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A 'Consumer Rights Chinese Slogan Competition' held by Consumer Council is now open for entries. Interested parties may submit their works before 17th June 2011; five winning slogans will be chosen to be used in future consumer education work and winners will each be awarded MOP2,000 and a trophy. Consumer Council intends to strengthen its interaction and communication with the public by organizing various kinds of activities for its work on consumer education. The Council hopes the slogan competition held this time may help consumers recognize their rights and their concept of fair consumption values. Entrants of the 'Consumer Rights Chinese Slogan Competition' may submit their work of not more than 20 words about consumer rights in daily lives, or sustainable consumption, etc. Local citizens aged 18 or above are welcome to submit their works to Consumer Council by post, in person, or through email by 5.30pm, 17th June. Winners of the five winning slogans will each be awarded MOP2,000 and a trophy, other ten excellence award winners will each be awarded MOP200. Winning slogans will be used in future education work and activities of Consumer Council to promote consumer rights. Application form of this competition is available at the Council's offices and official website. Entrant's personal details and slogan must be filled in on the application form and each entrant can submit no more than 2 slogan works. Details of the competition are listed on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector increased further in the first quarter of 2011. At end-March 2011, the share of international assets in total banking assets rose to 86.9% from 86.0% at end-2010, whereas the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities went up to 79.7% from 78.7%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2011, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.2% and 2.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 42.0% and 57.7% of total international assets as well as 47.5% and 50.5% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-March 2011, total international assets increased by 8.9% from three months earlier or 36.0% year-on-year to MOP505.6 billion (USD63.0 billion). Within this total, external assets expanded by 34.5% from a year earlier to MOP392.2 billion while local assets in foreign currencies soared by 41.5% to MOP113.4 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits jumped by 37.9% over a year earlier to MOP367.1 billion. Within this total, loans to overseas non-banks grew markedly by 28.4% from a quarter earlier or 39.4% from a year earlier. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities expanded by 9.1% quarter-to-quarter or 34.5% from a year earlier to MOP463.8 billion (USD57.8 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies amounted to MOP252.2 billion and MOP211.5 billion in respective order. Compared with a year earlier, the former grew markedly by 43.6% while the latter increased by 25.1%. Foreign currency deposits held by residents in the local banking system formed a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 20.6% to MOP194.9 billion at end-March 2011 from MOP161.6 billion a year earlier. Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region
The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to the regions of Asia and Europe. At end-March 2011, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 37.5% and 16.6% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal took up 12.3%. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 47.4% and 22.0% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up respective shares of 7.3% and 6.9%. The compilation of International Banking Statistics follows the methodology advocated by the Bank for International Settlements in order to facilitate Macao SAR's participation in the "Locational International Banking Statistics" project of the international organisation.
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Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13 2010, the Cross-departmental Working Team has sealed a total of 126 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally. Four more operators are fined 200,000 patacas each. Inspections conducted by the Cross-departmental Working Team involved investigations to a total of 573 occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, including 33 overstayers and 25 illegal immigrants, whose cases are being follow up by police authorities. Macau Government Tourist Office has waged a total of 126 sanctions and 23 operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas each according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". To date, two operators have voluntarily paid the fine of 200 000 patacas within the statutory period. For those who failed to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP to deny reentry of the involved persons into Macau if they are non-residents. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect till May 26, 2011, MGTO has received 343 reports, involving 307 premises. MGTO is taking a serious view on every report by the citizens and after a series of evidence-findings and investigations, 157 premises were found to be normal residential units not used as illegal accommodation. Over 40 complaints were received since MGTO launched online report in April and 70% of which gave false information. MGTO appeals to the public to avoid abusing the complaint mechanism as not to waste public resources. The Cross-departmental Working Team will carry on its operation to crack down illegal accommodation. Staff of Macau Government Tourist Office (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.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (25th May 16:01 till 26th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1396μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the first quarter of 2011. Survey coverage comprised the Manufacturing sector; Hotels & Restaurants; Insurance, Financial Intermediation Activities and Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector, excluding own-account workers, as well as insurance agents and brokers not directly employed by insurance companies. At the end of the first quarter of 2011, the Manufacturing sector had 12,455 paid employees, down by 18.1% year-on-year, with those working in Manufacture of Textiles (843) and Manufacture of Wearing Apparel (5,270) decreasing significantly by 37.1% and 31.4% respectively. In March 2011, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees rose by 11.8% year-on-year to MOP6,460, with Sewing machine operators earning MOP3,590 in average. Hotels & Restaurants took on 53,921 paid employees, up by 11.7% year-on-year, with 35,163 working in hotels. In March, average earnings of full-time employees rose by 7.3% year-on-year to MOP10,700. Earnings of Housekeeping staff stood at MOP6,570. The Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector had 1,062 paid employees, up slightly by 0.5% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in March held stable from a year earlier at MOP22,240. The Insurance sector took on 452 paid employees, up by 3.9% year-on-year. The average earnings of full-time employees in March rose by 3.0% year-on-year to MOP18,750. Financial Intermediation Activities had 424 paid employees, down up by 4.1% year-on-year. In March, average earnings of full-time employees increased by 5.7% year-on-year, to MOP11,730. At the end of the first quarter of 2011, the Manufacturing sector reported 1,221 job vacancies; Hotels & Restaurants had 4,686 vacancies, while the Insurance sector and Financial Intermediation Activities had 20 and 24 vacancies respectively. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, more than 50% of the vacancies in these five industries required working experience. As regards educational attainment, 61.0% of the vacancies in the Manufacturing sector and 64.8% of those in Hotels & Restaurants required junior secondary education or lower; meanwhile, all of the vacancies in the Insurance sector and Financial Intermediation Activities required senior secondary education or higher. Besides Cantonese, Mandarin was the more preferable language skill for the vacancies in the Financial Intermediation Activities and in Hotels & Restaurants, at 100.0% and 58.0% respectively; meanwhile, for those in the Insurance sector, Financial Intermediation Activities and Hotels & Restaurants required knowledge of English at 85.0%, 60.0% and 43.1% respectively. With respect to the indicators that measure inflow and outflow of human resources, as well as staffing needs, Hotels & Restaurants had the highest employee recruitment rate (12.8%), indicating an increasing number of new recruits in this quarter; moreover, the employee turnover rate (10.1%) and job vacancy rate (9.5%) of the Manufacturing sector increased by 3.7 and 0.3 percentage points respectively year-on-year.
