News

Consumer Council conducted its price check on 16 brands of rice from 20 retail spots (including supermarkets and grocery stores) on 2nd July, relevant data has been uploaded to the 'Specific Product Price Information Platform' on the Council's website. In comparison with the data collected in the specific survey on rice in May, prices of 11 brands of rice remained unchanged, while for the other 5 brands, price increase was found in specific retail spots only. For the data collected during the monthly supermarket price supermarket in June, most brands of rice recorded a slight decrease in price. This reflected stability in price when compared with all the prices of rice collected in the recent surveys. In the current specific price survey, the price of 'Golden King Rabbit (8kg)' was $118, which was the same in all the retail spots surveyed. As for the other brands, the percentage difference in price ranged from 1.02% to 20.98%. Consumers may access the relevant resources on the 'Specific Product Price Information Platform' on the Council's website and make price comparisons. For enquiry, please call 89889315.
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With the objective of testing and assessing the efficiency of the Airport Emergency Plan, the Macau International Airport carried out the "Full Scale Emergency Exercise 2012" in the early morning on 06 July 2012. The exercise simulated the scenario of two aircraft crashing at the taxiway junction which ended up in a number of casualties. The Airport Emergency Plan was immediately activated to deal with the accident. The relevant government bodies and the aviation operators took part in the search and rescue actions. The whole exercise involved the participation of 100 people which was deemed a success. The exercise took place at 04:00 in the early morning. The scenario was as follows: a general aviation aircraft carrying 10 people on board experienced steering problems after landing on the Macau International Airport runway and was forced to a stop at the taxiway junction. At this moment, another aircraft carrying 88 people on board could not avoid but collided with the first aircraft, although the pilot had already applied full breaks attempting to stop the aircraft. As a result, the general aviation aircraft was broken into two sections due to the impact. The aft section caught fire. The second aircraft rested against the runway seawall and fuel was spilling out from the left wing. The accident led to a number of casualties. After it had happened, the Airport Emergency Plan was immediately activated. All responsible parties arrived at the Airport Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate with each other for search and rescue actions. With the effort of the coordination team and the search and rescue team, all the injured were admitted to hospital in a timely manner. The search and rescue actions ended at 05:45. The simulated operations of the uninjured passenger handling area and the family assistance centre still continued after the conclusion of the search and rescue actions. The whole exercise was eventually concluded until 07:00. Conducted in accordance with the work schedule approved in the beginning of this year by the Facilitation and Security Committee, the exercise was coordinated by Administration of Airports, Ltd., and the search and rescue actions were led by Fire Services Bureau. Participating entities also comprised Unitary Police Force, Macao Customs Services, Public Security Police Force, Judiciary Police, Security Coordination Office, Health Bureau, Maritime Administration, Civil Aviation Authority, CAM-Macau International Airport Company Ltd., Air Macau Co. Ltd., Macau Jet International Co. Ltd., Macau Security Company Ltd. (airport security) and Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd. Full scale emergency exercises are carried out on a regular basis in Macau International Airport with the objective of testing and assessing the effectiveness of the Airport Emergency Plan and the capacity of the participating entities on command and control, coordination, communication, resource allocation and so on when facing emergencies, so that the participants can further improve themselves in recognizing and dealing with contingencies.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, broad money supply continued to grow in May. Driven by a faster increase in total loans, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking sector rose from a month earlier.
Money supply
Currency in circulation and demand deposits dropped 0.8% and 4.6% respectively. M1 thus decreased 4.0% from one month earlier. In the meantime, quasi-monetary liabilities rose 2.0%, pushing M2 to increase by 1.2% to MOP320.5 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 1.8% and 18.6% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 25.8%, staying flat from a month ago but down 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.3%, down 0.7 percentage points month-to-month and 0.3 percentage points year-on-year.
Deposits
Resident deposits grew 1.3% from the preceding month to MOP313.6 billion. Of which, MOP deposits and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 1.4% and 5.2% while HKD deposits dropped 0.2%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits dropped 3.2% to MOP123.5 billion and public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 3.9% to MOP39.4 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector rose 0.3% from a month earlier to MOP476.6 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 21.3% and 44.5% respectively.
Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector increased 1.6% on a monthly basis to MOP175.3 billion. Among which, MOP47.6 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP110.4 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 27.2% and 63.0% of the total respectively. On the other hand, external loans rose 2.8% to MOP188.5 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.6% (MOP1.2 billion) and 26.2% (MOP49.3 billion) respectively.
