News

From December 14 until 5p.m. of January 3, the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed two more premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally. An operator and a managing staff were seized on site. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has waged a total of 95 sanctions, among which two sanction proceedings have been completed and two operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas. Other cases are in different stages of sanction proceedings. Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, to date, 1,161 premise-checks were conducted, involving 764 premises, of which 95 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 116 were normal residences. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will continue investigation on unanswered doors, which are suspected to be used to provide accommodation illegally. Meanwhile, during investigations to other cases, PSP has found 19 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases. To date, the operations involved 943 occupants, among whom 427 were occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 21 overstayers and 15 illegal immigrants. 15 operators, 13 touts, 15 persons who managed the premises that provide accommodation illegally (managing staff) and six occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were seized on site. MGTO has begun sanction proceedings on offenders according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". If the two operators who provided accommodation illegally, who were fined 200 000 patacas, do not pay within the statutory period, the Financial Services Bureau will enforce the collection of fine. Meanwhile, the six occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each, among which three have paid the fine. For those who fail to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP that the involved persons should pay the fine or their reentry into Macau will be denied. According to the law, operators and persons who manage the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) incur a penalty of up to 800 000 patacas, touts can be fined up to 100 000 patacas, persons who fail to cooperate can be fined up to 20 000 patacas and occupants who fail to cooperate are fined 3 000 patacas. Following the raid to premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, MGTO began sanction proceedings on involved operators, touts and managing staff, and adopted provisional measures to cut the supply of water and electricity to the concerned premises and sealed the doors. Public can also call 2833 3000 to report suspected premises.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released the first issue of information on Gross National Income (GNI) for 2002 to 2009. GNI, formerly known as Gross National Product (GNP), is the total income earned by residents of an economy from engaging in various economic activities within or outside the economy. The definition of “resident” incorporates individuals and institutions; resident individuals are those who have stayed or intend to stay in the economy for 12 months or longer, while resident institutions are producing units that usually operate in the economy. From 2002 to 2009, GNI at current prices rose from MOP 54.71 billion to MOP 150.24 billion, at an annual average growth rate of 15.5%; at the same time, GDP increased from MOP 54.80 billion to MOP 165.58 billion, at an annual average growth rate of 17.1%. GNI registered the highest year-on-year growth of 39.0% in 2007, attributable to the substantial increase in Portfolio investment income (PII) and Other investment income (OII) received by resident investors and institutions from their investment abroad, as against a marked decrease in Direct investment income (DII) received by non-resident investors from direct investment in Macao. Per-capita GNI rose from MOP 124,800 in 2002 to MOP 276,028 in 2009, at an annual average growth rate of 12.0% in nominal terms or 7.4% in real terms. Meanwhile, per-capita GDP increased from MOP 125,013 in 2002 to MOP 304,211 in 2009, at an annual average growth rate of 13.5% in nominal terms or 8.0% in real terms. After removing the effect of price changes, GNI increased at an annual average growth rate of 10.8% in real terms, of which GNI soared by 29.8% in 2007. However, GNI for 2008 decreased by 7.0% in real terms owing to the decline in external factor income inflow, significant rise in external factor income outflow, as well as lower purchasing power caused by rising prices. From 2002 to 2009, the annual GNI and GDP displayed an upward growth pattern. During this period, value of external factor income outflow was larger than the inflow, which implied that the external factor income received by non-resident investors from their investment in Macao was larger in comparison with the external factor income received by resident investors from the investment abroad; therefore, value of GNI was lower than that of GDP. Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 2002 to 2009
(please fidn the attached file.)
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today the Government would continue to improve the people’s livelihood and to promote economic prosperity this year. In his New Year Message to the people, Mr Chui said the Government would carry on the principle of adopting more scientific policy-making processes in order to realise a ‘Sunshine Government’. To improve governance, the Government would focus on constructing sound systems in different areas, he said. The Government would promote low-carbon economy, support small- and medium-sized enterprises, enhance the social security system and uphold integrity among civil servants. The reason behind promoting economic prosperity was to improve the people’s well-being and the Government was adamant that social vulnerable groups should be supported, he said. By giving continuing education subsidy to the citizens, the Government encourages the people to work hard and improve their competitiveness, he said. Mr Chui said more happiness was brought to the Macao people as Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam, the two pandas given by the Central Government, would meet the public this year. He expressed his warmest wishes to Macao citizens and wished Macao would have a better development.
