News

The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) has been monitoring the situation and the effects of the earthquake that occurred in Sendai, Northeastern Japan, and will continue to maintain contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macau, the travel industry, the representatives of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan and Taiwan, to follow up on the latest developments. Earlier today, a strong earthquake occurred off the eastern coast of Sendai, Japan. The two airports in Tokyo were partly shut, while public transport and communication systems were heavily affected. GGCT will continue to closely monitor the calamity, and urges Macau residents and tourists in Japan to be aware of personal safety and pay attention to local safety instructions. Macau residents requiring assistance can call the Tourism Hotline (853) 28333000. According to information provided by the travel industry, there are 2 Macao residents who joined a HK tour in Tokyo, and have been arranged to go to a safe place; on the other hand, through airlines and other sources, GGCT understands that there are around 20 Macau residents travelling individually in Japan, and have successfully contacted some of them and was assured of their safety. GGCT will continue to maintain contact with them and find ways to get in touch with other Macau residents that are in Japan. Until now, GGCT received one request for assistance and 25 inquiries: 1 Macao resident on business trip stranded in Narita airport, Japan called for assistance, but already departed Japan after the airport reopened; the enquiries revolve around difficulties in contacting relatives in Japan and one concerns the issue of Tsunami warning in Taiwan. On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC issued an emergency announcement regarding the severe earthquake in the North-Eastern region of Japan on March 11th, stating that every possible effort will be deployed to assist Chinese citizens, and should there be casualties or any other injuries, they can contact the Embassy through the following numbers: 1. Mobile phone: 090-7835-2685; 090-4830-5150; 080-1138-973
2. Telephone: 03-3403-3388, extension 8712
3. Fax: 03-3403-5447; 03-3403-3380; 03-3403-3345 Air Macau also informed passengers that are departing to Tokyo in the next two days to call the following numbers before departure: 83965555 or 66626776; or visit Air Macau's website www.airmacau.com.mo, in order to find out the newest flight schedules. The flights that might be affected are NX9828 departing tomorrow to Tokyo and NX828 departing to Tokyo the day after tomorrow; NX9827 returning tomorrow from Tokyo to Macau and NX827 the day after tomorrow. Tourism Crisis Management Office, 11 of March, 2011.
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Severe earthquakes were recorded at 13H52(magnitude 8.6) and 14H32(magnitude 7.3) respectively with almost same epicenters located near east coast of Honshu, Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued Tsunami Information Bulletin Base on the assessment of United States Geology Survey(USGS), the waves arose by such tsunami will arrive to South China Coast about 6 hours later after the Honshu earthquake, at 20H00 Local time when it is ebb. Distance between the epicenter and Macao is more than 3000km. The waves are considered would be weakened by long-distance factor and weakened further after it passed by the Bashi Channel. The rise in the local sea level is expected to be 0.2 meter. It is unlikely that Macao will be significantly affected by this tsunami after the integrated consideration of above factors. However, several severe earthquake events were recorded recently and the epicenters distributed mostly between Pacific Plate, Philippines Plate and the Eurasia Plate. The reason may be related to the recent release of the huge energy accumulated into the Plates. But depending on the technology nowadays, it is hard to evaluate when the energy release will finish and when such kind of severe earthquake will occur again.
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'The 29th Macao Young Musicians Competition' organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau is now calling for applications; interested parties can submit their entry forms before March 15. The annual Macao Young Musicians Competition is organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government. It aims to advance the musical arts in the territory, and to enhance the training and performance abilities of young local musicians. The Competition will be held from 18 June to 20 July. The Competition features 25 categories, including Piano Solo, Piano Works for Four Hands, Harp Solo and Chamber Music for Harp. First, Second, and Third Prizes, as well as the Certificate of Merit and the Certificate of Competence will be awarded for each different category. Additional awards include The Cultural Affairs Bureau and The Talented Prize, respectively. Teenagers who demonstrate outstanding performance abilities sponsored to attend short-term music courses overseas. In order to encourage more teenagers to participate in this event, The Best Ensemble Performance Prize will still be available this year. A scholarship offered by Wright State University, USA - sponsored by the Provost's Office and the Department of Music - will allow one or more competition winners, who are currently studying at grade four or equivalent at high school level, to enrol in an undergraduate programme in Piano Performance, Music Education or Music History and Literature. In order to make it easier for competitors to find an accompanist, the age limit requirement has been discontinued. Applicants are no longer required to submit accompanist information. The order, in which competitors perform, shall be determined by a computer-generated system calibrated to make random selections. The order of performances shall be announced on June 1, 2011 on the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau; the schedule will also be available at the Cultural Affairs Bureau at Praça do Tap Seac, open to the public from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including lunch hour. The enrolment form is now available at the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau http://www.icm.gov.mo. Interested parties holding Macao ID cards, and who were born after 1990 are eligible to participate in the competition. Registration Venue: Cultural Events Department of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Rua do Campo No.78, Edif. Chong Kin 8-A. Interested parties are invited to consult the musical scores of Compulsory Pieces at the Cultural Affairs Bureau at Praça do Tap Seac, from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including lunch hour; or at the Macau Central Library (Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, No 89 A-B), from 10 am to 8 pm daily, Monday through Sunday.
