News

The delegation of Macao SAR attended the peer review meeting held from 19 to 23 September in Paris, France, as invited by the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purpose. The delegation introduced in the meeting the work that Macao SAR had done in recent years regarding the promotion of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes, and provided detailed answers to inquiries raised by the peer review panel. At the end, the review panel members unanimously agreed that Macao SAR had the relevant legal and regulatory framework in place that could ensure the effective implementation of tax information exchange, and that Macao SAR complied with the internationally agreed standards. The panel would therefore proposed the Global Forum to officially adopted the Phase I Peer Review Report for Macao SAR in the general meeting of the Global Forum to be held from 25 to 26 October in Paris, France. The Phase I Review was mainly about the legal and regulatory framework regarding information exchange, and it covered areas in 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. It also covered the various tax agreements that Macao SAR had concluded with other jurisdictions. The passage of the review report would mark a cornerstone in Macao SAR's work of promoting transparency in tax matters. Macao SAR would study and follow up the suggestions for improvement made in the report, and would continue its efforts to conclude more tax agreements with different countries and regions in order to fulfill its international obligation as the Forum's member. Macao SAR has, so far, concluded Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) or Double Taxation Conventions (DTCs) that comply with the latest internationally agreed standards with 12 different countries or regions. The SAR has also initially signed TIEAs with India, Malta, and Jamaica respectively. In addition, it is now actively negotiating TIEAs with Ireland, New Zealand, Germany and Argentina. Besides, a new round of working level meeting with Vietnam and Hong Kong SAR on DTC negotiation is expected to be held later this year.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that total visitor arrivals for August 2011 marked a new record of 2,698,003 during the Summer holidays, up 14.4% over 2010. Same-day visitors (1,411,916) accounted for 52.3% of total visitor arrivals, with 838,919 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China surged by 24.3% year-on-year to 1,571,015 (58.2% of total), mostly coming from Guangdong Province (820,743), Fujian Province (92,976) and Zhejiang Province (61,218); while those travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme totalled 698,625, up by 18.4% year-on-year. Visitors from Taiwan, China (116,152); the Republic of Korea (45,132) and Japan (38,853) increased by 0.3%, 25.1% and 4.4% respectively; besides, visitors from Indonesia (25,620) also registered remarkable growth. However, those from Hong Kong (754,636) decreased slightly by 0.5%. Total visitor arrivals reached 18,495,526 in the first eight months of 2011, up by 10.4% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (10,506,574), Hong Kong (5,195,219) and the Republic of Korea (275,853) went up by 17.9%, 3.7% and 25.5% respectively, while those from Taiwan, China (842,695) and Japan (247,601) dropped by 5.3% and 8.8% respectively. In the first eight months of 2011, same-day visitors accounted for 53.7% of the total, at 9,926,390. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 7,350,431 in the first eight months of 2011, up by 6.4% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour increased by 9.7% to 4,707,205, with the majority coming from Hong Kong (53.6%) and Mainland China (24.8%); meanwhile, those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa decreased by 2.0% to 2,326,674. Visitor arrivals by land went up by 14.7% to 10,028,878 in the first eight months of 2011; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 9,262,542 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (81.1%) and Hong Kong (13.1%). Visitor arrivals by air rose by 1.4% year-on-year to 1,116,217. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport increased by 1.1% to 1,099,131, with the majority coming from Mainland China (37.5%); Taiwan, China (35.0%); and Malaysia (5.9%).
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The seminar on "Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: The Right of Privacy and the Right of Personal Data Protection", will take place on September 26th to 30th in the Auditorium of the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, Rua Dr. Pedro José Lobo, n.os 1-3, Banco Luso Internacional building , 18th floor, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.. Organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre and integrated as part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, this seminar will feature as its keynote speaker Dr. José Alexandre Guimarães de Sousa Pinheiro, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, Portugal. The event will be conducted in Portuguese, with simultaneous translation into Cantonese. During the five daily sessions, which will take place until September 30th, the following topics will be discussed: 1. Session 1:
a. Individual rights and privacy protection;
b. The origins of the right to privacy: The right to privacy in the United States and the role of "Warren and Brandeis";
c. The origins of "data protection" as a German concept.
2. Session 2:
a. Informational and decisional privacy;
b. The major international conventions on privacy;
c. Data protection in international law;
d. Privacy and data protection as human rights.
3. Session 3:
a. Concepts of personal data and processing of personal data;
b. The principles of legitimacy in data protection;
c. The rights to information and the rights to opposition in the area of data protection;
d. The role of courts and administrative entities encompassing activities related to data protection. 4. Session 4:
a. Major contemporary debates on privacy and data protection:
i. Computer users' online privacy protection;
ii. How to deal with social networking?
iii. Liberty vs. Security in the era of terrorism and highly organised crime.