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The English edition of Macao Yearbook 2010, an annual publication compiled by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) of the Macao SAR, is launched today (31 December 2010). It is divided into five sections: Administrative Priorities of the MSAR Government; Calendar of Events; Review of the MSAR; Overview of the MSAR; and Appendices. The English edition of Macao Yearbook 2010 comprises 661 pages and is enriched by 148 photographs. Consisting of 16 chapters, the Overview of the MSAR presents information on the political and administrative system; legal and judicial system; external relations; economy; gaming industry; tourism; public order; education; culture and sport; health and social welfare; media, communications and information technology; land, infrastructure, housing and public utilities; transport; geography, environment and population; religion and customs; and history. The Macao Yearbook 2010, together with a complimentary CD-ROM containing the PDF version of the yearbook, can be purchased at the following places at 120 patacas or 120 Hong Kong dollars per copy at a later date: major local bookstores and Government’s Public Information Centre at Rua do Campo; and the Macao Post Office (Macao Post)’s Philatelic Division, Rua do Campo Branch, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal Branch, Macau International Airport Branch, and Nova Taipa Branch. During the promotional period lasting until 31 March 2011, a 20-percent discount will be offered to any purchase of Macao Yearbook 2010. The Chinese and Portuguese editions of Macao Yearbook 2010 were launched earlier in November.
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A price check on canned foods and beverage items was conducted by Consumer Council earlier (30th December). In comparison with last month’s report, significant increase in average price is observed this month while decrease in price is minimal. Selling price of ‘Gu Long Spiced Pork Cubes (142g)’ has been increased by almost 30 per cent in two retail outlets and price increases are recorded at two retail outlets for ‘Porthos Sardines in Olive Oil (125g)’, with a price rise of almost 12 per cent. For beverages, average prices of most products have dropped or remained stable in the past three months. ‘Carlsberg All Malt Premium Beer (can 330ml)’ records a price drop of almost 10 per cent in two retail spots. However, a 16 per cent and 10 per cent increase in price are recorded for ‘Vita Lemon Tea (250ml x 6)’ and ‘CocaCola-Original (330ml)’ respectively. Consumers are advised to check with the reports for the most updated prices in different retail stores to save time and money. The Council will continue to monitor local price trend of both beverages and canned foods. The above-mentioned reports are now available online at the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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Since its inception in 2004, the personal RMB business of Macao has been on the rise in an orderly and steady manner. Since December 2009, the scope of personal RMB business of Macao has been further widened. Simultaneously, the cross-border RMB trade settlement scheme was inaugurated. Lately, the People’s Bank of China has opened RMB fund settling channel between Macao and Hong Kong. It provides cross-border settlement of funds for Macao residents and institutions involved in respect of the transactions for RMB bonds issued in Hong Kong, which is conducive to the development of RMB business in Macao. With immediate effect, Macao residents and institutions involved can purchase or sell, through Macao RMB participating banks, the RMB bonds issued in Hong Kong.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released summary information on the industrial structure of Macao for 2009; data series of the Industrial Structure of Macao 2009 has been adjusted according to the major revision of GDP. In 2009, under the influence of the global financial crisis, business performance of many economic activities of Macao slackened in comparison with 2008, of which the Construction sector was the most severely hit. On the contrary, performance of the Wholesale & Retail; Hotel; and Gaming sectors still recorded increase, in particular, performance of the Wholesale & Retail sector saw remarkable growth and the Hotel sector also had satisfactory increase. As regards changes in industrial structure, Gross Value Added of the tertiary sector increased, while that of the secondary sector decreased, the relative importance of the tertiary sector to GDP rose from 83.0% in 2008 to 89.0% in 2009 whereas that of the secondary sector dropped from 17.0% to 11.0%. In 2009, total Gross Value Added, Intermediate Consumption and Compensation of Employees of all economic activities of Macao fell by 1.4%, 0.5% and 3.5% respectively over 2008; meanwhile, the decline in the Construction sector stood at 41.0%, 43.3% and 38.0% respectively, attributable to a substantial decrease in the construction investment of major gaming and tourism facilities. Ratio of total Gross Value Added to total Gross Output of all economic activities dropped slightly by 0.2 percentage point from 2008 to 46.7%. Ratio of total Compensation of Employees to total Gross Value Added decreased by 0.9 percentage point to 41.7%, with that of the Hotel sector decreasing by 15.1 percentage points. The relative importance of the secondary sector to GDP declined by 6.0 percentage points over 2008. In particular, the relative importance of the Construction sector decreased markedly by 5.6 percentage points to 8.3%; that of the Manufacturing sector declined by 0.6 percentage point to 1.5%, while the relative importance of the Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector increased slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 1.3%. The relative importance of the tertiary sector to GDP rose by 6.0 percentage points compared with 2008, with notable increase in that of the Gaming; Wholesale & Retail and Hotel sectors. Relative importance of the Gaming sector rose by 2.7 percentage points from 29.6% in 2008 to 32.3% in 2009, Wholesale & Retail sector went up by 1.5 percentage points from 4.6% to 6.1%, Hotel sector rose by 0.7 percentage point from 3.7% to 4.3%, Transport, Storage & Communications; Public Administration; Education and Health & Social Work sectors registered slight increase; meanwhile, relative importance of Banking; Insurance & Pension Fund and Restaurants & Similar Activities was similar to that in 2008. However, that of Real Estate Activities registered a decrease of 0.3 percentage point. The following table illustrated changes in the industrial structure of Macao: Industrial structure of Macao at current prices, 2007-2009
