News

Following the increase in the number of shows for The Imperial Concubine of the Last Dynasty and One Good Person, more shows for yet another four acts by local groups will be added to the programme of the 23rd Macao Arts Festival (MAF), namely:
- Ode to the World, on Sunday, May 13th, 8pm; - Zheng's Walls Have Ears, on Friday, May 25th, 7pm; - Dead Man's Cell Phone, on Friday, May 25th, 8pm; - Desire Realm, on Wednesday, May 30th, 8pm.
Tickets are be available from 10am of Sunday, April 15th, through the Macao Kong Seng Ticketing Network. Tickets will be available through all channels: counter sales, ticketing hotlines and reservation website. For more information on the 23rd MAF please check the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at www.icm.gov.mo/fam.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) releases detailed results of the 2011 Population Census, analyzing changes in the demographic characteristics over the past decade; at the same time, Geographic Information System (GIS) of the 2011 Population Census is readily accessible at the DSEC website. DSEC indicates that GIS of the 2011 Population Census aims to promote further, to members of the community and data users, usage and effectiveness of the Census data. Data enquiry of GIS is simple and easy; just browse GIS via the DSEC website where users can search, within 23 statistical areas of Macao, the demographic characteristics (gender, age group, population density, household, etc.) and distribution of the area(s) selected. In addition, users can choose to export, print or display data selected in tables or charts. Upon compliance to statistical confidentiality, GIS can also provide basic demographic data by building or premises to facilitate studies and research. GIS is accessible in traditional and simplified Chinese, Portuguese and English. To access GIS or results of the 2011 Population Census, please visit the DSEC website: www.dsec.gov.mo.
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The Institute for Tourism Studies Career Day 2012 was held on 13 April at Taipa Campus. The exhibition aimed to provide graduating students more information on the employment trends in the tourism and service industries, thus, increasing their chance of success in job hunt. Eighteen organisations with more than 1,000 job vacancies from the tourism and service industries joined the exhibition. These included DFS Cotai Limitada, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Grand Hyatt Macau, Hotel Lisboa Complex, L'Arc Macau, LT Macau Limited, Macao Research Center, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM MACAU, MSS Recruitment Limited, New Yaohan, Sands China Limited, Sheraton Macao Hotel Cotai Central, Shun Tak Holdings (Macau) Limited, Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16, Wing On Holidays (Macau) Limited and Wynn Macau. Representatives from the organisations provided students and alumni information about job openings in their companies and distributed application forms to those who were interested, on site interviews were also arranged. The graduates-to-be and alumni were enthusiastic about the exhibition. Questions regarding employment trends and employers' expectation were raised and discussed in the fair. The employment rate of IFT graduates is always satisfactory. A graduates' employment survey was conducted targeting the bachelor as well as diploma and certificate programme graduates of 2009/10. According to the results of the survey, 83.5.% were currently employed, 5.3% graduates choose to further their study, 68% out of the employed graduates had placements in the tourism and service sector and the average salary was MOP11,600.00 The Career Day 2012 aimed to be the platform for communication between students and employers. It allowed the graduating students to have a better view of the job market and maximised the chance of success in their career path.
