News

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) participated at two travel fairs, "IMEX Frankfurt 2013" and "ATM 2013" in May to expand international visitor source markets and promote Macau's diversified products.
The worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events, "IMEX Frankurt 2013" is held from May 21 to 23 in Frankfurt, Germany. Head of Tourism Product and Events Department, Isabel Augusto, led the MGTO team together with representatives from Macau Economic Services, Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, local tour operators, hotels and resorts, convention and exhibition venues to promote business tourism at the 3-day event. Each year, IMEX Frankfurt attracts over 3,000 exhibitors from over 150 countries and close to ten thousand visitors.
In addition, Head of Advertising and Production Division Grace Chen led the Macau delegation comprising representatives from local tour operator, hotels and resorts, convention and exhibition to the Arabian Travel Market 2013 (ATM 2013), held from May 5 to 9 in Dubai.
The 50 square meter MGTO booth at the event was dedicated to the theme "Touching Moments Experience Macau", showcasing the latest updates and tourism products in Macau.
ATM is the leading travel and tourism exhibition in the Arabic region and the Middle East. According to the organizer, the event attracted over 2,700 exhibitors this year. MGTO has been striving to promote the positioning of Macau as a World Center of Tourism and Leisure, consolidating major source markets while exploring new international markets, so as to diversify Macau's visitor source markets.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the 28 banks in Macao had a total of 5,363 full-time employees at the end of the first quarter of 2013, an increase of 187 year-on-year. Analysed by occupation, directors and managers totalled 1,262 and 2,161 were clerks, including 848 bank tellers. For the full-time employees, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) for March 2013 amounted to MOP21,330, up by 2.5% year-on-year; average earnings of bank tellers was MOP12,380, up by 2.7% year-on-year. At the end of the first quarter of 2013, the Banking Sector had 170 job vacancies, down by 53 year-on-year, of which the majority (123) were vacancies for clerk, including 62 for bank tellers. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 37.6% of the vacancies required working experience, 72.4% required tertiary education, and requirement for knowledge of Mandarin and English at 96.5% each. In the first quarter of 2013, the Banking Sector hired 254 new employees and the employee recruitment rate was 4.8%, up by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. The job vacancy rate (3.1%) fell by 1.0 percentage point, indicating that some of the vacancies were already filled.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) grew whereas those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) declined in March 2013. With regard to outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed increases. New Lending Approved In March 2013, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose 50.4% month-to-month to MOP3.1 billion; of which, 97.3% was extended to residents. In terms of value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents increased 52.3% and 5.0% respectively. When compared with the same period of 2012, new approvals of RMLs witnessed growth of 12.8%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) grew 14.8% month-to-month to MOP92.7 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 94.7% of the total, increased 13.7% while the amount to non-residents also went up by 37.5%. When compared with the same period of 2012, this type of bank mortgage expanded by 44.8% New CRELs declined 67.3% month-to-month to MOP2.4 billion; of which, 95.8% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents and non-residents declined 67.4% and 66.1% respectively. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs dropped 34.9%. Outstanding Balances As at end-March 2013, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP100.4 billion, an increase of 1.5% from one month earlier or 28.9% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.3% of the total. Compared to end-February 2013, outstanding RMLs to residents grew 1.7% whereas the amount to non-residents dropped 1.6%. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs went up by 2.4% from end-February 2013 or 20.1% from end-March 2012 to MOP74.6 billion. Residents accounted for 91.5% of the loans. Compared with one month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents grew 2.6% whereas non-residents dropped 0.4%. Delinquency Ratios At the end of March 2013, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.06%, which was largely unchanged from one month earlier but down 0.02 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs went down 0.03 percentage points from end-February 2013 but up 0.03 percentage points from end-March 2012 to 0.12%. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department Monetary Authority of Macao
(Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 5,423 building units and parking spaces were purchased and sold at MOP25.69 billion in the first quarter of 2013 as per Stamp Duty record, down by 25% and 18% respectively quarter-to-quarter. Number of residential units totalled 3,585, a decrease of 958 units from the previous quarter; within these units, 1,491 were pre-sale units, sharing 42% of total. The average price of all residential units stood at MOP77,975 per square metre of usable area in the first quarter of 2013, up by 20% quarter-to-quarter on account of higher transaction volume share of pre-sale residential units. The average price of pre-sale residential units went up by 15% to MOP97,307 per square metre, of which the average price of those in the Macao Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane increased by 12%, 16% and 23%. The average price of existing residential units were relatively stable, reached MOP59,756, an increase of 5% in comparison to previous quarter. The price of those in the Macao Peninsula registered a 9% increase, while the price of those in Taipa and in Coloane decreased by 3% and 0.3% respectively. Meanwhile, pre-sale residential units were concentrated in NATAP (832) and in Coloane (412), the average price were MOP98,526 and MOP104,858. Transaction of existing residential units dominated in NATAP (346), in Baixa da Taipa (244) and Barra/Manduco (166) with the average price of MOP74,456, MOP61,469 and MOP48,972 per square metre respectively. Analysed by year of completion of the building, residential units with 11 to 20 years totalled 856 (including 194 in NATAP and 156 in Baixa da Taipa), the average price per square metre was MOP56,694, up by 9% quarter-to-quarter. The average price of 850 residential units with more than 20 years (128 in Barca and 89 in Areia Preta & Iao Hon) was MOP44,289, up by 13%. Those of 296 residential units with 5 or less years (117 in NATAP and 44 in Baixa da Taipa) rose by 5% to MOP86,078. As regards floor area of the unit, 2,103 residential units had an area of 50 to 99.9 square metres with average price per square metre increased by 18% to MOP78,432, while the average price of pre-sale residential units was MOP93,763 per square metre. The average price of 879 small residential units were less than 50 square metres, up by 21% to MOP59,468, were mainly existing residential units, with average price of MOP51,790 per square metre. The average price of office units was MOP63,511 per square metre in the first quarter of 2013, up by 33% quarter-to-quarter, mainly due to the 50% soar up in NAPE & Aterros da Baia da Praia Grande (MOP68,475). The average price of industrial units rosed by 12% to MOP28,606 per square metre. For the first quarter of 2013, a total of 3,288 units of real estate sale and purchase contracts and 3,887 units of residential mortgage contracts signed were made, down by 21% and 6% quarter-to-quarter, respectively. In the first quarter of 2013 of private sector construction, gross floor area of the new buildings totalled 34,261 square metres, down by 64% quarter-to-quarter, providing 154 units (143 residential units), 138 parking spaces for cars and 40 parking spaces for motorcycles upon completion. Gross floor area of buildings completed soared up by 46 times quarter-to-quarter to 398,676 square metres, altogether providing 273 units (223 residential units).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2013 totalled MOP 15.43 billion. Retail sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery amounted to MOP 4.62 billion (30% of total), which was followed by retail sales of Goods in Department Stores (15%), Leather Goods (11%), Adults' Clothing (10%), Motor Vehicles (6%) and Goods in Supermarket (6%). Value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2013 increased by 17% year-on-year, compared with the revised figure (MOP 13.24 billion) of the same quarter of 2012, with marked increase being observed in sales of Footwear (+29%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles (+25%), Goods in Pharmacies (+23%), Motor Vehicles (+23%) and Goods in Department Stores (+23%). After removing the effect of price changes, volume of retail sales for the first quarter of 2013 increased by 15% year-on-year, with notable increase in sales of Footwear (+29%), Goods in Department Stores (+24%), Motor Vehicles (+24%), Communication equipment (+22%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles (+21%). Meanwhile, volume of retail sales increased by 8% quarter-to-quarter, of which sales of Communication equipment (+18%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+14%) saw significant increase; on the contrary, sales of Motor Vehicles decreased by 11%. In respect of the comments of the retailers, about 56% stated that sales volume in the first quarter of 2013 increased or held stable over the previous quarter, down by 13 percentage points compared with those holding the same sentiment in the fourth quarter of 2012, while 44% reported decrease in sales volume. In terms of the retail prices, about 64% reported stable prices, 24% stated an increase and 12% stated a decrease. In comparison with the same quarter of 2012, about 74% expressed that the stock level was normal in the first quarter of 2013, while 13% indicated that the stock level was low. As regards business outlook for the second quarter of 2013, about 18% anticipate that sales volume will increase from the first quarter, 50% expect sales volume to remain stable, while 32% expect a decrease. Concurrently, about 71% predict stable retail prices, 20% expect an increase, while 9% predict a decrease in retail prices.
