News

Macau Government Tourist Office has issued license to a new guesthouse, increasing the total number of guesthouses in Macau to 32. Relating to the objectives of the SAR Government, MGTO will continue to support investors in building budget hotels and guesthouses to diversify the accommodation options to meet the different demands of visitors. Located in the central district, the newly opened two-star guesthouse "Pensão Renascença" is a six-storey building with 40 rooms and a Chinese restaurant. Currently, there are 32 guesthouses (including this new one) in Macau, offering a total of 616 rooms. Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes expressed that MGTO values the demand of visitors. The SAR Government fully supports investors in establishing different types of hotels and guesthouses, and MGTO will facilitate the related applications. He looks forward to a wide choice of accommodation available for visitors to gradually realize market diversification.
…

The Macau Government Tourist Office is exhibiting once again at London's World Travel Market which opened yesterday (November 7), to showcase the exciting developments of Macau as a World Center of Tourism and Leisure and to encourage more visitors to the destination from the UK and around the world. Staged annually at London's ExCel exhibition venue, the four-day World Travel Market is one of the global events for the travel industry that attracts about 48,000 travel industry professionals every year to meet, network and conduct business under one roof while learning about the latest developments within the industry. The 25.5m² MGTO booth, designed with the theme 'Touching Moments, Experience Macau', is located within the Asia section. Representatives for the MGTO include: Head of Marketing, Cora Vong and MGTO's UK representative Sue Whitehead, amongst others. The MGTO also hosted a joint on-stand lunch reception with HKTB yesterday for travel trade and media guests. The event provided a great networking opportunity for travel trade professionals and members of the press to learn more about Macau and Hong Kong in an informal environment.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 850 new companies were incorporated in the third quarter of 2011, up by 8.7% year-on-year; total value of registered capital soared by 132.0% to MOP479 million, which was driven by an upsurge of registered capital of the new incorporations engaging in Business Services (MOP410 million). The majority of the new incorporations are operating in Wholesale and Retail (341), Business Services (144) and Construction (96). There were 592 (69.6% of total) new incorporations registered with capital under MOP50,000 and the value of capital (MOP15 million) made up 3.2% of the total; meanwhile, there were 18 new companies registered with capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, and the value of capital (MOP426 million) accounted for 89.0% of the total. In addition, more than 80% of the new incorporations were limited companies. Capital of the new companies came mainly from Macao (MOP451 million), Mainland China (MOP15 million) and Hong Kong (MOP9 million). Capital originating from the 9 Provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region amounted to MOP10 million, with that from Guangdong province sharing MOP7 million. Analyzed by place of residence of the shareholders, 502 new companies were established solely by Macao shareholders, and 106 were joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. In the third quarter of 2011, number of companies in dissolution totalled 125 and the value of registered capital amounted to MOP23 million, of which 37 were operating in Wholesale and Retail, and 25 in Business Services.
…

