News

The high-level government and economic forum has been the highlight of Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF). This year's International Trade and Investment Forum 2011 will also invite Mainland, local and overseas senior government officials, and business leaders to speak on the theme Regional Co-operation to Explore New Development. Mr. Cao Yuanzheng, Mainland renowned economic expert and Bank of China's Chief Economist, who has been awarded Special Government Grant from the State Council, will give a thematic speech titled China's Role Over the Balancing Process of the World Economy to analyse and share his views and insights on the macro economic and financial outlook. All these speeches will definitely make the forum an informative and attractive event. International Trade and Investment Forum 2011 – the major event of 16th MIF will be held at 3pm, on Thursday, 20 October (the opening of MIF) in the Sicily Room of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. Mr. Francis Tam Pak Yuen, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, will give an opening speech. Other speakers include Ms. Helena Nosolini Embaló, Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration, Guinea-Bissau, Mr. João Mendes Gonçalves, Minister of Economy and Development, Timor-Leste, Mr. Yu Ping, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Mr. Liu Zhiqiang, Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Kou Hoi In, President of Board of Directors of Macao Chamber of Commerce. A thematic speech titled China's Role Over the Balancing Process of the World Economy will be made by Mr. Cao Yuanzheng, Mainland renowned economic expert and Bank of China's Chief Economist, who has been awarded Special Government Grant from the State Council. The Forum is jointly organised by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Investment Promotion Agency of Ministry of Commerce, PRC, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and Macao Chamber of Commerce with the theme of Regional Co-operation to Explore New Development. All from the industrial and business sectors are welcome to join this free admission event. Spaces are limited, please register now. For further enquiries and registration, please contact Ms. Kuok of IPIM's Research and Information Division on 8798 9127, fax: 2872 8208 or 2859 0309, or email to ipimpcom@ipim.gov.mo.
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Macao has been famous for its long history of exquisite skills, top quality and meticulous management style in manufacturing, as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for many famous world class brands, Macao's manufacturing industry is highly appreciated by European Countries and America.「MinM」is Macao's local brands built up by the Industrial Association of Macao. The association is actively promoting「MinM」by aiming to become a world class brand. "Macao Ideas" is the first Macao product display centre set up by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, located on the ground floor exhibition hall of the Macao Tourism Activities Centre, the objective is to provide a promotional platform for Macao enterprises to enhance the popularity of their products. "Macao Ideas" is a launch pad for local enterprises to achieve their objectives and establishing 「MinM」souvenir counter in the centre is one of them. The Industrial Association of Macao has been promoting 「MinM」a local brand with a wide array of products made in Macao. The brand has been actively participating in various local and overseas exhibitions, to promote products made in Macao and it is also the most direct way to show the world that "Made in Macao" means top quality. About Macao Ideas Opening Hours：
Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Closed on Tuesdays and Public Holidays Address: Rua Luis Gonzaga Gomes, Ground floor of Tourism Activities Centre Telephone: 853 2870 0620
Fax: 853 2870 0621
Email: macaoideas@ipim.gov.mo
Website: http://macaoideas.ipim.gov.mo
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Data collection for 2011 Census has successfully concluded. As a token of appreciation from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), upon completion of the Census questionnaire, the households were automatically entered into the Cooperating Households Lucky Draw. The draw was held on 14 October, conducted by Ieong Meng Chao, Acting Director of DSEC, Cheng I Wan, Deputy Director, and other DSEC officials. A total of 53 winning households are announced as follows: The First Prize, MOP30,000 electrical goods voucher, goes to household reference number 041510579; the Second Prize, MOP20,000 electrical goods voucher, to 111533064; the Third Prize, MOP10,000 electrical goods voucher, to 125541760; and 50 Incentive Prizes, MOP1,000 supermarket shopping vouchers, to 023541943, 024210867, 024531416, 025130602, 025140593, 032540229, 034131518, 034231551, 035510395, 040011329, 041210497, 041220127, 041220382, 042130395, 042220092, 042430960, 043131605, 044130019, 044220174, 044221459, 044421585, 044520881, 045210101, 045331809, 045431544, 051240309, 052120158, 053521914, 054341417, 063321320, 063441497, 064130860, 064440766, 071221888, 072310642, 074120997, 083221151, 084540096, 091140909, 091141055, 093420554, 094440124, 095141467, 101330166, 103331673, 110021203, 124130081, 125420664, 131250973 and 133431527. All winning households will be notified by DSEC staff and the results will be posted at the Census website (censos.dsec.gov.mo). The First, Second and Third Prizes will be awarded to the winning households at the dinner gala for the Official Statistics Day of Macao on 21 