News

Owing to a hurricane in the United States of America, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to that country, particularly for the eastern areas, are subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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The Student Orientations on 25 and 29 August marked the commencement of IFT bachelor degree and diploma programmes for academic year 2011/2012. Academic staffs, new students and more than thirty international exchange students participated in the ceremonies. In the ceremonies, President Dr. Fanny Vong extended the warmest welcome and the most sincere congratulations to the new faces. President Vong said 478 students chose IFT as their cradles of knowledge and competence reflected their confidence in IFT. She reminded the students, in addition to the devotion to their studies, they were also expected to actively involve in various activities and community services so as to develop their abilities and well equip themselves for making contributions to building Macao a World Travel and Leisure Hub. Their decisions in specialising in Hospitality, Tourism and service related programmes, at the time that our country announced her support to Macao's positioning as the World Travel and Leisure Hub, will bring them countless opportunities and challenges in future. Students should confront the challenges and grab the opportunities in order to find their ways to success. On the other hand, President Vong mentioned that the application figures of 2011/2012 academic year were quite satisfactory. In particular, for the brand new bachelor degree programme of Culinary Arts, number of the applicants was almost 9 times of the admission figure. In recent years, there have been many international hotels and resorts entering Macao which results in the lack of local talents in fine dining sector. To meet the demand of talents, professionals have been imported from other countries and regions. As the prospect of employment grows more optimistic, it is believed that the Culinary Arts degree programme will become the first choice among the prospective students who plan to devote to the related sector. To cater for industry members or individuals who are interested in taking tourism and service related programmes, IFT launched two evening bachelor degree programmes of Hotel Management and Tourism Event Management last year, with Chinese as the medium of instruction. In President Vong's welcome speech, special acknowledgement went to the evening programme students for their determination and perseverance in continual study. IFT is welcoming its 16th Anniversary in September. Since established, IFT has been introducing diversified programmes at different levels, well balancing theoretical and practical teaching by working closely with the industry, and maintaining strong networks with a good number of renowned international institutes as well as organisations in the tourism fields. Through various forms of cooperations with these partners, students are enriched with international perspectives. At the same time, IFT also encourages students to step out for internship and exchange programmes that connect to partner institutes in Asia Pacific, North America and major European cities. The Institute looks forward to progress and innovate with its students. Together they share the responsibilities of serving Macao.
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In view of the rising inflation, Macao SAR government initiates a one-off subsidy distributed in cash form to its residents to alleviate the inflationary pressure. The relevant administrative regulation has been published at the Official Gazette and came into effect on 30 August 2011. Holders of valid or renewable Macau SAR resident identity card on 30 June 2011 are eligible to receive the payment. Every Macao SAR permanent and non-permanent resident identity card holder is granted 3,000 patacas and 1,800 patacas respectively.
To cope with the payment, Macao SAR government has established a Support Centre for Cash Subsidy to cater for public enquiries regarding payment and render assistance on problems associated with receiving the subsidy. The Centre enters into service today (30 August 2011) at Avendia da Praia Grande 762-804, China Plaza Bldg., 1F, shop AJ. Its opening hours are from Monday to Friday, except public holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m., with no lunch break. It provides a hotline number 2822-5000 and facsimile number 2822-3000. Public may also visit the website of cash subsidy (www.ap.gov.mo) for updated information and enquiry regarding payment. Should anyone fails to receive the cheque ten days after the receipt dates, he or she can resort to the Centre for help or reissuance of cheque staring from the date as shown for the purpose at the schedule for cash subsidy payment.
The postal address for mailing the cheques is the same as that of Wealth Partaking Scheme 2011. Residents can change their postal address either at the website of Identification Bureau (www.dsi.gov.mo) or that of the Support Centre for Cash Subsidy. Application form can also be returned directly to the Identification Bureau after completion. The schedule for the cash subsidy payment is as follows:
(Please find the attached file.)
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for May-July 2011 held stable at 2.7%, same as the previous period (April-June 2011); the underemployment rate was 1.1%, down by 0.1 percentage point. Total labour force was 340,000 in May-July 2011 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.8%, with the employed population increasing by about 2,200 over the previous period to 331,000. Analyzed by industry, employment of the Hotel Sector and Retail Trade saw increase, while that of Real Estate & Business Activities registered decrease. Number of the unemployed was similar as the previous period, at 9,000. Fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job stood at 12.3%, up by 4.9 percentage points from the previous period attributable to the increase of graduates entering the labour market. In comparison with May-July 2010, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate dropped by 0.2 and 0.7 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the labour force participation rate rose by 0.3 percentage point.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that consumption of Electricity increased by 37.8% over the previous quarter to 1.015 billion kWh in the second quarter of 2011 upon the arrival of Summer. Consumption of Electricity by Households surged by 55.4% to 199 million kWh; consumption by the Business sector (770 million kWh) went up by 33.9%, with that of the Gaming sector (370 million kWh) increasing by 34.0%. Attributable to the suspension of natural gas supply in June, generation of Electricity decreased by 24.3% quarter-to-quarter to 227 million kWh in the second quarter of 2011; meanwhile, imports of Electricity surged by 75.1% quarter-to-quarter to 833 million kWh, bringing its relative importance to account for 79.5% of the available supply. In the first half year of 2011, imports of Electricity decreased by 2.7% year-on-year to 1.308 billion kWh, while local generation (527 million kWh) and consumption (1.751 billion kWh) of Electricity increased by 22.2% and 3.2% respectively. In the second quarter of 2011, consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) decreased by 13.0% quarter-to-quarter to 10,802 tonnes, of which consumption by Households (3,000 tonnes) and the Business sector (7,703 tonnes) fell by 22.4% and 9.1% respectively. Meanwhile, imports of LPG decreased by 23.9% from the previous quarter to 10,127 tonnes, with the average price of imports rising by 4.6% to MOP9.47 per kilogram. In the first half year of 2011, imports of LPG (23,433 tonnes) increased by 8.2% year-on-year. In the second quarter of 2011, average price of Bottled LPG (MOP15.13 per kilogram) and Unleaded Gasoline (MOP11.72 per litre) increased by 3.8% and 3.5% respectively over the previous quarter. At the end of the second quarter of 2011, stock of LPG (2,317 tonnes) decreased by 24.0% quarter-to-quarter; however, stock of Fuel Oil (15.42 million litres) and Gas Oil & Diesel (23.12 million litres) increased by 17.0% and 0.2% respectively. NOTE