(Please find the attached file)
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total merchandise export for November 2010 decreased by 10.8% year-on-year to MOP565 million, with value of domestic exports falling by 3.5% to MOP188 million and that of re-exports dropping by 14.0% to MOP377 million. The value of total merchandise import amounted to MOP4.06 billion, up by 17.9% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP3.50 billion was recorded for November 2010. In the first eleven months of 2010, total value of merchandise export fell by 8.2% year-on-year to MOP6.42 billion, of which the value of domestic exports declined by 21.1%, but that of re-exports rose slightly by 0.3%; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import grew by 18.9% to MOP39.57 billion. The trade deficit from January to November 2010 widened by 26.1% year-on-year to MOP33.15 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 4.8 percentage points year-on-year to 16.2%. Analyzed by destination of exported goods, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP2.78 billion) and Mainland China (MOP1.03 billion) in the first eleven months of 2010 increased by 2.8% and 2.3% respectively year-on-year, while that to the USA (MOP731 million) and the EU (MOP365 million) decreased substantially by 41.4% and 38.0% respectively. Exports of Textile & garment amounted to MOP1.50 billion, down by 35.9% year-on-year to account for 23.3% of the total merchandise export; however, value of Non-textile exports (MOP4.92 billion) grew by 5.7%, with that of Copper & articles thereof and Tobacco & wine rising notably by 47.2% and 33.4% respectively. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, in the first eleven months of 2010, value of merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP12.35 billion) and the EU (MOP8.75 billion) expanded by 17.7% and 25.0% respectively year-on-year. The value of imports of Consumer goods rose by 33.1% year-on-year, with that of Motor cars & motorcycles growing significantly by 74.5%; nevertheless, the value of imports of Raw materials & semi-manufactures fell by 1.0%. From January to November 2010, total value of merchandise import and export amounted to MOP46.0 billion, up by 14.2% compared with MOP40.28 billion in the first eleven months of 2009.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for September-November 2010 was 2.8%, down by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (August-October 2010); the underemployment rate went up by 0.1 percentage point to 1.7%. Total labour force was 329,000 in September-November 2010 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.2%, down by 0.5 percentage point from the previous period. The employed population decreased by about 1,000 over the previous period to 320,000, in which employment of the Manufacturing Sector saw increase, while that of the Transport, Storage & Communications Sector and Retail Trade registered a decrease. Number of the unemployed decreased by about 300 from the previous period to 9,200, with 14.6% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 5.3 percentage points over the previous period. In comparison with September-November 2009, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate dropped by 0.5 and 0.2 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the labour force participation rate stayed unchanged.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the number of visitor and non-resident arrivals totalled 2,685,800 in November 2010. Total visitor arrivals rose by 6.5% year-on-year to 2,013,188. Same-day visitors (1,064,673) accounted for 52.9% of the total visitor arrivals, with 570,220 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China increased by 7.9% year-on-year to 1,096,865 (54.5% of total), with 437,375 travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, up by 13.5% from November 2009. Visitors from Hong Kong (561,395), Japan (35,897) and Republic of Korea (26,832) grew by 10.8%, 4.6% and 77.2% respectively, while those from Taiwan, China (96,432); Malaysia (34,855) and Singapore (24,987) decreased by 16.5%, 8.2% and 8.3% respectively. Total visitor arrivals reached 22,694,110 in the first eleven months of 2010, up by 15.1% year-on-year. The majority of visitors were from Mainland China (12,028,734); Hong Kong (6,798,544); Taiwan, China (1,186,987); Japan (377,455); Republic of Korea (297,993) and Malaysia (296,802). Same-day visitors accounted for 52.3% of the total visitor arrivals, at 11,875,224 in the first eleven months of 2010. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 9,276,803 from January to November 2010, an increase of 18.6% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour increased by 7.4% to 5,813,792, with the majority coming from Hong Kong (52.8%) and Mainland China (22.9%); meanwhile, those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa increased by 46.6% to 3,142,408. Visitor arrivals by land reached 11,929,366 in the first eleven months of 2010, up by 14.2% year-on-year; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 10,945,157 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (78.9%) and Hong Kong (14.0%). Visitor arrivals by air increased by 2.2% year-on-year to 1,487,941. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport went up by 3.1% to 1,468,009, with the majority coming from Taiwan, China (37.5%); Mainland China (31.4%); and Malaysia (7.3%).
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