October. Meanwhile, the 50 winning households of the Incentive Prize shall collect their prize in person at DSEC (Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção, No. 411-417, Dynasty Plaza, 17th floor) between 24 October and 30 December 2011 by presenting the prize notification letter, their identity card and a proof (e.g. water, electricity or phone bill, etc.) containing their name and the address of the household. DSEC indicates that the subsequent work on 2011 Census, including data validation, processing and compilation of results, is now underway. Preliminary results of the 2011 Census will be disseminated in December 2011 and detailed Census results will be published in April 2012, together with the release of the "2011 Census Geographical Information System". In addition, DSEC will disseminate the Macao Population Projection for 2011-2036 in the fourth quarter of 2012.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that TPI (116.62) for the third quarter of 2011 surged by 16.70% year-on-year. Price index of Accommodation (+47.41%); Miscellaneous Goods (+26.83%); Restaurant Services (13.82%); and Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+12.70%) recorded notable year-on-year increase, attributable to rising hotel room rate and charges for restaurant service, as well as dearer prices of food and gold jewellery. TPI for the third quarter of 2011 increased by 4.80% quarter-to-quarter, of which the price index of Miscellaneous Goods registered an increase of 10.90% on account of higher jewellery price. In addition, price index of Restaurant Service registered a quarter-to-quarter increase of 7.60%. The average TPI for the last four quarters ended the third quarter of 2011 rose by 13.60% from the previous period, with index of Accommodation and Miscellaneous Goods surging by 31.44% and 21.57% respectively. For the first three quarters of 2011, TPI went up by 14.24% year-on-year, with remarkable increase being observed in Accommodation Services (+35.97%) and Miscellaneous Goods (+21.75%). The 2009/2010-based TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors. Sections of TPI goods and services are based on the consumption pattern of visitors, namely Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours in August 2011 soared by 49.4% year-on-year to a record high of 713,383. Visitors from Mainland China (513,094); Taiwan, China (53,358); Hong Kong (33,356) and the Republic of Korea (30,532) surged by 46.6%, 124.2%, 28.8% and 113.6% respectively. On the contrary, visitors from Japan (20,169) decreased by 16.2%. In the first eight months of 2011, visitor arrivals in package tours went up by 12.7% year-on-year to 4,509,362. In August 2011, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours decreased by 16.8% year-on-year to 25,846. The most popular tour itineraries were Mainland China (64.3% of total), Thailand (8.6%) and Malaysia (6.0%). In the first eight months of 2011, outbound residents in package tours decreased by 3.1% year-on-year to 161,635. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies surged by 33.1% year-on-year to 67,077; the main destinations were Mainland China (49.6% of total); Hong Kong (19.9%); and Taiwan, China (15.0%). In the first eight months of 2011, outbound residents travelling under such arrangements went up by 26.6% year-on-year to 402,226. At the end of August 2011, total number of available guest rooms of hotels and guest-houses increased by 2,384 (+12.1%) year-on-year to 22,151 rooms, with that of 5-star hotels accounting for 63.4% of the total. Hotels and guest-houses received 809,120 guests in August 2011, up by 16.3% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (53.9% of total) and Hong Kong (21.8%). The average length of stay of guests decreased by 0.05 night to 1.4 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses achieved 88.3%, up by 6.0 percentage points year-on-year. Average occupancy rate of hotels reached 88.9%, with 4-star hotels leading at 92.8%. Hotel guests increased by 8.6% year-on-year to 5,593,738 in the first eight months of 2011; average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses stood at 83.7%, up by 4.4 percentage points from a year earlier. In the first eight months of 2011, visitor-guests accounted for 61.1% of the total number of tourists (overnight visitors), higher than 60.2% in the same period of 2010.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP246.8 billion (USD30.75 billion) at the end of September 2011. The reserves rose by 3.3% from the revised value of MOP238.9 billion (USD29.75 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP77.2 billion or 45.5%. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-September 2011 represented 44 times the currency in circulation or 344.7% of Pataca M2 at end-August 2011. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, rose by 0.98 points month-to-month but fell by 3.18 points year-on-year to 87.32 in September 2011. 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, will visit Guangzhou tomorrow to attend the opening ceremony of the 110th China Import and Export (Canton Fair) on Frinday, at the invitation of the Ministry of Commerce. This is announced today by a statement by the Government Spokesperson Office. Members of the Chief Executive's delegation include the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council and Advisor of the Office of the Chief Executive, Ms O Lam, and the President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Cheong Chou Weng. Mr Chui and the official delegation are scheduled to return to Macao on Friday afternoon. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Chui is away.