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Macau SAR Chief Executive Chui Sai On and Governor of Guangdong province Zhu Xiaodan, joined by other guests, officiated at the opening ceremony of the "Guangdong Macau Week" held in Guangzhou today (April 12). Jointly hosted by the Macau Special Administrative Region Government and the People's Government of Guangdong Province and co-organized by the Macau Government Tourist Office and Tourism Administration of Guangdong Province, the "Guangdong Macau Week" is held in Guangzhou from April 12 to 15. Macau SAR Chief Executive leads a delegation to participate in the event and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Cheong U, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. The National 12th Five-Year Plan and "Guangdong-Macau Cooperation Framework Agreement" generate valuable opportunities for regional cooperation, and the positioning of Macau-Guangdong cooperation outlined will further boost and expand the tourism cooperation scope between Guangdong and Macau. The organization of "Guangdong Macau Week" signifies once again the friendly and cooperative relationship between Guangdong and Macau. "Guangdong Macau Week" comprises a series of activities including tourism seminar, travel mart, tourism and cultural exhibition, cultural performance and outdoor promotional campaign. The tourism and cultural exhibition showcases Macau World Heritage with miniatures of the Ruins of St Paul's, A-Ma Temple and Guia Lighthouse, the Macau Grand Prix, a booth highlighting the Macau Tourism and Cultural Center, Macau cuisine and booths of travel trade and tourism information counter. A team of more than 130 performers, including dragon and lion dance groups, Portuguese folk and Hip Hop dancers, carnival-style stilt walkers and Macau singers will perform at the event. Macau SAR Chief Executive Chui Sai On leads a delegation of over 360 members, including Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Cheong U, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Chief Executive Office, Alexis Tam, representatives from Tourism Development Council, Macau Grand Prix Committee, MGTO, Macau tourism industry, performers and media.
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Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Thailand are subject to delay during the Thailand Traditional New Year Holidays from 13 to 16 April.
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With the objective of providing an overview of the history and recent development of tax havens and offshore financial centres in major international financial hubs, the Financial Services Bureau is going to organise a five-day seminar on "Politics and Governance of Offshore Financial Centres", that will take place on April 16th to 20th in the Auditorium of the "Finanças" Building located on Avenida da Praia Grande, n.º 575-585, basement, from 5 pm to 7 pm. Integrated as part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, this seminar will feature as its keynote speaker Professor Ronen Peter Palan, Professor of International Political Economy, University of Birmingham, England, with research interest in offshore finance, international political economy, international relations theory, state theory, and evolutionary economics; professional member of the Tax Justice Network; co-author of Tax Havens : How Globalization Really Works (2010) which was nominated for the 2011 International Political Economy Group's (IPEG) book prize and translated into traditional and simplified Chinese in 2010 and 2012 respectively. The seminar will be conducted in English, with simultaneous translation into Cantonese. During the five daily sessions, the event will analyse different aspects and developments of the peer review mechanism launched by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Global Forum in 2010 as an attempt to enhance international co-operation against tax evasion; the following topics will be discussed: 1) Tax Havens, Offshore Financial Centres: History and Figures; 2) Shadow Banking and Offshore Financial Centres; 3) The Global Forum, Peer Review Phase 1: What Have We Learned So Far? 4) The Global Forum, Peer Review Phase 2: Politics and Policies; 5) What's next? OECD, US and EU initiatives. 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 2013. 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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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) pays close attention to a big earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province this afternoon, and will maintain close liaison with Macao tourism industry to follow up the latest development. According to the information provided by local tourism industry, currently there are no Macao tour groups in Indonesia. Macao residents may call the 24-hour Tourism Hotline at (853) 2833 3000 for assistance if necessary.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is to attend the large-scale tourism promotional event "Guangdong‧Macao Week" in Guangzhou and Jiangmen, from 12-14 April.
Activities would include the opening ceremonies, presentation on Macao's tourism, business fair, cultural shows, tourism and cultural exhibition areas and outdoor promotion.
On arrival in Guangzhou, Mr Chui and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Zhu Xiaodan, will officiate the opening ceremony of "Guangdong‧Macao Week".
Mr Chui will then proceed to Jiangmen where he is scheduled to meet with the Secretary of the CPC Jiangmen Municipal Committee, Mr Liu Hai, on 13 April. The two leaders will officiate the opening ceremony of the "Guangdong‧Macao Week" in Jiangmen on 14 April.
"Guangdong‧Macao Week" is jointly hosted by the Macao Government and the People's Government of Guangdong Province.