Inquiry hotlines for the Competition during office hours are Tel.: 8399 6609 / 8399 6615 / 8399 6620 / 8399 6621. Inquiry hotline during enrolment time (March 10 to 15, 2011): 2833 5140.
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A photo exhibition on 'Smart Consumption' will be held by Consumer Council on 15th and 16th March to celebrate 'World Consumer Rights Day'. A talk given by The Macau Institution of Engineers and counseling services by consultants of Consumer Arbitration Centre will also be held during the event. Each year, Consumers International (CI) encourages its members to organize events to celebrate 'World Consumer Rights Day' to arouse public attention on consumer rights. Macao Consumer Council has been a full member of the CI since 1997 and has been involved in this annual global event. This year a photo exhibition will be held. The Council hopes to convey the message of consumer rights, product safety, etc. to the public through this exhibition by displaying pictures of different kinds of products and services related to consumers' daily lives, such as infant products, Chinese herbal medicine, transportation, real estates, etc. Series of photos will be exhibited at the said exhibition, which will be held on 15th and 16th March at Park of Iao Hon Market. The Macau Institution of Engineers is invited to give a talk on tips for buying real estate property; consultants of Consumer Arbitration Centre are also invited to give counseling services to consumers during the event. The public is welcome to join the event which opens at noon, 15th March. After the 2-day event held at Park of Iao Hon Market, photos will be displayed in different local community and government service centres. For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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Owing to the prevailing unstable situation in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Socialist People's), Macao Post announced that all postal services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Socialist People's) are suspended until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money supply M2 continued to grow in January. Driven by the relatively fast growth in loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio rose continuously.
Money supply
Currency in circulation and demand deposits increased 20.5% and 7.0% respectively. M1 thus grew 9.1% when compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, quasi-monetary liabilities rose by 5.3%. M2 therefore increased by 5.8% to MOP257.4 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 15.0% and 19.5% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 27.6%, down 0.4 percentage points over a month ago and 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 52.3%, down 2.4 percentage points month-to-month or 1.8 percentage points year-on-year.
Deposits
Resident deposits grew significantly by MOP13.1 billion or 5.5% from the previous month to MOP250.7 billion. Of which, MOP deposits, HKD deposits and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 3.0%, 1.2% and 22.7%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits dropped 2.5% to MOP77.5 billion and public sector deposits with the banking sector decreased 3.8% to MOP22.1 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector grew 3.0% from a month earlier to MOP350.2 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 23.4% and 45.6% respectively.
Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector increased 3.5% on a monthly basis to MOP135.0 billion. Among which, MOP38.2 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP86.5 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 28.3% and 64.0% of the total respectively. Meanwhile, external loans increased 12.2% to MOP129.3 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.3% (MOP0.4 billion) and 40.1% (MOP51.8 billion) of the total respectively.
Loan-to-deposit ratios
As resident deposits grew faster than domestic loans to the private sector, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-January 2011 dropped 0.6 percentage points month-to-month to 49.5%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors was 75.5%, up 3.2 percentage points from the previous month.
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The IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organizers) Regional Seminar 2011 on Professional Congress Organization will be held in Macau from 22-24 March. This is the third consecutive year the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is hosting this prestigious Seminar. The 3-day event will be run in the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel. The objective is to provide an educational opportunity for people in the business tourism industry to further develop their customer service and event planning skills and features internationally renowned guest speakers who are experts in the congress industry. This is the first regional seminar that IAPCO is operating for the professional congress organizers (PCOs) in the Asia Pacific in 2011. Mr. Philippe Fournier, President of IAPCO, believes conferences play a crucial role for the development of our society. He said “meeting is important for professional development; it allows practitioners to refresh their skills and keep abreast of new tools and methodologies; it provides an opportunity to network with others in the discipline; it helps to elevate your company's profile in the community; it is cheaper than anything else in terms of communication.” The first two days of the seminar will cover basic organization of an international event, whilst the third day will be dedicated to an in-depth seminar on Promoting a Destination and Risk Management. The Director of MGTO, Engineer Mr. João Manuel Costa Antunes, said that the seminar offers an opportunity to industry professionals from throughout the Asia Pacific. “With the enthusiastic support of IAPCO, we have no doubt that the Seminar will provide a substantial amount of practical information for you. A variety of sessions led by experts in the field of congress organization will help you achieve a successful career in the PCO field. This comprehensive training program is at the same time a great opportunity for social networking, which this makes the Seminar an event not to be missed,” he further added. The speakers include Mr. Philippe Fournier, President of IAPCO and managing director of MCI Paris (France), Ms. Jan Tonkin, also Council Member of IAPCO and managing director of The Conference Company (New Zealand), and Ms Sarah Storie-Pugh, Administrator of IAPCO and ambassador of Congrex-UK (United Kingdom). Since the first IAPCO seminar in 1975, IAPCO has built up an unequalled reputation in the field of international meetings management training. Over 3,100 participants worldwide, including at least 160 in Macau have since obtained an IAPCO Seminar Certificate of Attendance. The IAPCO annual “Wolfsberg Seminar” is a much touted industry educational event, however with Macau hosting the regional seminar, many more MICE professionals in Asia will have the opportunity to tap into the collective expertise and experience of the speakers. The registration fee for the 3-day workshop is MOP2,000 for the first delegate of a Macau entity and USD250 for a non-Macau entity, while the second (and beyond) will pay a special rate of MOP1,000 for a Macau entity and USD125 for a non-Macau entity.
