News

To further increase the scope and completeness of the Macao Database for Cultural and Creative Industries, with the aim of fostering the development, growth and exposure of these industries, the Cultural Affairs Bureau is now launching the fourth phase of its Cultural and Creative Industries Information Collection Project. The current phase targets all professional companies or institutions in the fields of publishing and original pop music. From today until the 28th of February, 2011, all relevant parties are welcome to deliver submissions to the Cultural Affairs Bureau, together with an information collection form which may be downloaded from the Cultural Affairs Bureau website at www.icm.gov.mo/dpicc. The establishment of this Database will aid the government in forming and launching beneficial policies for the promotion of the cultural and creative industries. Furthermore, the Cultural Affairs Bureau plans to use the information gathered to establish a cultural and creative industries magazine and website, providing access to information related to the cultural and creative industries in Macao and thereby creating a platform for the exchange of information to facilitate business networking and to encourage the development of Macao’s cultural and creative industries. Interested parties may complete the form and submit it, with supporting electronic files, to the Department for the Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, located at Tap Seac Square. For enquiries, please call 8399 6919 (Ms. Lam or Ms. Lao) during office hours or email info.dpicc@icm.gov.mo.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP190.2 billion (USD23.73 billion) at the end of December 2010. The reserves rose by 4.4% from the revised value of MOP182.2 billion (USD22.78 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP43.6 billion or 29.8%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-December 2010 represented 36 times the currency in circulation or 280.6% of Pataca M2 at end-November 2010. 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 0.44 points month-to-month and 0.23 points year-on-year to 89.47 in December 2010.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the fourth quarter of 2010 rose by 11.63% year-on-year to 177.03. The price indices of Miscellaneous Goods (+21.01%), Accommodation (+18.97%), Transport & Communications (+5.17%), Restaurant Services (+4.94%) and Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco (+4.74%) recorded notable increases, attributable to dearer prices of gold jewellery, airfare and food, as well as rising hotel room rates and charges for restaurant services. For the fourth quarter of 2010, TPI went up by 7.84% quarter-to-quarter, of which the price indices of Accommodation and Miscellaneous Goods increased by 42.37% and 10.28% respectively, on account of higher hotel room rates during the National Day holidays, the Macao Grand Prix and Christmas holiday period, as well as dearer prices of jewellery led by rising gold prices. On the contrary, the price indices of Clothing & Footwear; and Medicine & Personal Goods decreased by 1.35% and 0.15% respectively. The average TPI for 2010 increased by 11.13% year-on-year, with marked increase being observed in the indices of Miscellaneous Goods (+21.62%); Accommodation (+15.64%); Transport & Communications (+5.34%); Restaurant Services (+4.94%) and Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco (+4.80%). TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors, which is compiled according to the consumption pattern of visitors. TPI covers 8 sections of goods and services, namely Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods. The base period of TPI is from July 1999 to June 2000.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 9.3% year-on-year to 450,597 in November 2010, putting an end to the increase in the past seven months. In comparison with November 2009, visitors from Mainland China (320,866); Hong Kong (21,672); Taiwan, China (19,632) and Malaysia (12,354) decreased by 12.3%, 3.2%, 29.6% and 4.0% respectively, while those from Japan (22,608); Republic of Korea (13,501) and India (8,736) rose by 1.2%, 139.5% and 59.9% respectively. From January to November of 2010, visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 25.4% year-on-year to 5,220,695. In November 2010, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours decreased by 7.6% year-on-year to 18,775, with Mainland China (78.2% of total); Taiwan, China (4.6%); Republic of Korea (4.5%) and Hong Kong (3.9%) being the most popular tour itineraries. In the first eleven months of 2010, residents travelling in package tours totalled 224,806, up by 24.1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies increased by 7.5% year-on-year to 45,499 and the main destinations were Hong Kong (33.6% of total); Mainland China (31.2%); Taiwan, China (17.3%) and Thailand (6.5%). In the first eleven months of 2010, outbound residents travelling under such arrangements went up by 8.5% year-on-year to 454,415. At the end of November 2010, total number of available guest rooms of the hotel sector increased by 800 (+4.2%) year-on-year to 20,059 rooms. A total of 657,487 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses in November 2010, up by 4.3% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (53.2% of total) and Hong Kong (18.8%). The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses reached 82.8%, up by 4.5 percentage points year-on-year; average occupancy rate of hotels stood at 83.5%, with 4-star hotels leading at 91.0%. The average length of stay of guests decreased by 0.05 night to 1.4 nights. Number of guests reached 7,027,702 in the first eleven months of 2010, up by 16.8% over the same period of 2009. In the first eleven months of 2010, visitor-guests of hotels and guest-houses accounted for 61.0% of the total number of tourists, down from 61.3% in the same period of 2009.