With the guidance of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the first "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week" that is jointly held by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Identification Services Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region will kick off on 28th November 2011. The opening ceremony will be held at the Main Foyer of the Macao Forum on 28th November at 11am. The campaign is highly concerned and strongly supported by the Central People's Government. Mr. Huang Ping, the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China will lead the delegation and come to Macao. The "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week" will be held from 28th November 2011 to 3rd December 2011 for 6 consecutive days. Activities of the promotion week are in a wide range of variety including "Photo Exhibition", "Short Film Competition for all Macao Secondary School Students", "Quizzes", "Specific Seminar", "Exchange Seminar between the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and Representatives of Associations and Youngsters in Macao" and "Community Carnival". The organizer expects to enhance citizens' knowledge on consular protection and consular services through the involvement of citizens, associations and educational institutes in Macao in a series of activities related to "Consular Protection and Consular Services". This will make them understand the services provided to Chinese citizens by the embassy or consulate of China in other countries as well as the relation between consular protection and themselves, so that they can request assistance from embassy or consulate of China in other countries in emergency. The "Short Film Competition for all Macao Secondary School Students" already started on 19th September 2011. The deadline of submitting the short films will be on 4th November 2011. The above short film competition is opened to all full-time secondary school students in Macao. The film should not be longer than 1 minute, with consular protection and consular services as the main theme. Furthermore, "Quizzes" will be published in major Macao newspapers from 9th November 2011 to 11th November 2011. Citizens can refer to the special issue on "Consular Protection and Consular Services" published on 7th November 2011 and 14th November 2011 respectively, answer the questions and return the answer slip to the "Quizzes" collection boxes or answer the questions on the activity website. Citizen who answers all questions correctly will enter the lucky draw. Collection boxes can be found at the Identification Services Bureau and service stations of associations in Macao (including the Macao Federation of Trade Unions, União Geral das Associações dos Moradores de Macau (UGAMM) and the Women's General Association of Macao). For further information of the activity, please visit the following website: www.dsi.gov.mo/sppsc. The results of the "Short Film Competition for all Macao Secondary School Students" and the "Quizzes" will be announced on 25th November 2011. Prizes will be given out to the winners at the opening ceremony of the "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week". Part of the winning short films of "Short Film Competition for all Macao Secondary School Students" will also be shown during the ceremony. The "Photo Exhibition" will start on the opening day the "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week" on 28th November 2011. Contents are mainly about the basic knowledge of consular protection and consular services, important overseas evacuation carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and past incidents of consular protection and consular services. The exhibition will be held at the Main Foyer of the Macao Forum from 28th November 2011 to 3rd December 2011. During the "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week", there will be a specific seminar on "Consular Protection and Consular Services" hosted by Mr. Huang Ping, the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Target audiences are major officials and senior civil servants of the Macao SAR Government. Besides, the organizer has especially prepared an "Exchange Seminar between the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and Representatives of Associations and Youngsters in Macao". Representatives of major associations and youngsters in Macao can take such precious opportunity to have direct interaction and exchange with Mr. Huang Ping, the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China on sharing his experience on consular protection businesses. Last but not the least, there will be a "Community Carnival" at the Main Foyer of the Macao Forum on 3rd December 2011 (Saturday) at 11am as the final activity of the "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week". Through different interesting and interactive game booths designed by local associations, it can help to introduce the basic knowledge of consular protection and consular services to Macao citizens. Citizens are welcomed to participate and may win prizes at game booths. Besides special concerns from the Central People's Government, the above-mentioned campaign is also strongly supported by various sectors in the society including the Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Macao Government Tourist Office, the Macao Chamber of Commerce, the Macao Federation of Trade Unions, União Geral das Associações dos Moradores de Macau (UGAMM), the Women's General Association of Macao, the Association of Returned Overseas Chinese Macau, the Chinese Educators Association of Macao, the Union of Catholic Schools of Macao, the Travel Industry Council of Macau and schools in Macao. For further information about the activities, please visit the following website: www.dsi.gov.mo/sppsc.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that there were 1,178 establishments operating in the Construction Sector, down by 115 over 2009; number of persons engaged decreased by 18.4% to 15,284. Total value of construction work decreased by 28.0% year-on-year to MOP22.27 billion in 2010. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy (MOP3.83 billion) decreased by 28.4%. In addition, Intermediate Consumption (MOP18.65 billion) and Labour Cost (MOP2.76 billion) went down by 27.7% and 18.8% respectively year-on-year. A total of 1,757 construction projects were carried out in 2010, up by 21.2% over 2009. Number of private construction projects increased by 48.2% year-on-year to 1,295, of which residential projects (957) soared by 78.9% on account of a 95.5% surge in projects under the government-funded Scheme for Common Parts Maintenance of Building (833). Meanwhile, there were 462 public construction projects in 2010, down by 19.8% year-on-year, with public housing projects (42) registered an increase of 7.7%. Total value of private construction projects (MOP17.84 billion) decreased by 32.3% year-on-year. Value of construction of tourism and gaming facilities and hotels amounted to MOP13.31 billion, down by 36.0% over 2009, that of residential projects (MOP3.04 billion) also dropped by 26.0%. Total value of public construction projects amounted to MOP4.44 billion, down slightly by 3.3% over 2009, of which construction of public housing (MOP1.47 billion) and infrastructure (MOP1.71 billion) increased by 15.1% and 12.4% respectively year-on-year. Coverage of the Construction Survey comprises construction establishments engaging in licensed construction work in 2010.
…

