements to and from Mainland China; Taiwan, China; and Thailand. Helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong and between Macao and Mainland China totalled 12,268, down by 10% year-on-year, with those between Macao and Hong Kong accounting for 81% of the total. In the first three quarters of 2013, seaborne container throughput totalled 90,352 TEU, equivalent to 65,172 containers handled, up by 3% and 1% respectively year-on-year. Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo decreased by 6% to 143,977 tonnes, with 4,921 tonnes of transshipment goods. Gross weight of containerized cargo by land dropped by 11% year-on-year to 21,412 tonnes, including 6,943 tonnes of transit goods. In the first nine months of 2013, outward (10,687 tonnes) and inward air cargo (4,608 tonnes) decreased by 11% and 2% respectively year-on-year. Transit air cargo increased marginally by 1% to 3,555 tonnes. At the end of September 2013, number of mobile telephone users increased by 2% year-on-year to 1,556,994, whereas fixed-line telephone users decreased by 3% to 159,245. As regards internet services, number of subscribers totalled 250,743 and the cumulative duration of usage reached 597 million hours in the first nine months of 2013, up by 12% and 21% respectively year-on-year.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers increased by 4.1% quarter-to-quarter to MOP628 in the third quarter of 2013, and the average daily wage of local construction workers amounted to MOP776, up by 5.1%. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers was MOP635, an increase of 3.4% quarter-to-quarter, and that of unskilled workers was MOP375, down by 1.1%. Analysed by occupation, average daily wage of painters and concrete formwork carpenters was MOP588 and MOP644 respectively, up by 10.3% and 8.1% quarter-to-quarter; however, average daily wage of structural iron erectors decreased by 3.6% to MOP697. After discounting the effect of inflation, wage index of construction workers (89.9) increased by 2.7% quarter-to-quarter in real terms, on account of rising wage indices of carpenters (+16.2%) and concrete formwork carpenters (+6.5%). Meanwhile, wage index of local construction workers (107.6) increased by 4.2% quarter-to-quarter in real terms. As regards construction materials, average price of concrete increased by 13.8% quarter-to-quarter to MOP586 per cubic metre, due to the increasing demand for concrete in construction projects in Cotai; on the contrary, average price of spiral & round reinforcing steel bars decreased by 5.2%, at MOP4,984 per tonne. The price index of construction materials for residential buildings stood at 123.6 in the third quarter of 2013, up by 2.1% quarter-to-quarter, of which that of concrete (192.0) rose by 15.4%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for September 2013 amounted to MOP678 million, down by 9% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP544 million) and domestic exports (MOP134 million) decreased by 5% and 22% respectively. Total merchandise import reached MOP6.51 billion, up by 7% year-on-year. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.83 billion for September 2013. In the third quarter of 2013, total value of merchandise export (MOP2.14 billion) dropped by 3% year-on-year, but that of merchandise import (MOP20.50 billion) rose by 15%, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP18.36 billion. In the first three quarters of 2013, total value of merchandise export increased by 9% year-on-year to MOP6.73 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP5.23 billion) increased by 19%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.50 billion) decreased by 14%. Total value of merchandise import grew by 13% to MOP58.74 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP52.01 billion for the first three quarters of 2013. From January to September 2013, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP3.59 billion) and Mainland China (MOP1.22 billion) increased by 14% and 24% respectively year-on-year, while export to the USA (MOP269 million) and the EU (MOP208 million) decreased by 30% and 15% respectively. In addition, exports of Non-textiles (MOP6.08 billion) expanded by 14% year-on-year, of which exports of Electronic components (MOP753 million) and Diamond & diamond jewellery (MOP472 million) surged by 83% and 154% respectively. Exports of Textiles & garments (MOP653 million) decreased by 20%, of which exports of Knitted or crocheted garments (MOP220 million) declined by 30%. By country of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP19.20 billion) and the EU (MOP13.55 billion) increased by 13% and 11% respectively year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2013. Imports of Consumer goods rose by 18% to MOP37.63 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP6.95 billion), Watches (MOP4.49 billion) and Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products (MOP1.90 billion) increasing by 26%, 20% and 71% respectively. Imports of Construction materials (MOP1.94 billion) grew by 40%. External merchandise trade reached MOP65.47 billion in the first three quarters of 2013, up by 12% compared with MOP58.25 billion a year earlier.
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Consumer Council conducted its 'Supermarket price survey' for October on 30th October 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.
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