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) is following closely on the flight suspension of Mandala Airlines, an airline based in Indonesia. According to information provided by the tourism trade, there are no tour groups from Macao currently stranded in Indonesia due to the suspension of flights by the airline. GGCT calls on affected Macao residents to call the Tourism Hotline or contact the Embassy of China in Indonesia for information. GGCT became aware yesterday (12 Jan) of Mandala Airlines’ decision to suspend all flights from 6:00am of 13 Jan, and immediately contacted the tourism trade and crisis team members to follow up on the situation. Information provided by the tourism sector indicated that there are no tour groups from Macao in Indonesia. The last Macao tour group to Indonesia returned to Macao early this morning. Meanwhile, two tour groups from Indonesia which arrived in Macao early this morning have been arranged by their travel agency to return to Indonesia via Hong Kong after touring Macao. GGCT urges Macao residents holding Mandala Airlines’ flight tickets stranded in Indonesia to call the following hotlines or entities for information: -Tourism Hotline: + 853 28333000 -Embassy of China in Indonesia: + 62 215761044 -Macau Government Tourist Office's Representative in Indonesia: +62 2183705913 Passengers may also call Mandala Airlines at +62 804 1234567 or +62 2156997000 or browse its website (http://www.mandalaair.com/english/news0.html) for the latest information. Passengers are advised not to go to the airports before learning the latest flight arrangement. Up to now GGCT has not received any requests for assistance concerning the flight suspension of Mandala Airlines. GGCT will continue to follow closely on the incident and maintain close contact with related entities.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today met the Minister for Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong, on the last day of his four-day visit to Singapore. During the meeting, Mr Gan introduced Singapore human resources policies to Mr Chui, and told him that imported labour accounted for about one-third of Singapore’s workforce. Mr Gan also said Singapore highlighted the importance of lifelong education as it gave education subsidies to workers. In response, Mr Chui said that it was also necessary for Macao to draw imported talents to complement the shortage of local workers, yet the Government was adamant in protecting the employment and quality of life of local workers. He told Mr Gan that the Macao SAR Government supported lifelong education by giving education subsidies to residents aged 15 or above in the latest Policy Address. After the meeting with Mr Gan, Mr Chui and his delegation left in the afternoon for Macao.
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The 12th Identification Services Bureau Liaison Meeting between Guangdong Province and Macao and the 37th Border Liaison Meeting organized by the Public Security Department of the Guangdong Province were held in Yingde from 5 January 2011 to 6 January 2011. Participating parties included Ms. Chen Min, Director of the Immigration Control Bureau of the Public Security Department of the Guangdong Province, Mr. Isaac Ieng Kit Lai, Director of the Identification Services Bureau of the Macao SAR, Mr. Lai Kam Kun, Deputy Director of the Public Security Police Bureau of the Macao SAR, representatives of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region as well as superiors and guests of Zhuhai Immigration Control Main Station.
Both parties of Guangdong and Macao had discussion on mutual concerned topics in regard to immigration cooperation including data verification, information notification, visa and others in the meeting. Consensus was reached, which led to further facilitate the communication and cooperation between both parties.
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The Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On, today made courtesy calls on the Prime Minister of Singapore Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong, Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo. Speaking to the press after the meetings, Mr Chui said he was glad that he had exchanged ideas with them candidly. He said visits to Central Provident Fund Board and the Housing and Development Board yesterday enabled the Macao delegation to learn more about Singapore’s experience in establishing provident fund and housing policies. Singapore’s experience in many aspects were worthy of learning and yet Macao would act in accordance with the actual conditions in Macao, he said. He said that it was necessary for Macao to formulate sound social security and retirement systems and housing policies for residents to raise their quality of life. He said he was glad that the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau of Macao had signed a memorandum of understanding with Civil Service College of Singapore yesterday to strengthen co-operation in civil servants training. He said the Macao SAR Government would invite officials and professionals from Singapore to visit Macao for further co-operation. Yesterday Mr Chui and his delegation visited Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, the two casinos in Singapore. They are scheduled to visit the Ministry of Manpower tomorrow, before returning to Macao in the afternoon.