The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) will host a three-day workshop on airport pavements design and evaluation commencing today (2 November 2011) to share experiences and enhance each other's knowledge and capability in this technical aspect, with the aeronautical authorities and airports from the United States and Asia, international organizations and expert service providers The airport runway technologies are constantly changing. To ensure that the aeronautical authorities and the airports can obtain the latest development of the runway design, construction and engineering technologies, AACM and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) collaborated with each other to host the "Regional Workshop on Airport Pavements – Design and Evaluation" in Macao with the objective of allowing participants to share experiences through discussions and case studies to effectively deal with airport pavement problems. The workshop is held in the convention facilities of Macao Science Centre, from 02 to 04 November 2011. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States is the main speaker. In the three-day event, the speakers and the participants will discuss airfield pavement design, construction, maintenance and management; runway surface friction characteristics, evenness and roughness; pavement load classification; major research initiatives on pavement design for heavy aircraft; state practices on overload operations and environmental constraints; new pavement software and technologies development and so on. FAA will also illustrate some case studies, including construction problems at Trinidad and Tobago Airport, and field instrumentation at John F. Kennedy International Airport. In addition, the workshop will highlight a number of state or administration presentations. Hong Kong SAR and Republic of Korea will present the pavement management at Hong Kong International Airport and Incheon International Airport respectively; Japan will report on the damage to Sendai Airport and its pavement from the tsunami; Myanmar will introduce their airport pavement design and evaluation; Macao SAR will talk about the evaluation of structural capacity of airfield pavements in Macau International Airport. The workshop has attracted more than 70 participants who come from 14 states or administrations namely Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United States, as well as ICAO and its subsidiary – "Cooperative Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Programme – South Asia", and two international expert service providers in airport pavement testing and evaluation. The Macao SAR participants also comprise Civil Engineering Laboratory of Macau, CAM-Macau International Airport Company Ltd. and Administration of Airports, Ltd. To cope with the integration of Macao into the Pearl River Delta Region, Macau International Airport will undergo gradual expansion so that its capacity can fulfill the future demand of air transport in the neighbouring area. The expansion will include the reclamation of the shallow water area between the two taxiways and the extension of the safety area of both runway ends. The President of AACM, Chan Weng Hong, said "The workshop is hosted in a timely manner in Macao as it provides a platform for the Macao participants to exchange the latest development trends on runway and pavement design and evaluation and understand how other states or administrations deal with the respective construction problems."
…

