News

A Macao university team would carry out research on the press and broadcasting laws of neighbouring jurisdictions as a reference for the Government in its review of the current regulations. This was announced today by the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping, in his second meeting with members of Macao’s press over the revision of these two laws. The Bureau had met them in early June on the procedures of revisions of the two laws. On 2 July, it invited three universities in Macao with news or communication faculties to submit tenders over the study on press and broadcasting laws and regulations of neighbouring jurisdictions. They were the University of Macau, the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), and the University of Saint Joseph. By 23 July, the closing date of the tender, the Bureau had received only one tender, submitted by MUST. After studying the work plan and cost of the tender, the Bureau submitted a proposal to the Chief Executive and the tender was awarded to MUST. According to MUST’s work plan, the study will be led by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Professor Pan Zhichang, and Assistant Professor Tam Chi Keung. Assistant Professor Sun Zhen of the Faculty of Humanities and Arts and Assistant Professor Shen Yunqiao of the Faculty of Law will be researchers on the team. The study will focus on the comparison of press and communication regulations between the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Portugal and Luxemburg, as well as a summary of related policies and legislative techniques in Common Law countries, and a review of the current practice of press and broadcasting laws in Macao. Mr Chan said by studying related laws in different jurisdictions, global trends, the regulations in practice and internet media regulations, the study could provide directional advice on the revision of the two laws. The research, costing 120,000 Patacas, is to be completed in 70 days. Mr Chan said the Government would keep on listening to opinions of the public and the press over the revision and would continue to uphold the principle of the freedom of the press. The revision of the Press Law and Broadcasting Law will be conducted in four phases: 1. Conduct research on press regulations in different jurisdictions by local academic institute and polls for directional advice;
2. Write a draft law based on the findings in phase one;
3. Conduct all-round public consultations on the draft law;
4. Begin the legislation procedure after revising the draft law based on the result of consultation.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money supply M2 resumed its growth in June. As loans grew at a faster pace than deposits, the loan-to-deposit ratio continued to rise. Money supply
Currency in circulation decreased slightly by 0.3% whereas demand deposits increased 3.0%. M1 thus rose 2.5% compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, quasi-monetary liabilities rose 2.9%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, increased 2.8% to MOP222.2 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 27.7% and 9.3% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 27.5%, down 0.2 percentage points over a month ago or 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier. Concurrently, the share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.9%, up 0.7 percentage points month-to-month or 1.2 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits
Resident deposits grew 2.9% from the previous month to MOP217.1 billion. Of which, MOP deposits, HKD deposits and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 2.2%, 4.1% and 0.2%. Meanwhile, non-resident deposits dropped 0.7% to MOP70.8 billion and public sector deposits with the banking sector decreased 2.9% to MOP15.1 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector grew 1.7% from the previous month to MOP303.0 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 22.1% and 47.6% respectively. Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector grew 3.3% in June to MOP112.0 billion. Among which, MOP34.0 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP69.8 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 30.4% and 62.3% of the total respectively. Loans to “trade (wholesale and retail)”, “personal housing loans” and “manufacturing industries” increased quarter-to-quarter at respective rates of 16.5%, 11.4% and 10.8% whereas those to “gaming” and “restaurants, hotels and similar” dropped 12.5% and 12.4% respectively. Meanwhile, external loans increased 2.2% to MOP111.7 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.8% (MOP0.9 billion) and 40.5% (MOP45.3 billion) of the total respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios
As domestic loans to the private sector rose at a faster pace than resident deposits, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-June 2010 rose slightly by 0.4 percentage points month-to-month to 48.2%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors stood at 73.8%, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 778 new companies were incorporated in the second quarter of 2010, up by 18.4% year-on-year; the total value of registered capital surged by 66.9% to MOP136 million. Among these new companies, 300 were operating in Wholesale and Retail, with the registered capital amounting to MOP55 million; meanwhile, 120 were operating in Business Services and 103 in Real Estate. Furthermore, 507 new companies (65.2% of total) were incorporated with registered capital under MOP50,000 and the value of capital (MOP13 million) made up merely 9.7% of the total. Meanwhile, there were 28 new companies incorporated with registered capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, and the value of capital (MOP90 million) accounted for 66.3% of the total. In addition, more than 80% of the new incorporations were limited companies. Capital of the new companies came mainly from Macao (MOP61 million), Mainland China (MOP35 million) and Hong Kong (MOP10 million). In the second quarter of 2010, capital from the 9 provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta amounted to MOP4 million, with that from Guangdong province leading at MOP3 million. Analyzed by place of residence of the shareholders, 507 new companies were established solely by Macao shareholders, and 96 were joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. In the second quarter of 2010, number of companies in dissolution totalled 125 and the value of registered capital amounted to MOP66 million, of which the registered capital of 57 Wholesale and Retail companies in dissolution accounted for 7.7%.
