News

With constant improvement in various areas, the University of Macau (UM) is attracting more and more outstanding students. Recently, UM released undergraduate admission results for the 2012/2013 academic year. This year, a total of 7,654 students applied to UM, hitting a new high. Of the 7,654 applicants, 466 were recommended for direct admission by their secondary school principals, up 23 percent from the previous year. On the rise is not just quantity, but also quality. Admitted mainland students scored an average of 10 percent higher in the national university entrance examination than the admission marks required by the class-1 universities in their home provinces and cities. And for students admitted by the accounting programmes of the Faculty of Business Administration, this figure is more than 24 percent. UM Rector Wei Zhao says that UM is steadily improving its teaching and research and gaining recognition from the local and international communities, thanks to a series of proactive measures, including curriculum reform, the launch of general education and residential colleges, and the founding of the Honours College. Wei Zhao adds that UM is very happy that many outstanding local students have chosen Macao and UM for further education this year. This year, 466 local students, who ranked among the top 10 percent in their secondary schools, were recommended for direct admission by their principals, up 23 percent from last year. In the end 272 were accepted, all on scholarships. This year, UM increased both the quota for principal-recommended admission and the amounts of scholarships for students thus admitted, which leading to all students admitted through principals' recommendation being exempt from tuition, as compared to the original half-tuition treatment. In addition, to increase opportunities for local students, UM this year continues to implement the Preferential Admission Scheme for Admission Examination Candidates, granting bonus points to 185 local students with academic, athletic, musical and other talents. For non-local students, UM markedly raised the entry bar. A total of 2,779 applications from thirty-one provinces, cities and autonomous regions across the country were received. Among these applicants, 2,027 reached the admission marks required by the class-1 universities (key universities) in their home provinces and cities, with English marks reaching 110 or more. Admitted mainland students scored an average of 10 percent higher in the national university entrance examination than the admission marks required by the class-1 universities in their respective provinces and cities. And for students admitted by the accounting programmes of the Faculty of Business Administration, this figure is more than 24 percent, representing an all-time high among all programmes. The number of Hong Kong students applying for UM's undergraduate programmes is twice that of last year.
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The distribution work of 2012 Wealth Partaking Scheme has basically finished on 6 July this year. In the course of the implementation, 96,401 beneficiaries have received the cash premium by means of bank transfer, accounting for MOP$ 672,231,000, while 518,671 crossed cheques have been mailed, which summed up to MOP$ 3,427,629,800. Until the present time, 455,487 cheques were withdrawn, representing 87.8% of the total number of cheques written out. In line with the scheme, a Support Centre for Wealth Partaking Disbursement entered into service on 23 April to cater for enquiries and deal with procedures related to the cash disbursement. As of 27 July, some 18,961 enquiries have been handled, with the majority of which being personal visits, summing up to 13,459 enquiries, around 71.1% of the total. The second most popular channel was telephone enquiry, which stands for 27.9% or 5,288 enquiries. Personal visits to the Centre were mainly for re-issuance of cheques, which totalled 4,525 cases, whereas 1,581 came for the purpose of alteration of address. The Support Centre will cease to provide services starting from 28 July. From 30 July onwards, residents can go to the Service Centre of Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau located in Avenida da Praia Grande, China Plaza, 2/F for assistance regarding procedures associated with the Wealth Partaking Scheme of present and previous years. The opening hours of this Service Centre are from 9am to 6pm straight, Monday to Friday, except public holidays. Telephone enquiries are available at 8795 2675 and 8795 2676. The service hotline 2822 5000, fax 2822 3000 as well as the official website of Wealth Partaking Scheme http://www.planocp.gov.mo will be retained to provide relevant information. Support Centre for Wealth Partaking Disbursement
Number of people received
(From 23 April to 27 July 2012)
(* please find the attached file.)
