News

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP132.5 billion (USD16.60 billion) at the end of December 2012. The reserves increased by 0.5% or MOP0.7 billion from the revised value of MOP131.8 billion (USD16.51 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-December 2012 represented 18 times the currency in circulation or 146.5% of Pataca M2 at end-November 2012. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, fell by 0.44 points month-to-month and 0.34 points year-on-year to 96.85 in December 2012.
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Consumer Council released its latest specific price survey on shampoos and shower gels. Price decreases were recorded for many brands of shampoo sold at different retail outlets and prices of shower gels remained stable. Consumer Council collected prices of 10 brands of shampoo and shower gel from 32 retail outlets (including supermarkets and drugstores) on 10th January and two new brands have been added to the current survey. In comparison with November's survey, prices of the surveyed shampoos and shower gels remained stable, 3 shampoo brands recorded minimal to over 10 percent of price decreases in many retail outlets. Prices of 'Rejoice Shampoo/1000ml' had been decreased by 3 to 13 percent since last surveyed. For shampoo, 'Dove damage Therapy intensive Repair Shampoo/700ml', which was sold at $39.5 to $59.9, recorded the greatest price difference of over 51 percent. Meanwhile, shower gel prices remained stable and a general price discrepancy of around 20 to 30 percent was recorded for the same brand sold at different outlets. 'LUX Body Wash/1L', which was newly added to the survey and sold at $26.3 to $44.0, recorded the greatest price difference of 67.3 percent among all surveyed shower gels. The Council indicates that selling prices of the same product are found to vary in different branches under the same supermarket chain stores. Consumers are advised to check with the data provided by the Council on its website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and its 'Supermarket price information platform' iPhone and Android apps. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 8.6% year-on-year to 853,991 in November 2012. Visitors from Mainland China (642,971) increased by 9.4%, with 238,482 coming from Guangdong Province; besides, those from Taiwan, China (59,822) and the Republic of Korea (43,825) increased by 26.4% and 59.6% respectively. On the contrary, visitors from Hong Kong (27,622) decreased by 25.2%. In the first eleven months of 2012, visitors in package tours (8,235,050) increased by 22.5% year-on-year to account for 32.2% of the total visitor arrivals. Outbound residents in package tours soared by 109.0% year-on-year to 45,051 in November 2012. The most popular tour itineraries were Mainland China (76.1% of total); the Republic of Korea (5.7%); and Taiwan, China (4.9%), with 22,825 travelling to Guangdong Province. In the first eleven months of 2012, residents travelling in package tours totalled 381,836, up by 68.3% year-on-year. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies increased by 26.5% year-on-year to 74,297 in November 2012. The main destinations were Mainland China (45.1% of total); Hong Kong (28.0%); and Taiwan, China (14.5%). In the first eleven months of 2012, residents travelling under such arrangements increased by 32.0% year-on-year to 780,758. There were 100 hotels and guesthouses operating at the end of November 2012, providing 26,055 rooms, an increase of 3,722 (+16.7%) year-on-year, of which guest rooms of 5-star hotels accounted for 63.8%. In November 2012, the hotels and guesthouses received 839,080 guests, up by 7.5% year-on-year; the average length of stay decreased by 0.07 night to 1.4 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses stood at 86.7%, down by 1.8 percentage points year-on-year; occupancy rate of the hotels was 87.3%, with 4-star hotels leading at 90.1%. Number of guests increased by 10.9% year-on-year to 8,642,379 in the first eleven months of 2012; occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses stood at 82.8%, down by 0.8 percentage point year-on-year. From January to November 2012, visitor-guests accounted for 65.2% of the total number of overnight visitors, higher than the 62.1% in the same period of 2011.
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The 4th International Conference on Destination Branding and Marketing (DBM-IV) was recently held successfully in Cardiff, U.K. from 5 to 7 December 2012. DBM-IV was co-organised by IFT and hosted by Cardiff Metropolitan University's Welsh Centre for Tourism Research (WCTR). The first three biannual DBM conferences were previously hosted and co-organised by IFT in Macao since 2005. This is thus the first time the DBM was hosted outside of Macao, marking a greater degree of recognition at a higher international level and wider global exposure. The DBM conferences series has become one of the leading fora for practitioners and thinkers in the area of tourism destination branding and marketing and was founded in December 2005 at IFT, Macao. It now attracts a growing and very loyal following among its regular participants, which includes scholars, postgraduate students as well as industry practitioners in destination branding and tourism marketing. In addition to IFT Tourism Research Centre (ITRC) and WCTR, other co-organisers for DBM-IV include the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, University of South Carolina (USC), Finnmark University College, Norway, The Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia, and Uffindell Group. The latest DBM conference attracted 115 delegates representing 23 countries and more than 50 universities in addition to several representatives of DMOs and creative agencies, some of them are even DBM veterans who have attended the previous conferences held in Macao. During the opening session of the conference, Dr. Leonardo Dioko delivered an opening address and welcome remark on behalf of President of IFT and the founding organisations (IFT and USC). The host, WCTR led by Profs. Nigel Morgan and Annette Pritchard ensured the prominent recognition and acknowledgement of the founding role of IFT in the conference series. During the conference, IFT delegates Ms. Virginia Lau and Ms. Veronica Lam, in addition to Drs. Dioko and Ruth Yeung played active roles in presenting papers but also in chairing sessions and moderating events. The DBM IV gathered destination marketing experts from academia, industry and policy to discuss the cutting edge of this increasingly significant intersection of tourism, economic development, events and heritage management, spatial design and public diplomacy. Through organising and participating international conferences, ITRC of IFT plays a more influential role in the research of tourism locally and internationally. On top of that, it is believed that the meeting with other universities and partners during ITRC members' trip in the U.K., reviewing the past cooperation and discussing wider range of future cooperation, will reach a fruitful achievement and benefit the tourism development of Macao in the long run.
