News

Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on tissue papers on 12th February for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June. Result of the mentioned survey has been uploaded to the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and is available in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. For inquiry, please call the Council's hotline: 8988 9315.
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Consumer Council conducted its third 'Supermarket price survey' for February on 11th February for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM's Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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To celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Macao Post and 8th anniversary of the Communications Museum, the "Make a Wish" activity will be held between February 14 and March 30 at the ground floor of the Museum. All visitors are cordially invited to extend their greetings and support to the staff of the Macao Post and the Communications Museum to enhance their service. After writing down their best wishes for the Macao Post and the Communications Museum, or personal wishes, on the "Make a Wish" cards, participants may deposit the green leaf of the longevity peach card with their completed personal information into the lucky draw box to enter the lucky draw. Winners will receive philatelic products. All are welcomed to join and take photos!
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All activities of the 2013 Stamp Festival are completed and the 10 lucky winners drawn from 1,230 participants of the Tour Rewards Card are: Lei Pou I, Lei Ka Ian, Sun I Wan, Chan Choi Sang, Chou Yuan Yuan, Li Fu Mei, Li Ha Ting, Pham Thi Hong Chu Yen, Lou Sin Mei and Yuen Zhi Liang. Each winner will be awarded a stamp pack.
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The Draw My Story of Stamps is a competition in which participants will draw a picture by developing on the selected "Macao China" stamp or souvenir sheet. The objective is to encourage and discover more artists to participate in cultural creative arts and design through stamps. In 2013, Communications Museum has received a total of 293 pieces of original work. The judges are amazed with the designs that have creatively merged the stamps into the drawings. They have given positive comments on the drawing skills of the participants. In the exhibition, visitors not only can view the beautiful drawings, but they can also rediscover and appreciate the Macao stamps again! The awards presentation ceremony will be held in the Museum Auditorium on March 1. Starting from March 1, participation works will be exhibited in the Museum's Postal & Philately Gallery. Winners of General Category
1st Prize: Sio Cheng I
2nd Prize: Chu Sio Fong
3rd Prizes: Wan In Ieng, Chan Chi Ieong
Appreciation Awards: Lao Weng Hong, Chan Cheng Cheng, Chao Wai Heng, Chan Pui Lam, Lai Sio I Winners of Primary Student Category
1st Prize: Santa Rosa de Lima English Secondary - Ho Chon Kio
2nd Prize: Sacred Heart Canossian College, Chinese Section - Kuong Chi Kuan
3rd Prizes: Holy Family School - Wong Hei Man. Guidance: Chu Sio Ieng
Sheng Kung Hui Choi Kou School (Macau) - Zhou Si Wen. Guidance: Chan Ka I
Appreciation Awards:
1. Macau Anglican College - Lou Weng Sam
2. Holy Family School - Wong Ka Kei. Guidance: Iong In Hong
3. Santa Rosa de Lima English Secondary - Tou Sam Iao
4. Santa Rosa de Lima English Secondary - Tou Sam U
5. Macau Baptist College - Lei Peng Cheng. Guidance: Chan Ka I Winners of Secondary Category
1st Prize: Tong Nam School - Lam Lei Lei. Guidance: Leong Sok Wa
2nd Prize: Tong Nam School - Leong Keng Ip. Guidance: Leong Sok Wa
3rd Prize: Escola Estrela do Mar - Lou Ka I
Appreciation Awards:
Kao Yip Middle School - Cheang Ka Ian. Guidance: Wan In Ieng
Kao Yip Middle School - Cheang Un Tan. Guidance: Wong Si Ting
Escola Luso-Chinesa Téchnico-Profissional - Chan Hio Cheng. Guidance: Lei Chi Io
Pui Ching Middle School - Lam Kuan Long. Guidance: Au Weng Pan
Sacred Heart Canossian College, English Section - Pang Man I
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Macao Post and The Macao Water Supply Company Limited signed the Electronic Bill Delivery Cooperation Agreement on 12th Feb 2014, this agreement enables authenticated SEPBox users to receive electronic water bills. This service is expected to put into effect in the first half year of 2014, customers can apply through SEPBox web or mobile application to receive their water bill, simply by inputting their water bill policy number. Besides, automatic payment reminder will be included in customer's calendar after the electronic water bill is received. Thus, it guarantees due date will not be forgotten. This is a green, convenient and effective service.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao released today the credit card statistics for the fourth quarter of 2013. The total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 754,434 at the end of December 2013, equivalent to an increase of 4.0% over a quarter earlier. The numbers of Pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) cards and Renminbi (RMB) cards were 534,688, 79,689 and 140,057 respectively. MOP cards, HKD cards and RMB cards witnessed respective growth of 3.6%, 2.4% and 6.1% quarter-to-quarter. Compared with a year ago, MOP cards and HKD cards rose 13.6% and 12.3% respectively, while RMB cards registered an upsurge of 30.7% mainly driven by a 31.2% growth of MOP/RMB dual-currency cards.
