News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that upon arrival of the Autumn and Winter in the fourth quarter of 2010, consumption (10,853 tonnes) and imports (10,644 tonnes) of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) increased by 29.1% and 38.5% respectively quarter-to-quarter; besides, the average price of imports rising by 11.3% to MOP8.42 per kg. For the whole year of 2010, imports (39,987 tonnes) and consumption (40,744 tonnes) of LPG went up by 1.1% and 2.5% respectively year-on-year, of which consumption by the Business sector (26,956 tonnes) increased by 10.1%, but that by Households (13,543 tonnes) decreased by 9.4%. In the fourth quarter of 2010, imports of Electricity decreased by 28.1% quarter-to-quarter to 603 million kWh, accounting for 70.0% of the total available supply; local generation of Electricity stood at 271 million kWh, down by 27.7% from the previous quarter; meanwhile, consumption of Electricity decreased by 25.2% to 838 million kWh. For the whole year of 2010, total consumption of Electricity (3.655 billion kWh) went up by 5.5% year-on-year, of which consumption by the Business sector increased by 7.0% to 2.792 billion kWh (Gaming sector shared 46.4%) and that by Households rose by 2.1% to 697 million kWh. Local generation of Electricity totalled 1.077 billion kWh in 2010, down by 26.5% year-on-year, while imports of Electricity (2.786 billion kWh) increased by 25.1%. Imports of Natural Gas for electricity generation decreased by 24.3% from the previous quarter to 42.30 million cubic metres in the fourth quarter. For the whole year of 2010, imports of Natural Gas totalled 155 million cubic metres, up notably by 65.5% year-on-year, indicating an increase in the usage of natural gas for electricity generation. In 2010, the average price of all types of fuels increased compared with 2009, with that of Bottled LPG and Unleaded Gasoline rising by 17.9% and 10.6% respectively year-on-year. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, stock of Fuel Oil (12.66 million litres), Gas oil & diesel (21.14 million litres) and LPG (2,113 tonnes) registered quarter-to-quarter decrease of 35.7%, 11.6% and 7.6% respectively.
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Owing to the earthquake in Christchurch - New Zealand, Macao Post announced that all postal services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Christchurch are suspended until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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From February 22 until 5p.m. of February 28, the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed two more premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally. During the operation, one operator was seized while three illegal immigrants and one overstayer were found on site. Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, 1,262 premise-checks were conducted, involving 828 premises, of which 110 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 119 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 25 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 110 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, the operations involved 1,108 occupants, among whom 512 were occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 28 overstayers and 21 illegal immigrants. 19 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. 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total merchandise export for January 2011 amounted to MOP656 million, up by 5.8% year-on-year, of which value of domestic exports increased by 17.0% to MOP249 million, and that of re-exports held stable at MOP407 million. Value of total merchandise import amounted to MOP4.93 billion, up notably by 39.5% year-on-year. Merchandise trade deficit for January 2011 widened by 46.7% year-on-year to MOP4.28 billion. Analyzed by destination, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP324 million) and the EU (MOP54 million) in January 2011 increased by 19.8% and 24.8% respectively year-on-year; however, exports to Mainland China (MOP69 million) and the USA (MOP68 million) decreased by 16.5% and 18.2% respectively. Exports of Non-textile rose by 6.9% year-on-year to MOP502 million, with that of Clocks & watches and Tobacco & wine surging by 213.3% and 62.6% respectively; meanwhile, value of Textile & garment exports grew by 2.4% to MOP154 million. Regarding the origin of imports, value of merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP1.40 billion) and the EU (MOP1.33 billion) expanded by 34.7% and 66.8% respectively year-on-year in January 2011. Imports of Consumer goods soared by 43.1% to MOP3.13 billion, with that of Food & beverages (MOP841 million), Gold jewellery (MOP427 million) and Handbags & wallets (MOP263 million) rising by 45.7%, 21.8% and 106.6% respectively year-on-year. Moreover, imports of Capital goods (MOP800 million) and Raw materials & semi-manufactures (MOP543 million) registered year-on-year increase of 65.1% and 22.2% respectively. In January 2011, total value of merchandise import and export amounted to MOP5.59 billion, up by 34.5% compared with MOP4.16 billion from a year earlier.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the population of Macao was estimated at 552,300 as at 31 December 2010, an increase of 10,100 from end-2009; rate of population growth was 1.9%. In terms of gender structure, 52.0% were female and 48.0% were male. As regards the age structure, the youth population (aged 0-14) accounted for 12.2%, down by 0.5 percentage point over 2009; the adult population (aged 15-64) and the elderly population (aged 65 and over) shared 79.8% and 8.0% respectively, both went up by 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 2010, there were 1,421 live births and 438 mortality cases. For the whole year of 2010, total number of live births went up by 7.3% year-on-year to 5,114; gender ratio of the newborn was 108.1, corresponding to 108.1 male babies per 100 female babies. Number of mortality cases totalled 1,774 in 2010, up by 6.6% year-on-year; the top three underlying causes of death were Neoplasms, Diseases of the Circulatory System and Diseases of the Respiratory System. There were 899 cases of Notifiable Diseases reported in the fourth quarter of 2010. For the whole year of 2010, a total of 4,571 cases were recorded, down by 46.5% year-on-year, consisting mainly of Influenza (1,632 cases), Enterovirus Infection (1,023 cases) and Chickenpox (632 cases). In addition, 812 cases of marriage registration were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010. Total number of cases rose by 2.2% year-on-year to 3,103 in 2010; median age of first marriage was 26.0 for female and 28.1 for male. In the fourth quarter of 2010, there were 3,446 Chinese immigrants with One-way Exit Permit moving to Macao, bringing the annual total to 9,056 (+190.2%), with 67.1% coming from the Guangdong Province. Meanwhile, 363 illegal immigrants were repatriated in the fourth quarter and the total number for 2010 decreased by 14.6% year-on-year to 1,302. Number of non-resident workers stood at 75,813 at end-2010, an increase of 908 year-on-year; moreover, a total of 4,455 individuals were authorized to reside in Macao in 2010, a decrease of 5,034 year-on-year. In 2010, total number of non-institutionalized households increased by 1.1% year-on-year to 179,900 households.