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To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Macao Museum's establishment, under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Macao Museum will organize a temporary exhibition titled "Fantasy World – Chinoiserie". The opening ceremony will take place at 5:00 p.m. on 24th May (Friday), at the Mount Fortress gardens (in case of poor weather conditions, the ceremony will be held at the Macao Museum lobby). A ceremony presentation of Donation Certificates will also be held at the same time, in recognition of five people who have donated important relics to the Macao Museum, in order to convey the Museum's gratitude and compliments, and encourage more Macao citizens to show their strong support to the Museum by donating relics of great cultural and historical value. Such donations can help pass on precious items to the next generations, and better utilize their educational potencial. Joining in the anniversary celebration activities of the Macao Museum, the Macao Post Office issued stamps themed on "Museums and their collections III – the Macao Museum". This issue includes a set of four stamps, a stamp sheetlet and two first day cover envelopes, all of which feature the collections of the Macao Museum. These philatelic gems are available at the central post offices and the Rua do Campo, the Hong Kong Macao Ferry Terminal, the Macao International Airport and the Communications Museum's branches.
Functioning as the city museum, the Macao Museum has walked with Macao citizens for 15 years since its opening in 1998. It has received national leaders, important politicians from various countries, tourists and local citizens, in a total of more than three million visitors. The Macao Museum has become an important cultural exhibition institution, introducing to the outside world the history of Eastern and Western cultural fusion, as well as contributing to the local community's education. Moreover, the Macao Museum, since it is located in the Mount Fortress which is a part of the Historical Centre of Macao, has become a local prominent touristic spot, along with other sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. It has also undertaken the important responsibility of promoting and protecting local history and culture. During these 15 years, the Macao Museum's objective has remained to "establish an academic centred Museum" for the purpose of strengthening studies on local history and culture as well as elevating the quality of its exhibitions and education and promotion services. The Macao Museum has been undertaking tasks of cataloguing and systematically organising its collections, of raising professional standards in all aspects, renovating pieces in exhibition and facilities, improving the quality of its educational services and guided tours and organising themed exhibitions, lectures and publication related to the territory's history and culture. The annual increase in visitors and guided tours indicates the recognition and value given to the Museum by local citizens, tourists and people from all walks of life.
"Fantasy World – Chinoiserie" runs from May 25th to August 18th, daily from 10am to 6pm, at the Macao Museum (closed on Mondays). Guided tours for groups and schools are available upon request and should be scheduled in advance. Admission at the Museum is free on Sundays for Macao residents and students. Coupled with this exhibition, a lecture titled "Experts of 18th Century European Decorative Art" will take place on May 25th, Saturday, from 3pm to 5pm, in English. The main speaker will be Prof. Thibaut Wolvesperges, French historian and Associated Professor of the Paris Sorbonne. Seats can be reserved through the number (853) 8394 1218 (Ms. Leong). For more information on these and other Museum activities, please call 2835 7911, or visit the Museum's website at www.macaumuseum.gov.mo or the Cultural Affairs Bureau's website at www.icm.gov.mo.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (122.17) for April 2013 increased by 5.24% year-on-year, attributable to rising charges for eating out and dearer prices of vegetable. In comparison with April 2012, notable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+8.86%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+7.38%); and Health (+7.27%) on account of rising rentals for dwellings, soaring vegetable prices amidst continuous rainfall, higher charges for eating out and out-patient services; however, price index of Education and Communication decreased by 3.12% and 2.89% respectively. The CPI-A (122.38) and CPI-B (122.60) increased by 5.99% and 5.04% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for April 2013 increased by 0.88% month-to-month. Dearer prices of new Summer clothing and vegetable drove up the price index of Clothing & Footwear; and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 2.17% and 1.41% respectively. On the contrary, price index of Miscellaneous Goods & Services decreased by 0.55% due to lower prices of gold jewellery. Moreover, decreasing prices of fresh pork and gasoline tapered off part of the increase in the Composite CPI. The CPI-A and the CPI-B increased by 1.07% and 0.81% respectively month-to-month. For the 12 months ended April 2013, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.75% from the preceding period. Price index of Housing & Fuels (+8.28%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+7.62%) registered notable increase, while that of Communication and Education decreased by 2.69% and 1.44%. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 6.25% and 5.82% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the first four months of 2013 increased by 5.35% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.95% and 5.23% respectively. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI 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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Please be informed that the first log of the "SNAKE LABEL STAMP" was sold out owing to the popularity. The second log of the said stamp label will be available for sale in June and the launching date will be announced later. Therefore, Macao Post announced that the label stamp "World Heritage" will be available for sale in all automatic stamp vending machines. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
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A delegation from the University of Macau (UM), led by UM Rector Wei Zhao, recently visited Tsinghua University in Taiwan. The two universities signed a collaboration agreement regarding academic research, student exchange, and information exchange. Representatives from both sides promised to strengthen communication and cooperation, and to explore more opportunities in the future. Lih J. Chen, president of Tsinghua University, and Wei Zhao, rector of UM, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective universities. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Yip Ming-Chuen, senior vice president of operations of Tsinghua University; Feng Da-Hsuan, senior vice president of global strategy, development, and evaluation of Tsinghua University; Cheng Chien-Hong, senior vice president of academic affairs of Tsinghua University; Yung-Sheng Liu, senior vice chancellor of the University System of Taiwan, as well as Prof. Wang Yitao, director of UM's Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences; and Kuan Sio In, director of UM's Human Resources Office. The agreement aims to provide a framework within which the two universities can carry out preliminary collaboration on, among other things, academic research, student exchange, and information exchange. Heads of the two universities noted at the agreement signing ceremony that the signing of the agreement lays the groundwork for future collaboration between the two universities and they hope to achieve a win-win result with diverse models of collaboration. In recent years UM has been committed to expanding communication and collaboration with institutions both at home and abroad, and has constantly created opportunities for UM staff and students to broaden their horizons. In recent years Tsinghua University is also actively seeking more international collaboration opportunities. It has carried out frequent exchange activities in collaboration with universities in the Greater China region, and its top quality in teaching and research has earned the university widespread attention.
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The Law No. 2/2013 - "Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation and Aviation Safety Information Protection Law" which was passed by the Legislative Assembly in January this year will become effective tomorrow (21 May 2013), signifying that the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents held responsible by the Macao SAR Government and the handling and protection of safety information will then be governed by an independent and robust legal framework, with the principles relating the relevant work being clearly defined. In addition, the "Macao Confidential Aviation Reporting System (MACCARES)" which must be operational with the legal support of the Law No. 2/2013 will commence its operation tomorrow. It is a system which collects safety information and identifies safety threats so that data can be analyzed and generated, and safety alerts can be issued to prevent the occurrence of accidents and incidents. The Law No. 2/2013 is applicable in the following three scenarios: accidents and incidents that take place in Macao or in the airspace under Macao's jurisdiction; aircraft registered in Macao or accidents and incidents with aircraft operated by a local air operator certificate holder that take place in a foreign country; aviation safety data collection and handling system established in Macao. When one of the above scenarios takes place, the operator, the aircraft owner, the captain and the airport or heliport are bound by their legal responsibilities to make compulsory reporting to the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) in order that AACM can carry out the investigation in accordance with the power given to them by the law. When an accident or serious incident happens, AACM will designate an investigator-in-chief and appoint other members to form an investigation team. The investigator-in-chief enjoys independence and complete power, and ensures that all the investigation work is compliant with the Law No. 2/2013 and the standards and recommended practices of International Civil Aviation Organization. The work involved in an investigation includes collecting, recording and analyzing all information, devising the reports in various stages, and identifying the root cause or contributing factors in the final report, and so on. During the process, AACM can request the experts from the government or private entities from both local or overseas to participate in the investigation. The