As at end-December 2013, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP14.0 billion, up 5.1% from end-September 2013. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.0 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP550.6 million, accounting for 28.2% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, edged down to 0.61%.
For the fourth quarter of 2013, the credit card turnover grew 16.9% quarter-to-quarter to MOP4.0 billion. The cash advance turnover was MOP180.4 million, accounting for 4.5% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, went up 8.4% from the previous quarter to MOP3.8 billion. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department
Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel：8395 2532Fax：2835 3042)
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Prof. Chen Ning Yang, the first Chinese winner of the Nobel Prize, will give a talk, "My Experience as Student and Researcher", at the University of Macau (UM) on 21 February, to share his success stories. In 1956, Prof. Yang and his fellow researcher proved experimentally that the weak interaction violates parity. This discovery provided for the first time in human history an accurate description of the universe of microscopic particles, earning him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957. Prof. Yang proposed the Yang-Mills theory together with R.L.Mills, and the Yang-Baxter equation in collaboration with R.Baxter. He has made contributions in numerous areas of physics, and has been a pioneer in statistical physics, condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, and mathematical physics. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Prof. Yang has also received numerous other awards and honours, including the Rumford Premium, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, the Albert Einstein Medal, and the N. Bogoliubov Prize. He is also a member of the National Academy of Science (United States), a foreign member of the Royal Society (Britain), and a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1997 the Chinese Academy of Sciences named an asteroid after him in recognition of his tremendous contributions to science. Prof. Yang's talk will take place on Friday 21 February at 4:30pm at UM's Cultural Centre on the current campus. The talk will be conducted in Mandarin, with simultaneous interpretation into English. For those interested, please apply on UM's website https://isw.umac.mo/evm_cnfy. For enquiries, please call 83974247 or email to prs.event@umac.mo during office hours.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 1,200 new companies were incorporated in the fourth quarter of 2013, up by 410 year-on-year. Total value of registered capital increased by MOP140 million (+87.8%) to MOP299 million, in which registered capital of Education, Health & Social Welfare and Construction increased by MOP51 million and MOP26 million. In the fourth quarter of 2013, companies in dissolution totalled 121, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to MOP12 million. In the fourth quarter of 2013, capital of the new companies came mainly from Macao (MOP192 million) and Mainland China (MOP75 million), including MOP51 million from the 9 Provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, with that from Guangdong province sharing MOP47 million. Analysed by combination of the shareholders, there were 749 new companies established solely by Macao shareholders, and 149 joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. For the whole year of 2013, a total of 4,481 new companies were incorporated and the total value of registered capital amounted to MOP756 million, up by 24.1% and 24.0% respectively year-on-year. There were 1,656 new incorporations operating in Wholesale & Retail and 996 in Business Service, with the value of registered capital amounting to MOP218 million and MOP112 million. Number of companies in dissolution totalled 515 in 2013, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to MOP240 million. Analysed by size of registered capital, the majority of new incorporations were registered with capital under MOP50,000, at 3,119 (69.6% of total), and the total value of capital amounted to MOP81 million (10.8% of total); there were only 138 new companies registered with capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, and the total value of capital reached MOP510 million. At the end of of 2013, number of registered companies increased by 3,966 year-on-year to 43,753, including 489 commercial offshore companies, down by 10 year-on-year.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) held the "Parade for the Celebration of the Year of the Horse" at Macau Northern District tonight (8 February), boosting the festive ambience in town for citizens and visitors. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Acting President of Macau Sport Development Board (MSDB), José Tavares, Deputy President of Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Leong Hio Ming, Head of Department of Cultural Activities and Recreation of Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), Choi Chi Hung, MGTO Deputy Directors Manuel Pires and Cecilia Tse, and President of The Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District, Wong Kin Chong hosted the launch ceremony along with other guests at Avenida do Conselheiro Borja at 8 p.m. tonight. A total of 13 floats joined the "Parade for the Celebration of the Year of the Horse". The parade set off from Avenida do Conselheiro Borja, passing through Estrada do Arco, Rua Quatro do Bairro da Areia Preta and Avenida da Longevidade until the parade reached the destination at Rua do Mercado de Iao Hon. During the parade, lively performances were presented in Iao Hon Market Garden. Starting today, the 13 floats in the "Parade for the Celebration of the Year of the Horse" are showcased at Tap Seac Square until 4 p.m. on 16 February (the 17th day of the first month of the lunar calendar). The illuminations of the floats will be on from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. during the above period. MGTO is actively promoting community tourism. Last year, the float parade was specially arranged to take place at the central and northern district. Carrying on the strategy, MGTO held the outdoor celebrations for Spring Festival at the northern district following the first event on the third day of Lunar New Year, hoping to encourage visitors to explore different districts for hidden gems. Macau neighborhoods brim with diverse tourism resources. Through joint projects with different communities, MGTO continues to organize tourism events and enrich the tourism products in various neighborhoods, dedicated not only to steering visitor trends into different districts but also encouraging visitors to explore the city in depth and stay in Macau for a longer period. This press release is available at: http://industry.macautourism.gov.mo/en/pressroom/index.php?page_id=172
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