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Consumer Council published a report on the ingredients of hair dye products in its latest issue of Consumer Report, an article about its delegation's visit to Consumers International Office for Asia-Pacific & the Middle East is also featured. Nowadays, consumers like to dye hair at home and various kinds of hair dye products appear due to increasing demand of consumers. p-Phenylenediamine (PPD), an ingredient found in hair dye products, is an allergen and many countries and regions have requested the labeling of PPD on the product package if the substance is found in hair dye products. A test has been carried out by the Council to test the ingredients of hair dye products. The mentioned test was conducted according to China's standard QB/T 1978-2004 'Hair dye products' and 'Regulations for hygienic condition of cosmetics (2007 edition)' for light industry and the result was published in the latest issue of Consumer Report. All 10 samples of hair dye products tested were bought from local stores, testing result showed that no PPD was found in 3 of the samples but compounds of PPD were labeled in the package, 1 sample was found to have PPD but only compounds of PPD were labeled as an ingredient. Many countries and regions have requested the labeling of PPD on the package as PPD is prone to contact dermatitis, manufacturers have been asked by Consumer Council to improve the product package to include PPD as an ingredient to safeguard the safety of consumers. Consumers are advised to conduct skin allergic test before dyeing hair and wear protective tools according to instructions, moreover, hair dyeing should not be carried out too often to minimize the damages caused to hair. The latest issue no. 231 of Consumer Report also features recent activities of the Council, including its delegation's visit to Consumers International Office for Asia-Pacific & the Middle East and other consumer protection organizations in Malaysia. Consumers International (CI) is an independent, non-profit global organization aiming at bringing up policies and suggestions to protect consumers and promote consumer protection work. There are currently over 220 consumer groups from over 115 countries and regions worldwide as CI's official and unofficial members and the Office for Asia-Pacific & the Middle East is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Macao Consumer Council has been actively participating in CI's consumer protection work since its joining as an official member in 1997, since then, the Council has been getting information about global consumer protection work from CI and disseminating them to local consumers. The Consumer Council delegation visited the Office for Asia-Pacific & the Middle East to further inquire about policies concerning the least favoured consumers. Further, as the number of Macao citizens traveling to Malaysia and inbound tourists from Malaysia keeps on increasing in recent years, the importance of safeguarding the rights of consumers in both regions was discussed between the Council and various consumer groups in Malaysia. The Council and the concerned organizations discussed and exchanged ideas on how to improve solutions to consumer disputes, consumer education, and enhancement on interchanging information between the two regions. The Council also spent time to introduce the mechanism of 'Certified Shop'. The current issue also features the 'Code of Practice' for furniture retail industry and other information released by the 22 city-alliance of consumer organizations in mainland China. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the office of Consumer Council (Rua Inácio Baptista, Nº 6-6A Edficio Seaview Garden R/C), and the service counter of Consumer Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the resources online on the Council's official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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The Heritage Foundation released today its 2013 Report on the Index of Economic Freedom, confirming Macao's high position in the world and regional rankings of economic freedom. The SAR's score of economic freedom exhibits little change at 71.7, compared to 71.8 for last year, and making its economy the 26th freest among 177 economies. Based on 10 benchmarks, the Report assesses the degree of economic freedom of individual economies around the world. Macao receives relatively high score in benchmarks such as government spending, trade freedom, investment freedom, monetary freedom, and financial freedom. The Foundation's 2013 Report says that flexibility and openness to global trade and investment have been the cornerstones of Macao's dynamic economic expansion. Macao largely maintains its transparent, free-market economic structure. The overall entrepreneurial environment is generally adequate. The rule of law is relatively well respected. Tax rates are competitively low, tariff and non-tariff barriers are nonexistent, and foreign investors can conduct business on the same terms as nationals. In the Asia-Pacific region, Macao is ranked 7th out of 41 economies, just behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Chinese Taiwan and Japan. The SAR, with its overall score well above the world and regional averages, is classified as "mostly free". According to the Heritage Foundation, a higher level of economic freedom is not only associated with a higher level of per capita income but also promotes economic and social progress.