Loan-to-deposit ratios
As the growth rates of resident deposits (including the public sector) and domestic loans to the private sector were similar, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-May 2012 remained fairly unchanged from the previous month at 49.7%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors was 76.3%, up 1.5 percentage points from the previous month. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met with the Governor of Fujian, Mr Su Shulin, in Macao today to exchange ideas in extending bi-lateral co-operation. At Santa Sancha, the official premises where the Chief Executive receives guests, Mr Chui welcomed Mr Su and his delegation and said he believed that Mr Su's visit would bolster exchanges between people from Macao and Fujian. He said Macao and Fujian had maintained long-term partnership in areas such as trade, tourism and cultural exchanges, and he hoped that they would strengthen their co-operations in the future to their mutual benefit. He said that to turn Macao into a global tourism and leisure hub and a business platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, Fujian's support would be invaluable. Mr Su said that Fujian and Macao had furthered their co-operation in trade, tourism, investment and other areas and that he believed they could deepen their partnerships in the future. He said that he would visit Macao people who originated from Fujian during his stay in Macao and encourage them to continue to work hard for the prosperity and development of Macao.
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Consumer Council conducted a price check on pre-packaged eggs and dairy products, and the relevant data has been uploaded to the 'Specific Product Price Information Platform' on the Council's website. Consumer Council conducted a price check on 8 kinds of pre-packaged eggs at supermarkets on 28th June. In comparison with the data from last month's survey, prices remained stable, and the percentage discrepancies between the lowest and the highest selling prices of the same products were similar. Two brands of eggs sold at different retail outlets from the same chain store, namely, 'Select US Grade A Fresh Large White Eggs (12 pcs)' and 'Select US Grade A Fresh Extra Large Brown Eggs (12 pcs)', although they were sold at special prices, a price difference of $3, which was around 15% difference was recorded. A price check on 16 brands of dairy products was conducted on 26th June. In comparison with April's data, prices of many brands surveyed remained stable, and the percentage discrepancies between the lowest and the highest selling prices of the same products were similar. An obvious price difference observed this time was 'Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese (250g)', with the highest price of $43.8 and the lowest price of $29.9. The percentage difference on this product from last survey was 32.11%, while the percentage difference this time was 46.49%. The specific price surveys on eggs and dairy products are now available on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, exchanged views today with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Mr Cui Tiankai, on the opening up Macao's external relations and strengthen co-operation with Portuguese-speaking countries.
The meeting was held at the Government Headquarter where the Chief Executive briefed Mr Cui on the latest development of the Macao SAR.
According to the country's overall development plan, Macao is dedicated to build up as a world leisure tourism centre and a service trading platform for China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, said Mr Chui.
These policies would further provide Macao with more opportunities to work with other region or countries in terms of trading and tourism, in turn creating more need for external affairs contacts.
Mr Chui said that in this case, the support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Macao would be valuable, and the Macao Government will keep close contact and enhance exchanges with the Office. The Vice Minister said was visiting Macao again after three years and was happy to see that Macao has achieved an impressive development, and the thorough implementation of "One country, two systems" principle after the establishment of Macao SAR.
He said the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Macao would support Macao to expand external relation with other nations, to hold international conferences and to protect Macao residents who are in other countries.
The Ministry would co-ordinate Macao to develop as a world leisure tourism centre and a service trading platform for China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Macao, Mr Hu Zhengyue, the Director-general of the Department for the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Zhan Yongxin, the Director of the Policy Research Department of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Macao, Mr Xin Juming, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florida Chan, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam were also present in the meeting.
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Macau Government Tourist Office continues to monitor the New Century Hotel incident and has sent its staff to the hotel today to follow up with the situation. At present, the operation of the New Century Hotel is normal in general.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met with the Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr Jiang Yaoping, to exchange views on further promoting Macao to integrate into regional co-operation through the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Mr Chui welcomed Mr Jiang's presence at the signing ceremony of the Supplement IX to CEPA held today at the Government Headquarter. He said the Central Government has launched a string of policies to support the substantial development of Macao SAR since 2003, of which CEPA was one of the important measures. The Supplement IX to CEPA enabled Macao to accelerate the integration into the regional co-operation, especially in the Guangdong pilot measures and Hengqin Island innovation policy which is focused on the liberalisation of trade in services. He said the supplement would also help Macao banks, service providers and small-and-medium sized businesses to start businesses in Hengqin. He said that with the efforts of a working group led by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, Macao would further participate in the development of Hengqin and Guangzhou Nansha and he believed Macao would achieve new developments in those projects together with joint efforts of the Macao Government and the society. Mr Jiang said that the two governments signed Supplement IX to CEPA within a short time has shown the Central Government high regard for Macao's development. He said the supplement involved many liberalisation of trade in services which was tailor-made for Macao's enterprises to start businesses on the Mainland. He also said the new arrangements may accelerate the liberalisation of trade and achieve mutual benefit. The Director of Exchange and Co-operation of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Qian Lijun, the Deputy Secretary of Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mr Sun Tong participated in the meeting. The Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in MSAR, Mr Bai Zhijian, the Deputy Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in Macao, Ms Zhang Jinfeng, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Director-General of the Macao Customs, Mr Choi Lai Hang, the the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam were also present.