5. Session 5: a. Judicial and administrative decisions in the context of privacy and data protection. Emerging technologies, namely the information technology evolution and the widespread popularity access to the internet, have brought on new perspectives and challenges in the realm of privacy and data protection. This seminar aims at sharing experiences in these areas of great importance. The 2nd Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" and is going to take place until December 2012. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, together with many entities and public departments of the Macao SAR, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macao.
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Under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Historical Archives of Macao will organise a one day seminar "Allegiance of Revolutionaries: Seminar Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution" at the auditorium of Macao Museum on this Saturday, 24 September 2011. Specialists from Mainland China, the Macao and Hong Kong S.A.R.s and abroad will address issues including the background to the 1911 Revolution, Macao's role in the preparations for the rebellion, and the subsequent impact of the revolution. A highlight of the seminar will be the presence of the historic figure of Madam Lily Sui Fong Sun, granddaughter of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who will present the keynote speech. The seminar is moderated by Professor Ho Wai-Kit, Vincent of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Macau and will be conducted in Mandarin and English with simultaneous interpretation. Members of the public are welcome to attend. The 1911 Revolution brought to an end two thousand years of imperial rule and represented the birth of Asia's first republic. Dr. Sun Yat Sen played an instrumental role in inspiring the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, and was the first provisional president of the Republic of China, founded in 1912. Given Macao's role in the 1911 Revolution, Dr. Sun Yat Sen's connections with Macao and in view of Macao's status as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, this seminar is part of a range of initiatives being organized in the Macao S.A.R. to mark the centenary. Papers on the revolution will be presented in the seminar from 9.30am to 5.30pm with the participation of Qiu Jie, professor of the History Department at Sun Yat-Sen University, who will moderate the morning session, Cheng Wai-Ming, Peter, research coordinator of Jao Tsung-I Pétite École at the University of Hong Kong, Ting Sun Pao, Joseph, professor of the Department of History of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chan Lai Lin, Lilian, researcher at the Macau Museum of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Alfredo Gomes Dias, adjunct professor at Lisbon College of Education, Lee Kam Keung, professor of the Department of History at Baptist University of Hong Kong, and Paul Barrie Spooner, lecturer of the History Department at University of Macau. The seminar is divided into two sessions. The first, in the morning, will focus on "Dr. Sun: Relics and Resources" and the second, starting at 3pm in the afternoon, will feature "1911 Revolution: People, Action, and Ideas". Keynote speaker Madam Lily Sun will give her speech in the morning session. The target audience for the seminar will embrace the general public, specialists, and teachers who will thus be encouraged to integrate some of the material into their classes, and take their students to visit the exhibition "For the People – Sun Yat Sen and Macao" which opens to the public in Macao Museum on the same day. All those interested in attending this event are invited to register, either in person at the Historical Archives of Macao, or by fax to 2856 1495. Any extra places may be allocated to walk-in participants on the day. For further details, please call 28592919.
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Owing to the floods spreading to new areas in Thailand, Macao Post announced that all mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to the following additional postcode areas are subject to delay until further notice.
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Owing to strike action taken by transport workers in Australia, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Australia are subject to delay until further notice.
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The new academic year of 2011/12 began with a warm welcome of 478 students joining the IFT family. To mark the commencement of this semester and to gain a better understanding of the tourism industry, the Institute has the honour to invite Eng. Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and Ms. Cecilia Tse, Head of Communication and External Relations Department of MGTO to introduce the development of Macao's tourism industry and discuss professional attributes leading to a successful career.
Eng. Antunes and Ms. Tse enlightened the freshmen with information including current development of the industry, visitation projections, tourists' profiles, MGTO's promotion strategy, and upcoming MICE activities, etc. Students were set on a good start and expected to make good use of these information in their studies.
Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT purposely reiterated the importance of fostering high standard of personal qualities throughout students' studies in IFT. Tourism and services industry is a people business, full of 'human touch points', required individuals with self-cultivation, positive attitude, proper grooming and attire, professional ethics and 'just right' services to create memorable experience to customers. IFT has always focused on nurturing students within these parameters to prepare them for future challenges in this dynamic industry.
The event ended with an interactive Q&A session with guest speakers and student counsellor, where students enthusiastically asked macro questions regarding the future of Macao's tourism industry, Macao SAR Government's strategy in further developing the tourism and gaming industry, as well as personal questions like career planning and choices.
IFT regularly invites well-known scholars, industry leaders and managers to host seminars or to share their experiences with students, bringing best practices and updated trends of the industry to the study environment.