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Recently the University of Macau (UM) Charter Revision Task Force (the Task Force) travelled to Portugal and met with representatives from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, the Portuguese Council of Rectors, and several Portuguese higher education institutions (HE institutions). Ideas were exchanged over such issues as the autonomy of HE institutions, the nature of legal personality, and foundation system for public HE institutions. The visits have deepened the Task Force's understanding of higher education system reform in Portugal as well as the process of adopting the new higher education act in Portugal. The findings from these visits are considered to be relevant and useful to UM's Charter revision. Following previous visits to Asian regions, including Singapore and Hong Kong, the Task Force visited Portugal between the 25th and the 30th of September, in order to learn more about the changes and developments of the governance modes of public HE institutions in Europe in recent years. The delegation included UM Rector Wei Zhao; Task Force members Anabela Fátima Xavier Sales Ritchie, Sou Chio Fai, and Iao Man Leng; Legal Advisor of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Manuel Fernando Manaças Ferreira; UM Vice Rector (Research) Prof. Rui Martins; and UM Vice Rector (Administration) and Task Force Secretary Dr. Alex Lai. The Task Force successively visited State Secretary for Higher Education of Portugal João Filipe Queiró; former Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal Manuel Heitor; the Superior Technical Institute of Technical University of Lisbon; the Portuguese Council of Rectors; and the University of Coimbra. The Task Force discussed the reasons why the Portuguese government passed the revised higher education act in 2007 as well as the impact of the new act, after it came into effect, on the governance autonomy, accountability, and the nature of legal personality (including the newly-established university foundation system) of public HE institutions as well as the long-term development of higher education in Portugal. The Task Force also held in-depth and fruitful discussions with leaders from relevant government departments as well as rectors and vice rectors of seven universities, namely the University of Porto, Aveiro University, Minho University, the New University of Lisbon, the University of Beira Interior, the Superior Technical Institute of Technical University of Lisbon, and the University of Coimbra. Former Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal Manuel Heitor noted that it is an international trend in the development of higher education that public HE institutions are being granted more autonomy. In 2005, realizing the important role higher education plays in the social and economic development of Portugal—and also seeking to support the national policies aimed at raising the nation's scientific research level—the Portuguese government commissioned the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to conduct a thorough review of the higher education situation in Portugal, and "institutional governance" was the most important issue reviewed. State Secretary for Higher Education of Portugal João Filipe Queiró pointed out that the 2007 revision of the higher education act in Portugal was based on the review report and suggestions by the OECD and aimed to grant more autonomy to public HE institutions, and such autonomy is most evidently reflected in the organizational structure, power-responsibility relationship, financial autonomy and human resource management of HE institutions. Similar to Singapore and Hong Kong, under the new higher education act, the Portuguese government set up quality assurance and review bodies to carry out evaluation and review on HE institutions in the capacity as independent private legal persons. The Portuguese government also added a very important provision in the new higher education act, which is allowing public HE institutions to operate in the form of public foundations under private laws. Public HE institutions in Portugal have all along been public legal persons, and therefore they are subject to laws and systems applicable to public legal persons of other administrative natures. This situation began to change in 2007 when the new higher education act introduced an operational mode where public HE institutions are allowed to operate in the form of public foundations under private laws. Under the new law, public HE institutions in Portugal are allowed to end their status as public legal person and obtain, through certain application procedures, the status as public foundation under private laws, so that they can "achieve their objectives" on the back of the "merits of the management systems and legal structures". The University of Porto and Aveiro University have already obtained government approval to operate in the form of public foundations under private laws, and earlier Minho University also submitted an application to operate in the framework of the university foundation system. Members of the Portuguese Council of Rectors pointed out that HE institutions, if they choose to adopt the new university foundation system, will obtain more autonomy in the following three areas: (1) ownership of the institution's fixed assets; (2) financial system independent of the government's financial system, and (3) personnel management system no longer linked to the personnel system for civil servants. So far three public HE institutions have obtained government approval, and another one is waiting for government approval. However, heads of some Portuguese universities noted that they are now in a wait-and-see mood about the new university foundation system, because in recent years Portugal is experiencing a downward economic spiral, and some funding-related reforms have not been implemented as planned, and there are signs that the government is tightening funding for HE institutions, and maybe those are reasons why "autonomy" and "flexibility", which are supposed to be allowed under the new system, have failed to manifest themselves, at least not to the extent anticipated. Anabela Fátima Xavier Sales Ritchie noted that the visits enabled her to obtain more new information about the HE system reform in Portugal. She added that there are indeed some merits about the university foundation system, but in-depth examination as to whether this system is suited to the actual situation of UM and Macao is still necessary. She added that in seeking more flexibility and autonomy and a greater degree of modernization, one should follow the evolution of a system that has a lot to do with the origin and identity of UM. UM Rector Wei Zhao noted that the new higher education act in Portugal has been formulated on the basis of the rigorous review report by OECD as well as the relevant experience of advanced European countries such as Germany, Sweden and Austria, and therefore it is of great relevance and use to UM's Charter revision. Wei Zhao also remarked that given that UM is the same as the public HE institutions in Portugal in that institutional autonomy is hamstrung by their status as public legal person, the newly-established university foundation system in Portugal is indeed worth studying, because it may offer a solution to the financial, property, administrative and personnel management difficulties faced by public HE institutions, including UM. He added that he will further discuss with the other Task Force members about the feasibility of implementing this system at UM.