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Building on last year's success, Macau Idol Charity Gala Dinner will be held on 27th May this year at Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). The event will be organized by David Wong, Executive Assistant Manager, Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and IFT Hotel Management sophomores as their school project. Being a fundraising event, its purpose is to provide financial support to poor children who cannot afford an education in western provinces of Mainland China. The Charity Dinner will be held between 19:00-23:00 at Educational Restaurant, IFT. Ticket price will be MOP 1,200 nett per person, dinner and wine inclusive. During dinner, a singing contest will be held as an entertainment. There will be 6 participants showing their talent to the guests While enjoying the pleasant meal with the show, a wine auction will be proudly held. The wines are sponsored by Summergate, and the funds raised by the auction will all be donated to Action Oasis (2011) to support the education of the poor children in Mainland China. "Action Oasis (2011) – Giving Mainland Children Schooling Opportunities" is a fundraising campaign organized by the Chinese Educators' Association of Macao and co-organised by IFT along with other associations and universities. Its aim is to provide financial support to poor children who cannot afford an education in western provinces of Mainland China that suffer from desertification. Also, thanks to the support of the following hotels who are collaborating to prepare the buffet dinner at the event: Crown Towers Macau, Hard Rock Hotel Macau, Grand Hyatt Macau, Four Seasons Hotel Macau, Mandarin Oriental Macau, Sands Macau, The Venetian Macau Hotel Resort, Starworld Hotel Macau, and MGM Macau. For enquiries, please feel free to contact student representative Ms Rosana Lei by phone +853 6660 5225 or by email at S092329@ift.edu.mo.
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The art exhibition A Glimpse of French Contemporary Painting is a major event within the 22nd Macao Arts Festival and part of Le French May 2011. Organised by Tap Seac Gallery under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the show opens to the public at 5pm on Saturday, 28th May in Tap Seac Gallery. The exhibition features paintings by eight renowned contemporary French artists: Ronan Barrot, Franck Chalendard, Champion Métadier, Marc Desgrandchamps, Philippe Cognée, Sylvie Fajfrowska, Olivier Masmonteil and Djamel Tatah. These painters, active in the international art arena, are continually exploring opportunities for development and innovation, and each of their distinct styles reveals a unique expressive concept. Variously abstract, figurative, descriptive, imaginative and conceptual, the artists each demonstrate in their own way an immense passion and perseverance in creativity. But this exhibition more than embodies the vivid expression of the participating artists; it is an insight into contemporary French painting culture. Through A Glimpse of French Contemporary Painting, Tap Seac Gallery seeks to share with the public the richness and wide variety present in contemporary French painting, enabling viewers to appreciate the artworks up close and stimulate their imaginations. The exhibition is open at Tap Seac Gallery, located at 95 Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, from 10am to 7pm every day beginning 29th May until 14th August. Admission is free.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (24th May 16:01 till 25th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The workshop on "Cultural and Creative Industries & Intellectual Property", as organised by the Economic Services Bureau and integrated as part of the 2nd Eu-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, is going to take place on 31st May and 1st June, from 9:30 to 12:30, in the Lotus Room of the World Trade Centre of Macao, Avenida da Amizade, no 918, 5th floor. This workshop will feature as its keynote speaker Professor Li Shunde, Deputy Director of the Intellectual Property Centre of the Beijing China Academy of Social Sciences, and the event will be conducted in Mandarin, with simultaneous translation into English. Amongst other topics, the following items will be analysed: 1. The relationship between cultural and creative industries & intellectual property; 2. The registration process of trademarks, design and copyright on the Mainland; 3. Cases of intellectual property right protection in the areas of cultural and creative industries on the Mainland and in Europe; 4. A comparative analysis of the intellectual property protection models used in China, Europe and Macao. This workshop aims at identifying a group of best practices for the cultural / creative industries and is also designed to introduce the system of intellectual property rights protection, as well as its importance, for the cultural and creative industries in Macao. The EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, which incorporates this workshop, has as its main objective the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" and is going to take place until December 2012. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, and it involves several other entities of the MSAR Government, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (23rd May 16:01 till 24th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1422μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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