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IFT invited two chefs from the Spanish fine dining restaurant – Restaurant Mugaritz to do a professional demonstration on 21st September. Restaurant Mugaritz is a two-star Michelin restaurant and ranking the 3rd in San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2011 List. Executive chefs of hotels and chefs of restaurants recommended by Michelin in Macao were invited to attend the demonstration. The objectives of the demonstration are to provide an opportunity to local and overseas professionals for communications and to help local industry to absorb various cooking theories and techniques to further enhance the development of the industry. In addition to the recommendation of Michelin, Restaurant Mugaritz ranked the 3rd in San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2011 List. This annual award is organised by Restaurant Magazine and it welcomes the 10th anniversary in 2011. It is acknowledged as the Oscar in the world of food and beverage. The results of the award were voted by a panel composed of more than 800 experts in the industry. The panel members included chefs, critics of food and beverage and owners of restaurant from over 20 countries and regions. The two chefs came along with the newly created products and recipes including natural ingredients of seeds and herbals. Through the flexible application of ingredients and the creativity and efforts of the Mugaritz chefs, the participants were shown over dozens of newly created dishes and their recipes. Those dishes were easily cooked but with full of surprises. They will certainly bring the guests a brand new sensory experience. Mugaritz Restaurant has a group of international chefs who combine the application of ingredients of different culinary cultures and their superb cooking techniques to make Mugaritz Restaurant famous and unique. The quality of food and service are always beyond expectation in the restaurant. IFT are happy to be the platform for exchanging ideas among local professionals and those from other countries and regions. Special cross-over like this is an example of IFT's endeavour to bring in new culinary elements to Macao and to encourage ideas exchange with international prestigious restaurants and institutions. Through this it is believed that the local arts in culinary will be enhanced to a new level.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI (110.80) for August 2011 increased by 6.15% year-on-year. The increment was fuelled by higher charges for meals bought away from home, as well as rising prices of gasoline and gold jewellery. For the 12 months ended August 2011, the average Composite CPI increased by 4.89% from the previous period; the CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 4.56% and 5.05% respectively. In comparison with August 2010, notable increase was observed in the price index of Transport (+10.64%); Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+10.34%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+8.79%); and Clothing & Footwear (+8.49%) on account of dearer prices of gasoline, gold jewellery, fresh fish, fresh pork and women's clothing, as well as rising charges for meals bought away from home. On the contrary, price index of Communication decreased by 13.98% year-on-year upon lowered charges for internet service. The CPI-A (109.81) and CPI-B (111.18) for August 2011 increased by 5.78% and 6.37% respectively. The Composite CPI for August 2011 decreased by 0.04% month-to-month, of which the price index of Communication and Clothing & Footwear fell by 6.22% and 2.24%, respectively. However, price index of Recreation & Culture; and Transport rose by 0.97% and 0.82% month-to-month upon higher charges for outbound package tours and dearer prices of airfare. The CPI-A for August 2011 decreased by 0.19% whereas CPI-B increased slightly by 0.01% month-to-month. The average Composite CPI for the first eight months of 2011 increased by 5.37% year-on-year; the CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.02% and 5.55% respectively. The Composite CPI, with base year April 2008-March 2009, reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
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Consumer Council released its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' and specific price survey on canned foods dated 15th September. Prices of rice were stable and cooking oil tended to increase in price. Significant price differences were observed in 'Ma Ling Premium Ham Luncheon Meat (340g)', which had a difference of almost 60 per cent in price; selling prices of 'Johnson's Baby Powder (500g)' and 'Cool Distilled Water (750ml)' in different outlets also varied more than double respectively. Among over 260 surveyed product samples in the current 'Supermarket Price Survey', 95 samples, mainly cooking oil and canned foods, recorded increase in prices and over half of the total items recorded no change or decrease in prices. Average prices of 16 out of the 22 surveyed cooking oil samples had risen by 0.1 to 8 per cent. For canned foods, 'Campbells' Cream of Chicken (305g)', which showed significant price increase in the previous survey, now recorded an average price drop of 14 per cent. Price increases of around 0.5 to 18 per cent were also observed in other canned food brands, 'Ma Ling Premium Ham Luncheon Meat (340g)' had increased notably in price for up to 30 per cent in both the supermarket and specific price survey. Price discrepancies were noted in many retail outlets selling the same brand of products, consumers are therefore advised to check with the various reports available online on Consumer Council's website. Top on the list of products with the most price differences was 'Johnson's Baby Powder (500g)', with a price difference of over 130 per cent, followed by 'Cool Distilled Water (750ml)', with a price difference of 109 per cent. Both 'Supermarket Price Survey' and specific price survey report on canned foods are now available on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo). Reports are 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 inquiries, please call 8988 9315
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