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As the one of the major highlights of the 16th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (16th MIF), the "International Trade and Investment Forum 2011", will be held at 3pm on 20 October 2011, in the Sicily Room of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. Ministerial ranking government officials from overseas and leading businesspeople will be delivering speeches. In addition, Renowned economic expert from mainland China, Mr. Cao Yuanzheng, chief economist at the Bank of China will give a presentation, thus reinforcing the allure of the event. The "International Trade and Investment Forum 2011" is jointly organised by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Investment Promotion Agency of Ministry of Commerce, P.R.C., All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Macao Chamber of Commerce and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), with the theme of "Regional Co-operation to Explore New Development" The "International Trade and Investment Forum" is the most important forum of this year's MIF, high-level officials and business leaders from various regions have been invited to speak during the conference. There will be speeches by a variety of ministerial officials from Portuguese-speaking countries. In addition, Mr. Yu Ping, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Mr. Liu Zhiqiang, Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and Mr. Kou Hoi In, President of the Board of Directors, Macao Chamber of Commerce will also be speaking at the forum. Mr. Cao Yuanzheng, chief economist at Bank of China will give a presentation, thus further reinforcing the appeal of this event. Mr. Cao Yuan Zheng is a renowned economic expert in Mainland China, his analyses have been widely covered by the media. Before joining the Bank of China, Mr. Cao served as an economist for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. He served as expert for governments in economies, such as the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Mr. Cao has been involved in areas of Chinese economic reform for a long time, he joined the Bank of China International in 1998, and was responsible for a series of large listings on the Mainland and overseas, namely the IPO of the Bank of China, China CITIC bank, Ping An Insurance and the CNOOC. All local and overseas participants from business communities and other sectors are welcome to join the International Trade and Investment Forum 2011. Places are subject to availability. For further enquiries and registration, please contact Ms. Kuok in IPIM's Research and Information Division on 8798 9127, Fax: 2872 8208 or 2859 0309 or email ipimpcom@ipim.gov.mo.
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Representing Macau SAR Government, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Cheong U, accompanied by Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Autunes, led a delegation to participate at the 19th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly in Gyeongju, Korea during the period of 9th to 11th of October. Cheong U and his delegation attended the Opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner on 9th October, held at the Gyeongju Arts Center. Officiating the Opening Ceremony include Prime Minister of Korea Kim Hwang-Sik, Secretary-General of UNWTO Taleb Rifai and Deputy Secretary -General of United Nations Asha-Rose Migiro. On the 10th, together with other ministers or heads of tourism authorities around the world, Cheong U participated at the Ministerial Round Table (MRT) themed on "Fostering Growth and the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through Tourism, Culture and Sports". Taking this prestigious occasion, Cheong U delivered a short presentation at the MRT, depicting the importance of tourism to Macau and the goal of developing Macau into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. Amongst other dignities who delivered their interventions included Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Du Jiang, with whom Cheong U had a friendly talk before the MRT. Besides the General Assembly, members of the delegation also attended the meetings of the Executive Council and Commission for Asia and Pacific Region over the period of Oct 9th and 13th. Members of the delegation also include advisor of GSASC Luisa Ferreira, Head of Organizational Planning and Development Department Cheng Wai Tong and Head of Communication and External Relations Department Cecilia Tse. Macau is Associate Member of UNWTO since 1981 and participates actively in the related meetings. This year the event is held at the city of Gyeongju in Korea, which is an ancient capital city of the 1000 years of Silla Dynasty of Korea with their culture awarded with UNESCO heritage recognition.
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