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From March 2 until 5p.m. of March 7, the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed one more premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally and one operator was seized on site. To date, the Cross-departmental Working Team has closed 111 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and no sealed premise is authorized to reopen. Staff of MGTO continues to check the premises to ensure they remain sealed and supply of water and electricity suspended. MGTO stressed that damaging the seal and resuming supply of water and electricity is a criminal offence which will be submitted to judicial entity for follow up. Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, 1,277 premise-checks were conducted, involving 843 premises, of which 111 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 120 were normal residences, 263 were dormitories for labor and vacant or commercial units. 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 26 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has waged a total of 111 sanctions and nine operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" . Other cases are in different stages of sanction proceedings. To date, 519 occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 28 overstayers and 21 illegal immigrants. 20 operators, 14 touts, 19 persons who managed the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) and 10 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 nine 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 10 occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each, among which four 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.
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With the rapid growth of hospitality industry in Macau, more and more luxury hotels and restaurants are starting up their business in the city and as a result, the demand in F&B professionals and chefs arises. To respond to this market trend and demand, IFT is establishing Macau's first bachelor degree programme in Culinary Arts Management. The purpose of the programme is to develop food and beverage professionals to enhance the culinary experience of the destination. The four-year programme consists of professional courses in gastronomy, nutrition, food preparation, wine studies, menu and recipe development, restaurant design, kitchen management, among others. The programme also covers management, leadership, business operations, marketing and human resources management. One of the characteristics of the programme is the flexible teaching style. Besides theory classes, students will have lots of opportunities to do hands-on practice. IFT is keen on providing an international study environment for students. One such way is to provide them with a 6-month internship opportunity, overseas exchange programmes and extra-curriculum activities. The aim is to widen the vision of the students and encourage them to think globally. After graduation, students of Culinary Arts Management programme not only can work as chefs in hotels or restaurants, but also work as F&B managers, instructors in culinary arts schools, food critics or writers, culinary consultants, etc. “We hope to develop more local F&B professionals through this programme to meet industry needs and contribute to the overall tourism development of Macao.” President of IFT, Dr. Fanny Vong says. This Macau's first Culinary Arts Management Bachelor Degree Programme is now open for registration. Those who would like to join the culinary or F&B industry are welcome to apply. Five other specialisations of IFT: Tourism Business Management, Heritage Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Event Management and Tourism Retail and Marketing Management are also receiving registration now. Please visit the website of IFT to learn more.
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Watched over by Vice President, Mr Xi Jinping, the Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On and the Governor of Guangdong Mr Huang Huahua today signed the Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Framework Agreement in the Great Hall of People in Beijing. In a speech after the signing, Mr Chui said the sealing of the agreement exemplified the correctness and vitality of the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' and showcased the Central Government's support and reflected the desire of Macao and Guangdong for closer partnership. According to the articles of the agreement, Macao and Guangdong would co-ordinate development of industries, fully maximise opportunities on Hengqin island and study the feasibility of sharing social and public services. With the support of the Central Government, the spirits of the agreement are included in the Twelfth Five-year Plan, and the Macao SAR Government is confident and determined to co-ordinate with the plan and implement the agreement, Mr Chui said. The Government would set up a cross-departmental working group to push forward the implementation of the agreement. Mr Chui expressed Macao's gratitude to the Central Government, related ministries and commissions and the Guangdong authorities. In his speech, Mr Huang said the agreement marked a new landmark for Guangdong-Macao co-operation and would accelerate co-operation between the province and Macao. The signing ceremony was marked by the attendance of the member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and State Councilor, Ms Liu Yandong, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Yang, Vice President of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Mr Liao Hui and Mr Ho Hau Wah, the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Wang Guangya, the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Bai Zhijian, the Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, Mr Bi Jingquan, and a number of Macao and Guangdong officials. In a meet-the-press session after the signing ceremony, Mr Chui said Macao would work with Guangdong in setting up a Chinese medicine industrial zone in a five square kilometre industrial park on Hengqin and would consider the building of a zone for creative industry. In the next five years, Macao and Guangdong would work together and jointly develop Hengqin and Nansha of Guangzhou, he said. Mr Chui met the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Yang, after the ceremony. They exchanged views on enhancing co-operation between Guangdong and Macao.
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