On 4 November the University of Macau (UM) will hold a Doctor honoris causa Lecture Series, which is part of UM's 30th anniversary Lecture Series. Renowned evolutionary geneticist and molecular biologist Prof. Francisco J. Ayala will be the speaker, and his topic will be "Science and Religion: Conflict or Concert?" On the following day, UM will hold a ceremony to confer a Degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa upon Prof. Ayala. Today, many religious denominations accept that biological evolution has produced the diversity of living things over billions of years of the Earth's history. Many have issued statements observing that evolution and the tenets of their faiths are compatible. Scientists and theologians have written eloquently about their awe and wonder at the history of the universe and of life on this planet, explaining that they see no conflict between their faith in God and the evidence for evolution. In this central human controversy, Prof. Ayala holds that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. At the lecture Prof. Ayala will discuss the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution and will evaluate the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism. He will also explore the many fascinating inquiries being pursued. For educators, students, teachers, community leaders, legislators, policy makers, and parents who seek to understand the basis of evolutionary science, this lecture will provide a precious opportunity to hear the insights of Prof. Ayala and to discuss questions with him. The lecture will take place at 17:00 on 4 November (Friday) at UM's Cultural Centre. It will be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Mandarin. For on-line registration, please visit https://isw.umac.mo/ayala/faces/index.jspx. For enquiries, please call 83974339 or 83974332.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers increased by 4.0% quarter-to-quarter to MOP569 in the third quarter of 2011. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers (MOP581) rose by 3.4%, and that of unskilled workers (MOP363) went up by 2.0%. Analyzed by occupations, average daily wages of structural iron erectors (MOP671) and concrete formwork carpenters (MOP632) increased by 11.1% and 3.8% respectively over the previous quarter; however, wage of plumbers (MOP603) decreased by 2.1%. After discounting the effect of inflation, wage index of construction workers was 92.0 in real terms in the third quarter of 2011, up by 1.5% quarter-to-quarter. As regards construction materials, the average price of spiral & round reinforcing steel bars increased by 3.8% quarter-to-quarter to MOP6,045 per tonne, and that of concrete rose significantly by 16.1% to MOP404 per cubic metre. The price index of construction materials for residential buildings rose by 5.2% quarter-to-quarter to 119.4 in the third quarter of 2011; in particular, price indices of steel, concrete and timber increased by 3.8%, 17.1% and 3.7% respectively. Compared with the same quarter of 2010, price index of construction materials for residential buildings registered an increase of 20.4%. Starting from the third quarter of 2011, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings has been rebased using 2010 as the base period, incorporating new items of construction materials and equipment commonly used, such as ceramic sanitary ware, ceramic tiles, lift etc., in order to better reflect the price changes of construction materials.
…

Over 250 delegates from 93 countries, regions and international organizations took part in the fourth general meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes held in Paris, France on 25-26 October 2011. A total of 17 review reports of different countries and regions, including the Phase I review report of Macao SAR, were adopted in the meeting. The report of Macao SAR was already published and posted on the OECD's official website, signifying that Macao SAR met internationally agreed standards on transparency and exchange of information on tax matters. The Phase I Review mainly focused on whether the region's current legal and regulatory framework was sufficient and could effectively guarantee the implementation of tax information exchange. It covered a number of legislation including Commercial Code, Commercial Registry Code, Civil Code, Offshore Business Act, anti-money laundering regulations and guidelines, tax laws, Financial System Act, as well as Information Exchange Act. Macao SAR would have to continually fulfill relevant international requirements to ensure that measures on enhancing tax transparency and exchange of information are being effectively carried out. Meanwhile, in an effort to facilitate the Global Forum's Phase II review of Macao SAR scheduled on the first half of year 2013 on the implementation of information exchange standards in practice, Macao SAR would study and follow up the suggestions for improvement made in the Phase I report shortly afterwards.
…

As prices of cooking oil continued to rise in the past few months, Consumer Council started its specific price survey on cooking oil in October to monitor price trend and price discrepancies of cooking oil. In the current survey, a price difference of almost 130 per cent was observed in 'Lion & Globe Pure Olive Oil (500ml)'. According to data recorded in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Survey', prices of cooking oil continued to rise since August, certain brands even recorded accumulated price rises of over 15 per cent. The Council conducted the latest survey on 26th October, surveying 23 samples of cooking oil from 24 local retail outlets to provide consumers a comprehensive selection for price comparison. In the current survey, a general price difference of 20 to 30 per cent was observed for the same product sold in different outlets. The highest difference recorded this time was found in 'Lion & Globe Pure Olive Oil (500ml)' in which the lowest and highest selling price differed for almost 130 per cent; 'Tripod Brand Top Quality Pure Peanut Oil (2L)', however, recorded only a price gap of 1.35 per cent. The specific price survey on cooking oil is now available online on the Council's official website (www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
…