final report will be published after completion. In addition, if an accident or incident involves the investigation by the judiciary police authorities or the criminal investigative bodies in accordance with the relevant regulations on criminal legal proceedings, the investigation by AACM and the investigation by those authorities will be carried out simultaneously but independently. However, the two parties should cooperate with each other to ensure that the simultaneous investigation will be carried out in an effective way. AACM states that it is compulsory to investigate into accidents and serious incidents by law. However, the objective of investigation is to find out the cause to avoid similar occurrences from taking place. It is not the objective to apportion blame or responsibility. This is also the safety policy of the Authority. Furthermore, AACM points out that the sole objective of collecting and handling safety information is to improve aviation safety and prevent accidents and incidents. Therefore, the Authority will analyze and handle the information obtained from any reporting system or safety database. The Authority will ensure, internally and externally, the confidentiality of the source of information, avoid the improper use of the information and make sure information will be collected on a continual basis. Before the Law No. 2/2013 has become effective, AACM carried out the accident and incident investigation according to Annex 13 of the Convention of International Civil Aviation which is applicable to Macao, the AACM organizational statute and the aeronautical circular that governs rules concerning aeronautical accidents and incidents. In the past, the Accident Prevention and Investigation Group (APIG) was only a permanent unit in AACM's organizational structure. It was only mobilized when an emergency took place. The president of AACM would check the nature of the emergency and appoint appropriate personnel to join this group to carry out the investigation work. Then in 2009, Macao participated in the "Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme" which was conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization to check the safety oversight work of Macao. The Organization reported a finding that the accident and incident investigation work should be governed by a higher ranking legal document. In addition, the Organization also requested that all countries or administrations should be equipped with a voluntary incident reporting system. AACM established an accident and incident ad hoc working group to study the draft law on accident and incident investigation that is suitable for Macao, taking into reference similar legal documents and practices in mainland China, Portugal, Canada, the United States, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. At the same time, the ad hoc working group also worked on the preparation of a safety data reporting system built on the voluntary, confidential and non-punitive principle which is named MACCARES. In accordance with MACCARES, any person who notices an occurrence or an act of non-compliance relating to aviation safety can complete the reporting form with the necessary information and then send it by post or through email to the Authority. Safety information collected by AACM through MACCARES will be analyzed. Statistical reports with de-identified data will be generated, published and shared with the industry so that each entity can learn from experience and make improvement. In the case if a report shows a situation that poses immediate threat to aviation safety, AACM will address a safety alert to the concerned operator at the earliest time. The system works on the confidential and non-punitive principle and AACM will not penalize the operators or any person by using the information collected from this reporting system. In order that the operators can better understand the Law No. 2/2013 and encourage them to participate actively in MACCARES, AACM has started promoting the two things to the industry since March this year. The Authority will continue to conduct sessions in Chinese and English for different categories of industry personnel to explain to them the law, as well as the objective of MACCARES, how the industry can participate, how the information will be used, how the reporter will be protected by the confidential and non-punitive principles. The APIG has become a permanent functional unit in AACM since 1 May 2013. Apart from their duties in accident and serious incident investigation whenever an emergency arises, the unit is also embodied with daily tasks for aviation safety enhancement, including review on a regular basis the laws, regulations and procedures related to accident and incident investigation and propose any updates in order to ensure compliance with international standards and their applicability in Macao; administrate and analyze safety information database; prepare, organize and publish statistics, alerts or safety recommendations when appropriate; promote the establishment and the coordination of the system and procedures for search and rescue operations involving civil aircrafts; ensure confidentiality and proper use of safety data; administrate MACCARES; participate in activities organized by international or regional organizations relevant to investigations and prevention of accidents and incidents; facilitate intra-Macao and inter-state/region safety data sharing.
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