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased whereas new approvals of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) continued to drop in the fourth quarter of 2010. On outstanding balance, increases were observed in both RMLs and CRELs. New Lending Approved For the fourth quarter of 2010, new RMLs approved by Macao banks increased by 58.6% quarter-to-quarter to MOP10.4 billion; of which, 92.9% was extended to residents. In terms of approved value, new RMLs to residents and to non-residents rose 58.8% and 55.9% respectively. When compared with the same period of 2009, new approvals of RMLs increased by 58.0%. After registering decline in the previous quarter, new CRELs approved decreased further by 24.8% quarter-to-quarter to MOP7.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010; of which, 87.0% was granted to residents. In terms of approved value, new CRELs to residents dropped by 33.4% whereas new CRELs to non-residents rose significantly by 487.7%. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs rose by 19.4%. Outstanding Balances As at end-December 2010, the outstanding value of RMLs reached MOP61.2 billion, an increase of 11.0% from three months earlier or 38.5% from a year ago. The resident component made up 89.7% of the total. Outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents grew by 11.9% and 4.0% respectively from three months earlier. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs rose 10.9% from end-September 2010 or 32.4% from end-December 2009 to MOP48.9 billion. Residents accounted for 89.5% of the loans. Outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents rose 11.3% and 7.3% respectively from three months earlier. Delinquency Ratios At the end of December 2010, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.10%, down 0.01 percentage point from three months earlier or 0.09 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs went down 0.03 percentage points from end-September 2010 or 0.06 percentage points from end-December 2009, to 0.17%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for November 2010 - January 2011 held stable at 2.7% and the underemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.7% from the previous period (October-December 2010). Total labour force was 332,000 in November 2010 - January 2011 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.4%, with the employed population increasing by about 800 over the previous period to 323,000. Analyzed by industry, employment of Manufacture of Wearing Apparel saw increase, while that of the Construction Sector and Wholesale Trade registered a decrease. Number of the unemployed decreased slightly by 100 from the previous period to 8,900, with 7.5% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 3.0 percentage points over the previous period. In comparison with November 2009 - January 2010, the labour force participation rate rose by 0.6 percentage point; the unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 percentage point, while the underemployment rate stayed unchanged.
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The 2011 edition of Lisbon Travel Market (BTL, from the Portuguese abbreviation) opened today (23 Mar). Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) once again set up a booth to elevate Macau's presence in the European market. This year, a 54 square-meter booth featuring the UNESCO World Heritage, tourism characteristics, convention and exhibition facilities and gourmet promotes Macau and it's east meets west culture. MGTO also brought to BTL a calligrapher and a fortune-teller, both already very well-known and most welcomed by visitors, to showcase Chinese culture. Head of Publicity and Production Division of MGTO, Alice Coelho, Coordinator of the Macau Tourism Promotion and Information Center in Portugal, Rodolfo Faustino and other staff participated in the promotion. Last year, Macau received nearly 250,000 visitors from Europe, registering a growth of 3.7 per cent over 2009. BTL 2011 takes place from February 23 to 27 in Lisbon, with exhibitors from 43 countries and regions. The first two days (23-24) are for tourism professionals only and the other three (25-27) open to the public. BTL is organized in Portugal since 1989 and Macau has participated in the event since the first edition. The fair welcomed last year around 980 exhibitors from 45 countries and regions and was visited by 70,000 people. This press release is available at: www.macautourism.gov.mo
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Owing to the sporadic strike action by workers of the public sector in Greece, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Greece maybe subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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In view of providing detailed information on the structure of visitors coming from Mainland China, the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) publishes data on arrivals of Mainland visitors by principal province and municipality starting January 2011. Total visitor arrivals rose by 1.4% year-on-year to 2,076,064 in January 2011. Same-day visitors (1,130,949) accounted for 54.5% of total visitor arrivals, with 665,251 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China increased by 7.9% year-on-year to 1,220,534 (58.8% of total), mostly from the Guangdong Province (657,729), Fujian Province (59,341) and Shanghai (41,296); those travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme totalled 538,306, up by 20.2% year-on-year. Visitors from Republic of Korea (42,127) and Japan (36,155) increased by 39.0% and 1.4% respectively; however, those from Hong Kong (529,621); and Taiwan, China (92,123) decreased by 2.8% and 20.4% respectively. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 768,744 in January 2011, down by 3.9% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour increased by 2.4% to 523,422, with the majority coming from Hong Kong (50.4%) and Mainland China (25.3%); meanwhile, those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa decreased by 20.3% to 209,405. Visitor arrivals by land totalled 1,186,015 in January 2010, up by 8.0% year-on-year; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 1,098,843 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (81.5%) and Hong Kong (12.7%). Visitor arrivals by air decreased by 18.2% year-on-year to 121,305. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport went down by 18.3% to 119,396, with the majority coming from Mainland China (39.5%); Taiwan, China (30.9%); Republic of Korea (5.2%); and Malaysia (5.0%).
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