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Cheong U, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam, the Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, Mr João Manuel Costa Antunes and the Director of Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping will accompany Mr Chui on the visit.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, broad money supply stayed flat in February. As external loans increased at a faster pace, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio witnessed a rebound. Money supply Currency in circulation and demand deposits dropped 6.2% and 8.9% respectively. M1 thus decreased 8.4% from one month earlier. Meanwhile, quasi-monetary liabilities rose 1.3%, offsetting the decline in narrow money supply. M2 therefore remained virtually unchanged from the preceding month at MOP310.6 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 5.0% and 23.0% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 26.2%, down 0.6 percentage points over a month ago or 2.5 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 53.9%, down 0.4 percentage points month-to-month but up 1.7 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits edged up 0.2% from the previous month to MOP303.7 billion. Of which, MOP deposits and HKD deposits decreased at respective rates of 1.7% and 0.8%, while other foreign currency deposits grew 5.3%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits rose 5.5% to MOP114.2 billion and public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 5.3% to MOP29.9 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector rose 1.8% from a month earlier to MOP447.8 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 21.5% and 44.4% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector grew slightly by 0.3% on a monthly basis to MOP166.9 billion. Among which, MOP44.2 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP109.6 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 26.5% and 65.7% of the total respectively. On the other hand, external loans rose 7.2% to MOP168.2 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.7% (MOP1.1 billion) and 31.1% (MOP52.4 billion) respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios As resident deposits increased at a faster pace than domestic loans to the private sector, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector dropped slightly by 0.2 percentage points month-to-month to 50.0% at end-February 2012. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors was 74.8%, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous month. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
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Consumer Council released its latest specific price surveys on tissue papers and cooking oil. The specific price survey on tissue and toilet papers was conducted on 2nd April. In comparison with data from February's survey, prices of 12 samples of tissue and toilet papers surveyed this time remained stable. Many brands which were surveyed this time, including 'C & S (Toilet Paper, Orange) (10pcs)', 'Aus & New Golden Soft Tissue (10pcs)', and 'Andrex Bathroom Tissue (3 ply) (10pcs)', all recorded an average price drop of around 10% in most retail outlets. Yet, an increase in the selling prices of 'C & S (Toilet Paper, Orange) (10pcs)' and 'Aus & New Golden Soft Tissue (10pcs)' had also been recorded in certain retail outlets. For the specific price survey on tissue and toilet papers conducted in April, a general price difference of around 15% was observed for the same product sold in different outlets. The greatest price difference of this survey had been narrowed when compared to the one recorded in February. In this survey, the greatest price difference recorded was around 28%, mainly on the brands of 'Tempo Box Facial Tissue (5 boxes)', 'Andrex Bathroom Tissue (3 ply) (10pcs)' and 'Aus & New Golden Soft Tissue (10pcs)'. While the greatest price difference recorded in February was 55%. Further, Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on cooking oil on 26th March, 23 samples of cooking oil were surveyed for their retail prices from various local retail outlets. In the current survey, price differences of 49% to 71% had been spotted in different retail outlets for four brands, namely, 'Lion & Globe Pure Olive Oil (500ml), 'Pietro Coricelli Olive Pomace Oil (1L)', 'Lion & Globe Canola Oil (900mlx3pcs)' and 'Tripod Brand Top Quality Pure Peanut Oil (2L)'. In comparison with last time's survey, price of 'Vecorn 100% Pure Corn Oil (3.5L)' had decreased by over 30% while that of 'Gallo Azeite (1L)' and 'Tsing Tao Edible Oil (2.9L)' had dropped by around 12%. In comparison with January's record, prices of 5 brands have increased more than 10% since last survey. Both canola oil (2L) and corn oil (2L) of 'Tripod Brand' recorded a general price increase of over 10%, peanut oil of the same brand recorded a price increase of 27% in 2 retail spots, other brands recorded minimal to over 10% price increase in certain retail outlets. The Council stated that since a great price difference was observed for the same product sold in different outlets, consumers are advised to check with the price survey prior to making consumption. The specific price surveys on tissue papers and cooking oil are now available online on the Council's official website (www.consumer.gov.mo).
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