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Consumer Council released its latest specific price survey on canned foods. Survey result showed that prices of over half of the 11 surveyed canned food brands remained stable. Price difference recorded for the same brand sold at different retail outlets ranged from 6 percent to over 30 percent. Consumer Council collected price of 11 brands of canned food from 20 retail outlets on 8th January. In comparison with the data collected in November, prices of 7 brands remained unchanged. In the current survey, price differences recorded for the same brand sold at different retail outlets ranged from the lowest 6.45 percent to the highest 30.07percent. 'Ma Ling Premium Ham Luncheon Meat/340g', which was sold at $15.3 to $19.9, recorded the highest price difference of 30.07 percent. 'Narcissus Brand Spiced Pork Cubes/142g', which observed a price difference of 53.08 percent in November, now dropped to only 13.85 percent. Consumers are advised to check with the survey data to make practical consumption. The specific price survey on canned foods is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. .
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Macao and Shenzhen signed six agreements and memoranda today on food inspection, medicine surveillance, education and other areas during the Shenzhen-Macao Co-operation Meeting. Officials from Macao and Shenzhen were led by the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, and Mayor of Shenzhen, Mr Xu Qin, respectively, who both made a speech at the start of the meeting. The Executive Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen, Mr Lu Ruifeng, and Macao's Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, briefed their counterparts on the economic and social development of the two cities in the past year, and reviewed their co-operation in trade, tourism, culture, traditional medicine, food safety, medicine inspection, among other areas. After the meeting, officials from Macao and Shenzhen signed six agreements and memoranda on frozen poultry inspection, inspection techniques, education, medicine surveillance and medicine inspection. At a press conference after the meeting, Mr Tam said that the agreements and memoranda signed were mostly associated with the daily lives of the general public. Both Mr Xu and Mr Tam said that the two governments should extend their co-operation in trade, finance, tourism, creative industry, traditional medicine and education, as well as make use of Macao's role as a trade and service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, and promote opportunities offered in the Qianhai industrial zone. The Chief Executive and the Macao delegation visited a technology firm in Shenzhen before returning to Macao.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met today with the Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Mr Wang Rong, to discuss bilateral co-operation in education, creative industry, healthcare and inspection. The meeting took place in Shenzhen ahead of tomorrow's Shenzhen-Macao Co-operation Meeting to be held by officials from Macao and Shenzhen. In the meeting, Mr Chui said that Macao made certain progress in propelling its economy, improving livelihood of the people and maintaining social stability. He attributed these developments to the support of the Central Government and various Mainland provinces and cities, including Shenzhen. He said Macao had in the past year made good progress in co-operation with various Mainland provinces in areas such as healthcare, creative industry, education and trade. He believed that the hosting of Shenzhen-Macao Co-operation Meeting would enhance co-operation between them and set up new targets, he said. Mr Chui also said that linking the services between Nansha, Qianhai and Hengqin would be more beneficial for co-operation among Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao. Mr Wang briefed Mr Chui on economic development of Shenzhen in the past year and highlighted that the Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Mr Xi Jinping had, on his visit last year, asked for deepened reform and opening-up of Shenzhen and strengthened co-operation in trade and economy with Macao. Mr Wang said Shenzhen and Macao should strengthen their co-operation in the medical and creative industries as well as in other areas. He also said he believed that when Shenzhen cultivate Qianhai, it could learn from Macao's experience in tourism industry. The meeting between Mr Chui and Mr Wang was preceded by a visit to an industrial zone at Qianhai and a tourist complex. After the meeting, Mr Wang hosted a welcome banquet for Mr Chui.
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The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, signed an agreement with the Hong Kong Special Administration Region today concerning reciprocal recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in the two places. The Arrangement Concerning Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Between the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were signed by Ms Chan and the Secretary for Justice of the HKSAR, Mr Yuen Kwok-keung at Government Headquarters in the afternoon. Under the Arrangement, any arbitral awards made either by the courts of the Macao SAR or by the courts of the HKSAR shall be recognised and enforced in accordance with arbitration regulations of each side. According to a press release by the Office of the Secretary of Administration and Justice, the Arrangement clearly defines procedures and regulation in implementing arbitral awards by the courts either in the Macao SAR or in HKSAR, adding that it would foster legal and judicial co-operation between Hong Kong and Macao in civil and commercial matters. The Office said the signing of the Arrangement would better handle civil and commercial disputes between the Macao SAR and the HKSAR and facilitate the development of arbitration systems in both sides due to the increasing economic and commercial exchanges. The full text of the Arrangement will be published soon in the Macao SAR Gazette. Macao and the Mainland also signed the Arrangement Concerning Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Between the Mainland and the Macao Special Administrative Region in 2007.
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