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were more people looking for work during the Summer Holiday; consequently, the unemployment rate for April-June 2012 increased slightly to 2.1% and the underemployment rate to 1.0%, up by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point respectively from the previous period (March-May 2012). Total labour force was 346,000 in April-June 2012 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.9%. Total employment was 339,000, an increase of 1,300 over the previous period. Analysed by industry, employment of the Gaming Sector saw increase, while that of the Transport, Storage & Communications Sector registered decrease. Number of the unemployed increased by 300 from the previous period to 7,200, with 10.2% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, up by 2.3 percentage points. In comparison with the first quarter of 2012, the unemployment rate (2.1%) in the second quarter increased marginally by 0.1 percentage point; the unemployment rate of local residents stood at 2.7%, up by 0.2 percentage point. In the second quarter of 2012, total labour force decreased by 1,000 quarter-to-quarter, with total employment dropping by 1,400 but number of the unemployed rising by 400. Analysed by industry, 26.3% of the employed were working in Recreational, Cultural, Gaming & Other Services, and 15.4% in Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities. Median monthly employment earnings of the employed held stable at MOP11,000 in the second quarter of 2012, while that of local residents amounted to MOP12,500, a decrease of MOP500 quarter-to-quarter.
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Macau Government Tourist Office launches the free Audio Guiding Service starting from 27th July to cater for visitors with different needs and to increase visitors' knowledge about Macau tourist attractions and World Heritage sites. Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, João Manuel Costa Antunes accompanied the media to use the new Audio Guiding Service. Nowadays, many visitors aspire to individual travel experience and the hand-carry audio guiding service launched by Macau Government Tourist Office matches the free style of individual travelers; visitors can walk around Macau spontaneously, visiting different tourist attractions and world heritage sites while knowing more about their historic background simultaneously through the Audio Guiding Service. The Audio Guiding Service can help to cater for visitors' different needs. It is believed that the use of the Audio Guiding Service can inspire more interactive experience and fun for visitors, at the same time increasing their knowledge about Macau tourist attractions. In the afternoon, Macau Government Tourist Office arranged media familiarization groups from Singapore, Malaysia and Guangzhou to be the first to experience this new service. The familiarization group members took a stroll around the Historic Centre of Macau and the tourist attractions nearby while carrying the audio guide device to listen to the explanation on their way. The Audio Guiding Service is provided for visitors in six languages at present, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, English, Japanese and Korean. It is anticipated that the service will strengthen the foreign language guiding service in Macau. The Audio Guiding Service is available from 9:00am to 5:00pm daily and is free of charge. A deposit of MOP200 is required per audio guide device and will be refunded upon return of the device within three days. The information counter of Macau Government Tourist Office at Senado Square serves as the lending and return location for the audio guide device. In addition, Wine Museum and Grand Prix Museum now offers Audio Guiding Service for introduction about wine and Macau Grand Prix. Visitors are required to use the audio guide device within both museums only and return by the end of the day with a refund of deposit.
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Once the summer vacation starts, quite a lot of parents will take their kids to travel, leading to an increase in the number of individual travelers. For the convenience of citizens and visitors, the Macao Museum is going to have a trial to open 30 minutes earlier from 31st July to 7th October in this summer. The opening hour will be changed from 10:00 to 09:30. During the trial of opening 30 minutes earlier, the Macao Museum will be having an exhibition with the theme of "Maritime Porcelain Road — Relics from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Museums." Citizens and visitors can take this opportunity to enjoy the major exhibition co-organized by the Guangdong Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art and Macao Museum. Through exhibits, photos, related documentary films, remnants of ancient kilns, a series of multi-media displays, an educational zone and a game zone, the public can gain a better knowledge on the production process of Chinese ceramics and the history of trading of export porcelain ware in the ancient China. In addition, the Macao Chinese Orchestra will hold concerts in the Macao Museum during the summer vacation, and performances are scheduled on 10th August (Friday) and 7th September (Friday) at 5pm. The Macao Orchestra will also host concerts from 4th at 4pm and 5th August (Saturday & Sunday) at 2pm, the concert will take place in Museum Entrance Hall. Citizens and visitors are welcome to enjoy the shows. The Macao Museum closes every Monday and still opens on some public holidays including the National Day of the People's Republic of China and the day following Mid-Autumn Festival (1st October). The Day following National Day of the PRC (2nd October), and Chong Yeung Festival (23rd October). For inquiries about the opening hours of museum, please call us at 28357911 within our working hours or visit our websites at www.macaumuseum.gov.mo.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today inspected the Northern District and listened to the views of industry representatives from the district to learn about the business environment of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Talking to reporters after the visit, Mr Chui said the major concerns raised by residents of the Northern District were the lack of tourist facilities, insufficient promotion of the district, high rents and manpower shortage. He added that residents in the neighbourhood hoped the government could enhance the quality of life, enrich tourism resources and improve the business environment of the Northern District through urban renewal. The Chief Executive noted that today's visit had given him a better understanding of the issues facing the Northern District, which would be tackled in the upcoming Policy Address. Mr Chui believed that the new Macao-Zhuhai passageway, together with the Northern District urban renewal project and the Light Rapid Transit project, would help improve the business and living environments of the Northern District. He revealed that the government would make full use of the land near the new Macao-Zhuhai border crossing for the development of public housing and tourist facilities; and the government would also consider allowing local SMEs to participate in the tender for construction of budget hotels. Meanwhile Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lao Si Io, who accompanied Mr Chui in today's visit, said the new pedestrian passageway between Macao and Zhuhai would mark a new milestone in the development of the Northern District. Mr Lao said that construction of the new passageway would include enhancement of Canal dos Patos (Duck River) to improve water quality and attract more tourists.