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"Macao Franchise Expo 2012" (MFE 20I2), organized by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Brazilian Franchise Association (ABF), Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan (ACFPT), Macao International Brand Enterprise Commercial Association (MIBA), Macao Chain Stores and Franchise Association (MCFA) and Licensing and Franchising Association of Hong Kong (LFA), supported by China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA), International Franchise Association (IFA) and Japan Franchise Association (JFA), co-organized by Korea Franchise Association, Malaysian Retailer-Chains Association, Philippine Franchise Association and Thailand Franchise Association, and coordinated by Association of Advertising Agents of Macao, will be held during July 6 – 8, 2012 at the Venetian-Macao-Resort-Hotel Hall D. MFE – an ideal platform for new business investment, offers opportunities for business and trade co-operation With the slogan "Brand Expansion Continues, Business Opportunities to be seized" and to build on the fruitful results and experiences obtained, MFE 2012 is the fourth edition of the event and continues to strive to promote local brand products on an international scale and attract more international brands to invest in Macao, in order to meet the trend of franchises and chain businesses with an increased international participation. According to statistics, the numbers of business matching, on-site contracted projects, participating countries/ regions and attendance have been increasing proportionally over the past three years. MFE 20I2 has become a unique exposition which has already gained the recognition from the industry professionals, SMEs and business beginners in the region. Coupled with its geographical advantage and unique historical background, Macao is able to become a regional demonstration centre for franchises and chain businesses, which probably creates a broader spectrum of business opportunities for MFE and Macao enterprises. MFE 20I2 is committed to promoting and establishing a business platform to welcome all exhibitors from diversified industries and world-renowned brands to look for business partners in Macao. UntilJuly 2, 20I2MFE has recruited a large number of exhibitors from fourteen different countries or regions, which include Mainland China, United States of America, Japan, South Korea, Britain, France, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, attracting over 150 franchise and chain operators and brand agencies, and engaging in a variety of industries like food and beverages, retail, services, education, strategic planning and marketing, and so on. The number of custom-built booth has reached to 23 (comparing 9 in the 2011MFE), an increase of about 155%. There are a total of 107 overseas exhibitors, number of Macao exhibitor increases from 38 in 2011 to 49 this year, an increase of 28%. Hence 2012MFE is an ideal business occasion, offering a platform for exhibition, forum, business matching, and products & services presentation. Industry experts and professionals inspire the forum with new ideas to transcend Over the past three years, the organizer aims to foster a more desirable business communication platform for local SMEs to enjoy huge benefits through franchising and introduce more international franchise brands to develop in Macao, as a means to create a durable and stable market for business transformation and development. To weather the dynamic changes in the global and regional economic context , and to fortify the competitiveness of local enterprises, MFE 2012 invites a substantial number of renowned industry experts to speak in the forums to share their experience and professional advice, offering tips for the audience To consolidate Macao's role as the regional economic and trade platform, three forums featuring business opportunities of international brands and franchise will be held respectively on July 5, July 6 and July 7. The first forum will be held on July 5 Thursday at Macao Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre, Level 4 - Grand Hall. The topic will be "International Strategy for Franchise and Chain Store Industry" and the senior managers and experienced leaders from various international organizations and business associations from Mainland China, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong and Macao will present their points of view on the topic. The second forum will be held on July 6, which is also the first day of the expo. The topic will be "Beyond Macao – Opportunities of Development in Regional Franchise Business", and groups of famous international chain business specialists and scholars together with the representatives of different enterprises are invited to interactively explore different investment opportunities in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao of running the chain and franchising business and elaborate how to pursue pioneering opportunities and achieve a regional win-win through the franchise mode "Spreading Out and Bringing In". It is expected that the audience, especially for those prospective franchisees, can be inspired by these in-depth discussions to further investigate how to establish "Franchise and Chain Headquarters" for their own brand products. The Macao Retail & Service Award 2012, launched by Macao International Brand Enterprise Commercial Association, will be held on the same day. The topic of the third forum held on July 7 is "From Building Your Own Brand to Managing Chain Store Operations". Through questions prepared by the moderator and experience sharing of the invited speakers, it is expected that the audience can look at the encountered problems ranging from easy to hard, which helps the business beginners to foresee the prospect and trend of franchise and chain business. Brand Re-packaging Consultancy Pavilion Enhances Product