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Today the Official Gazette of the Macao SAR published the Chief Executive’s order of the appointment of Kuan Kun Hong as Deputy Commissioner Against Corruption. Administered by the Commissioner Against Corruption, Fong Man Chong, the swearing-in ceremony was held at the headquarter of the CCAC at 11:00am. Kuan Kun Hong swore in as the Deputy Commissioner Against Corruption in front of the members of the Monitoring Committee for the Discipline of the CCAC Personnel, lawyer Paula Ling and lawyer Philip Xavier, the Chief of Cabinet of the Prosecutor General, Lai Kin Ian, the Cabinet Coordinator of the Unitary Police Service, Chio U Man and the colleagues of the CCAC. The Commissioner, Fong Man Chong, expressed his gratitude for the public’s support for and trust in the anti-corruption efforts. He noted that the CCAC’s basic principle was to gather public opinions and ideas extensively. Based on this principle, the Commission would join hands with the public to promote integrity and build a clean society. He believed that the new Deputy Commissioner, Kuan Kun Hong, would have inspiring achievements with his rich knowledge of law and techniques and experiences in criminal investigation as well as team spirit. Fong Man Chong stressed that the CCAC had made certain adjustments to the strategies due to social development and it would continue to maintain close communication and cooperation with the associations and entities in various sectors in the society in order to further integrity promotion and education and boost their effectiveness. At the same time, the combat against corruption in the private sector would be strengthened to facilitate the integrity building in Macao. Kuan Kun Hong stated that the support of the entire society is the foundation of success. Therefore, the CCAC will continue to be open to public opinions and suggestions. With his legal work experiences at the anti-corruption and police agencies and in some other areas, he and the staff will do the best to fulfill their duties to safeguard fairness and justice and fight corruption and malpractices persistently in order to enhance the integrity building in Macao SAR. He also pointed out that recently the CCAC has commenced a series of projects, such as revising the Law of Declaration of Incomes and Properties and the Organizational Law of the CCAC. In this year, the Anti-Corruption Bureau will be restructured and it is planning to recruit professional staff members and purchase advanced investigative equipments. At the same time, the Commission will strengthen personnel training so as to enhance the staff’s capabilities in legal aspects and investigative techniques, with the aim to elevate law-enforcement standard and build a professional and exceptional investigation team. Moreover, prevention and suppression of corruption in the private sector is also one of the main policies in the future, therefore, the CCAC will strengthen the promotion of the new law and establish task force for combating corruption in commercial activities in order to create a fair and just business environment. The new Deputy Commissioner, Kuan Kun Hong, obtained bachelor degrees in translation and interpretation and law from the University of Macau. When working for the High Commission Against Corruption and Administrative Illegality (predecessor of the CCAC), he participated in investigation of corruption cases as an investigator. With rich practical experiences in criminal investigation, he also worked as an instructor of the CCAC’s investigator training courses. Between 2001 and 2007, he was an advisor of the Unitary Police Service and joined the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering as the representative of Macao (police). On 20th December 2009, he was appointed as an advisor of the CCAC. Kuan Kun Hong is fluent in Chinese, Portuguese and English. With many years of teaching experiences, he teaches courses on criminal law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau and has been an instructor of the Judicial Clerk Induction Programmes and the workshop on the Law of Defense of National Security. Moreover, he has received professional trainings in various areas such as financial investigation, anti-money laundering and law drafting.
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The Heritage Foundation released today its 2011 Report on the Index of Economic Freedom. Macao’s overall score has improved slightly by 0.6 to 73.1, making the SAR the 19th freest among 179 economies with assigned scores worldwide, up one place from a year earlier. Macao is ranked 5th in the Asia-Pacific region while its overall score is well above the world and regional averages. The study covers economies in different regions across the world, which are assessed with 10 factors of economic freedom. Macao ranks relatively high in factors such as trade freedom, government spending, investment freedom, monetary freedom, fiscal freedom and financial freedom. The Foundation’s 2011 Report says that Macao, as a free port, has long benefited from global trade and investment. The overall entrepreneurial environment is efficient and streamlined, and property rights are well respected. Foreign investors can conduct business on the same terms as nationals. Taxation is low and efficient. Since the open-up of the gaming industry in 2002, Macao has attracted more foreign investors and has transformed itself into one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. In the Asia-Pacific region, Macao just ranks behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. In the global ranking of economic freedom, Macao ranks 19th and is classified as “mostly free”. According to the Heritage Foundation, economic freedom is positively related to per capita income as well as overall well-being.
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