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The Macao Chinese Orchestra, a musical institution under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, has been invited to tour Portugal from 24th July to 2nd August. The last time this orchestra travelled to Portugal as representatives of Macao was in 1998, before the Handover. This activity is part of the 2012: EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue, an important, large-scale initiative for the exchange of arts, culture and the humanities between China and Europe. This agenda this year includes the presentation of a series of top-quality Chinese cultural activities to European audiences in 27 member states of the European Union. The Macao Chinese Orchestra is participating, as musical and cultural ambassadors of the MSAR, in the Grand Event honouring Guimarães, Portugal, as 2012 European Capital of Culture. Their tour, promoting the cultural customs and musical features of Macao, also takes them to the university city of Coimbra and to Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. The three cities on the tour represent the northern, central and mid-southern areas of Portugal. After the first performance in Guimarães on 27th July, the Orchestra will present their East Journey Musical Concert, outdoors, at the 4th Coimbra Arts Festival the following day. The final concert of the tour will take place on the outdoor plaza of Lisbon's 200-year-old São Carlos National Theatre as part of the Festival ao Largo on 29th July. The traveling delegation is led by Ung Vai Meng, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and Pang Ka Pang, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Chinese Orchestra. Pang will lead the Orchestra in presenting masterpieces of traditional Chinese music, as well as works commissioned by the Cultural Affairs Bureau for the Macao Chinese Orchestra. Some of these commissioned works will be heard in their European premieres. The Orchestra will also collaborate with renowned Portuguese fado singer Carlos do Carmo and other Portuguese artists, providing an unforgettable Sino-European cultural experience. During the tour, the delegation will also participate in exchange with the event organisers, meeting with individuals from the Portuguese cultural sector to enhance the friendship between China and Portugal. EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue The year of 2012 is the EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. The event organisers are co-operating with the European Commission, and the entirety of Europe, to realise this project in Europe and China simultaneously. The abundant and varied cultural activities will facilitate exchange and collaboration between elements of Chinese and European culture. The Macao Chinese Orchestra's tour of Portugal, as part of the EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue, represents both an iconic bridge for interchange between Chinese and Portuguese music and an ample stage for the future of cultural and artistic communication between these two countries. 2012 European Capital of Culture: Guimarães The ancient Portuguese city of Guimarães has a long history and is known as the birthplace of Portugal, the cradle of the Portuguese nation. In 2009 Guimarães, along with Maribor, Slovenia, were designated the 2012 European Capitals of Culture by the Council of the European Union. After a 14-year hiatus, the Macao Chinese Orchestra once again embarks upon a performance tour in Portugal and will take part in the Grand Event Celebrating Guimarães as a European Capital of Culture. With great charisma and skill, the Orchestra and its unique musical repertoire will promote the distinguished cultural tradition of Macao, further confirming the Region's place in the world as a nexus of integration for Chinese and Western culture.