Value A substantial number of Macao brands demonstrate the excellent quality and uniqueness of products through MFE. In order to strengthen the brands both locally and internationally, the organizer specially invites representatives from Beijing, Taiwan, and Hong Kong counterparts, who are expertise in brand packaging services, to share their insights and provide opinions tailored to individual needs in "Brand Re-packaging Consultancy Pavilion of MFE 2012". The Brand consultants-in-residence will illustrate and explore the techniques and skills in product packaging to achieve an innovative and attractive outcome and examine how brand packaging strategically enhances the brand value. Also consultancy services will be available for business beginners and SMEs. Food Tasting, MFE Square and Multi-functional Area boost atmosphere for business matching Based on the past experiences, food and beverages and retail franchisors received most attention. Therefore, the organizer has put more efforts in inviting more brands and franchisors of these two areas to participate in MFE 2012. Similar to the previous MFE, there will be a Food and Beverages Tasting Area, together with a newly added MFE Square, a multi-functional area and an opening ceremony to be held in exhibition hall for its first time, which is expected to allow exhibitors to demonstrate their products and boost the match making atmosphere with the special food and fabulous performances. One-stop support service to assist enterprise development and financing MFE 2012 presents the following supporting services for exhibitors, including marketing strategy, financial consultancy, real estate consultancy businesses, which can provide professional advisory services to those who are interested in starting the chain and franchising business. Moreover, Macao Economic Services (DSE) will also have a booth on site to provide information for any inquiry about the Small & Medium Sized Enterprises Schemes. Free Admission. Don't Miss the Opportunity! Macao is not only a free port and independent customs territory that enjoys a great economic vitality in the Asia-Pacific region, but also an important bridge that connects Mainland China to international markets. When the economy is getting better, a number of international brand agencies have shown a good development momentum in Macao. And it is timely for enterprises or individuals to expand the scale of operation or start personal venture in an effective way. Therefore MFE has become an effective platform for enterprises from various countries/regions that are exploring and exploiting chain and franchising business opportunities. Admission throughout the three-day event is free to everyone. Business representatives and general publics are all welcomed to visit the expo. The first day of MFE 2012 (July 6) will be open to business professionals only, and the opening hours are from 11:00am to 8:00 pm, while July 7 and July 8 will be open to general public. The opening hours on July 7 Saturday are from 11:00am to 8:00 pm and the opening hours on July 8 Sunday are from 11:00 am to 06:00 pm. For public convenience, two routes of shuttle bus service will be available on Saturday and Sunday. Round trip shuttle 1 goes between Estrada Marginal do Hipodromo (near Royal Supermarket, Areia Preta) and MFE venue. Round trip shuttle 2 goes between Avenida Doutor Mário Soares (Macao Square) and MFE venue. For other enquiries, please contact the secretariat of MFE 2012, Tel: (853) 6212 88ll or visit the MFE official website: www.mfe.mo.
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Representatives of the Macao Government and the Ministry of Commerce today signed a supplement to the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to further increase the level of economic and trade exchanges between Macao and the Mainland. Supplement IX to CEPA signed at Government Headquarters takes it to a total of 318 liberalisation in 48 trades in services sectors opened to Macao businesses on the Mainland. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, and the Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr Jiang Yaoping, led official delegations from the two governments to the high-level meeting of the 2012 CEPA Joint Steering Committee. After the meeting, Mr Tam and Mr Jiang signed on behalf of the two governments. The new document has added two new areas to th Agreement -- education and training, and rail transportation. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in MSAR, Mr Bai Zhijian, the Deputy Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in Macao, Ms Zhang Jinfeng, the Director of Exchange and Co-operation of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Qian Lijun and the Director-General of the Macao Customs, Mr Choi Lai Hang attended the signing ceremony. Both sides agreed to further relax market access conditions and the expand on business scope in some 20 sectors, namely legal, accounting, construction, medical, computer and its related services, technical testing and analysis, personnel placement and supply services, printing, exhibition, and other business services, telecommunications, audio-visual, distribution, environment, banking, securities, social services, tourism, cultural, and individual industrial and commercial households among other areas. Meanwhile, considering the needs of Macao banks to participate in the development in Hengqin Island, the Arrangement allows Macao banks to lower their year-end asset minimum requirement to $4 billion US dollars. It would also allow International schools based in Hengqin to expand the scope of recruiting new students, to set up entertainment places, service centres for the elderly and people with disabilities, education and training organisations. It would also simplify documentation for staff members of Macao accounting firms to work on the Mainland.
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