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new SME lending approved by Macao banks resumed its growth in the first half of 2011. Concurrently, the utilisation of SME credit in proportion to the credit limit approved by banks continued to rise. New Lending Approved In the first half of 2011, new SME credit limit approved by Macao banks totalled MOP10.9 billion, 27.8% up from the second half of 2010 or 5.5% up from the same period of 2010. The collateralised ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 53.7%, down by 10.1 percentage points when compared with the last survey period but up by 17.4 percentage points when compared with the same period of 2010. Credit Utilisation As at end-June 2011, the outstanding value of total SME loans reached MOP30.6 billion, which represented a growth of 22.8% from end-December 2010 or 36.5% from a year earlier. When compared with end-December 2010, SME loans to "manufacturing industries", "wholesale and retail trade", "restaurants, hotels and similar activities" and "construction and public works" increased at respective rates of 41.2%, 37.5%, 34.3% and 14.3%, whereas those to "transport, warehouse and communications" dropped 6.7%. These sectors accounted for 75.0% of the total SME loans outstanding. The utilisation rate, defined as the proportion of outstanding credit balance to the credit limit granted, rose 2.2 percentage points from six months ago to 60.3%. Delinquent Loans At the end of June 2011, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans decreased significantly by 18.3% from six months ago to MOP430.1 million. Compared to a year ago, the balance dropped 11.0%. Consequently, the delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, dropped 0.71 percentage points from end-December 2010 or 0.75 percentage points from a year earlier to 1.40%.
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Owing to the hurricane in Dominican Republic, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet and Parcel) from Macao to that country are subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the second quarter of 2011. Survey coverage comprised the Gaming sector; Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications sector; Security Activities and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities, excluding own-account workers and junket promoters & junket associates. At the end of the second quarter of 2011, the Gaming sector had 47,321 employees, up by 7.9% year-on-year, of which 20,816 were dealers, an increase of 11.4%. In June 2011, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees rose by 7.0% year-on-year to MOP 16,460, with dealers earning MOP 14,560 in average. Wholesale & Retail Trade had 31,754 paid employees, up by 10.2% year-on-year, with 20,029 working in Retail trade. In June 2011, average earnings of full-time employees rose by 7.8% year-on-year to MOP9,920, with Sales representatives and Salespersons earning MOP11,940 and MOP9,000 respectively in average. The Transport, Storage & Communications sector took on 7,598 paid employees, up by 2.5% year-on-year. In June, average earnings of full-time employees increased by 2.8% year-on-year to MOP15,530. Drivers of passenger/cargo transport by land earned an average of MOP13,250. Security Activities had 4,739 paid employees, up by 13.1% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in June rose by 2.7% year-on-year to MOP7,640, with Security guards earning MOP7,230 in average. Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had 665 paid employees, up by 5.2% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in June increased slightly by 0.9% year-on-year to MOP11,130. At the end of the second quarter of 2011, number of vacancies in the Gaming sector reached 2,142 (800 for dealers); besides, vacancies in Land transport also rose to 372. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 89.7% of the vacancies in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities and 59.8% of those in Wholesale & Retail Trade required working experience. As regards educational attainment, 82.8% of the vacancies in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities and 58.1% of those in the Gaming sector required senior secondary education or higher, while 59.7% of the vacancies in Security Activities and 50.6% of those in the Transport, Storage & Communications sector required primary education only. Besides Cantonese, Mandarin and English were the more preferable language skills for the vacancies in Wholesale & Retail Trade at 59.7% and 38.5% respectively; for those in the Gaming sector, 71.2% required knowledge of Mandarin and 57.7% required English. With respect to the indicators that measure the inflow and outflow of human resources, as well as staffing needs, Security Activities had the highest turnover of employees, with vacancy rate, employee turnover rate and recruitment rate standing at 12.9%, 11.4% and 8.1% respectively. Job vacancy rate of the Gaming sector (4.6%) rose by 3.1 percentage points year-on-year; employee recruitment rate was 6.7%, up by 2.5 percentage points.
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This year, the regular maintenance of Macao Museum is scheduled between 29th August to 9th September (12 days in total). During the maintenance, Mount Fortress Garden will be open as usual from 7:00am to 7:00pm, people are welcome to visit through the Fortress South entrance. Macao Museum receives many visitors every year and therefore the condition of the facilities is gradually deteriorating by frequent usage. In order to keep the Museum in good condition, there is regular repair and maintenance to be carried out every year. After the maintenance, the Museum will reopen to the public on 10th September (Saturday). We apologize for any inconvenience caused. For further information about opening hours, please visit www.macaumuseum.gov.mo or contact Macao Museum on 2835 7911 during office hours.
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Due to maintenance work taking place in the Historical Archives of Macao, the Reading Room will be closed from 29th August to 10th September. It will reopen on 12th September.
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