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Six finalists were selected in the semi-final of the Yundi Macao Young Musicians Competition, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE). The Grand Final is scheduled on July 31, Tuesday at Dom Pedro V Theatre. International piano maestro Yundi, as the Head Judge, will join two of the most respected musicians from Central and Shanghai Conservatory of Music to choose the winner. The concept of the Melco Crown Entertainment – Yundi Scholarship (the Scholarship), which will be awarded to the winner of the competition, originated in the Special 1st Anniversary Charity Show for the flagship entertainment resort of Melco Crown Entertainment, City of Dreams' entertainment centerpiece "House of Dancing Water". In the event, Melco Crown Entertainment announced the Scholarship, with the objective to support and promote Macao's development in music, arts and culture whilst providing opportunities and financial support for aspiring professional soloists to be coached at a world-renowned institution. The Yundi Macao Young Musicians Competition received a great number of applications after registration opened in April from numerous young local musicians of great talent. The semi-final took place on 23rd July, Monday, at the Dom Pedro V Theatre. The ten semi-finalists performed a compulsory piece live before the jury, who then selected as the finalists Choi Hio Lam (guzheng), Zhou Cheng Lam (cello), Su Fei Nga (violin), Cheong Hoi Leong (piano), Poon Ho Suet (piano) and Chan Sin (piano). In the final round, participants will again perform the same compulsory piece plus a full concert work of their choosing. This competition seeks to perpetuate the art of music, enabling local gifted musicians to develop their talent and promoting the local development of the musical arts and culture. MCE, whose key Corporate Social Responsibility pillar is to inspire young people of Macau to develop a passion for culture and arts, will award the winner the Scholarship in the amount of up to MOP 1 million, giving this excellent Macao musician the opportunity to further his or her studies in a world renowned institution, on the path to becoming a professional soloist.
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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) rose in May 2012. With regard to outstanding balance, both RMLs and CRELs also witnessed slight increases. New Lending Approved In May 2012, new RMLs approved by Macao banks grew notably by 42.4% month-to-month to MOP4.0 billion; of which, 95.5% was extended to residents. In terms of value, new RMLs to residents rose 48.3% whereas those to non-residents fell 22.9%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) rose 61.7% month-to-month to MOP154.5 million; of which 91.0% was extended to residents. The equitable mortgage to residents and non-residents rose 51.5% and 395.9% respectively. New CRELs increased month-to-month by 31.3% to MOP2.0 billion; of which, 97.0% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents rose 39.3% whereas those to non-residents dropped 54.1% from one month earlier. Outstanding Balances As at end-May 2012, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP81.0 billion, an increase of 2.2% from one month earlier. The resident component made up 92.5% of the total. Outstanding RMLs to residents grew by 2.5% while those to non-residents edged down 1.3% over one month earlier. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs grew 1.7% from end-April to MOP62.9 billion. Residents accounted for 90.3% of the loans. Compared with one month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents edged up 1.8% and 0.2% respectively. Delinquency Ratios At the end of May 2012, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.07%, down 0.02 percentage points from one month earlier. The ratio for CRELs remained unchanged from end-April at 0.09%. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department Monetary Authority of Macao
(Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)
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Consumer Council released its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' dated 19th July. In comparison with last month's data, prices of over half of the surveyed items remained stable or recorded light decrease. In comparison with June's data, prices of 114 out of over 310 items recorded this month remained unchanged while 79 items recorded light decrease in price, price decreases were mainly recorded in categorizes such as beverages, snacks, sanitary and hygienic products. Price drops were also observed in many cooking oil brands, prices of 'King Chef 100% Pure Corn Oil (3.5L)' had dropped by 6.11 percent. Prices of 125 items, mainly dairy products and household cleansing products, have increased but with an average increase less than 5 percent. 'Huggies Natural Care Baby Wipes (Refills) (144pcs)' recorded the highest price rise of 8.96 percent. Among the top ten products with the most price differences, prices of the first three sold in different retail outlets varied for over 100 percent: highest and lowest selling price of 'Kraft Miracle Whip Dressing (12oz/354ml)' differed for 116 percent, as the said item was marked as a sale item in one outlet in Taipa. Consumers are advised to check with the information available on the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform'. For a more comprehensive survey, Consumer Council chooses one specific branch from each supermarket chain as regular surveyed points while randomly selects different branches each month to compare their differences in selling price. This month's survey showed that a general price difference of around 5 to 20 percent existed in some of the items sold in different branches of San Miu, Royal, and Park'N Shop. For example, prices of 'Campbells' Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup (305g)' in Rua Areia Preta and Taipa branches of Park'N Shop varied for $3.10, which was equivalent to more than 30 percent in price. Consumers are advised to check with the data provided by the Council on its website and its 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android smart phone apps. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on the 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. For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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