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The Historical Archives of Macao will hold two workshops on Chinese book binding, namely on 14th and 21st of August (Saturday) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Participants must be at least ten years old and no previous experience is required. For enrolment, please visit the Historical Archives of Macao on Tap Seac Square (open Mon-Fri, 9:30am-6.30pm; Sat, 1pm-6pm), during the week prior to each workshop (starting 9th and 16th of August, respectively) and pay the workshop fee of MOP$20 (including materials and equipment for the workshop). The number of participants is limited and enrolment will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. More information on future workshops is available through www.archives.gov.mo. For further details, please contact Historical Archives of Macao at 2859 2919.
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On 3 August 2010, Chow Tai Fook Cheng Yu Tung Fund donated a sum of MOP 30 million to the University of Macau Development Foundation (UMDF) in support of the residential colleges on the new campus of the University of Macau (UM). As a token of appreciation for the generous donation, the UM will name one of the residential colleges as “Cheng Yu Tung College”. So far the Foundation has received a donation of MOP 30 million for each of the five residential colleges that are going to be established. The cheque presentation ceremony was held at the Macao Government Headquarters. Dr. Cheng Yu Tung, Chairman of the Chow Tai Fook Group presented a cheque to UMDF on behalf of the Chow Tai Fook Cheng Yu Tung Fund. Dr. Chui Sai On, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR and Chancellor of the UM, received the donation on behalf of the UMDF. Dr. Tam Chon Weng, Chief of the Office of the Chief Executive; Mr. Kent Wong Siu Kee, director of Chow Tai Fook; Dr. Tse Chi Wai, founding member of UMDF and Chair of the Executive Committee of UMDF; Dr. Lam Kam Seng, founding member of UMDF and Prof. Simon Ho, Acting Rector of UM also attended the ceremony. Chief Executive Dr. Chui hosted a luncheon to thank the Chow Tai Fook Cheng Yu Tung Fund for its generous donation. “Dr. Cheng Yu Tung has been a long-time supporter of the UM,” Dr. Tse remarked. “As early as in the 1980s, when he served as a member on the University Council of the University of East Asia (predecessor of the University of Macau), he was very much a mover and shaker for the improvement of the University. He greatly improved the students’ living environment by making a donation to build the Student Hostel (Block 3). More than a perfect example of success himself, Dr. Cheng also represents all what it makes to be an outstanding community leader. His donation to the UMDF is another long term investment in education. Such a deed will certainly bring enormous benefits to Macao and China apart from setting a trend for other community leaders to follow. Benefiting from his donation for the development of the Residential College system, UM will further implement whole-person education, stride faster towards the goal of becoming a world-class university, and nurture our students as high-calibre leaders with creative thinking.” Dr. Cheng Yu Tung, Chairman of the Chow Tai Fook Group, said, “Throughout our history of over 80 years, the Chow Tai Fook Group has always devoted significant resources to charitable causes in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and the neighbouring region. Not only are we concerned about the needs of the underprivileged in society, we have also strenuously supported educational projects because of the high priority we place on the education of the next generation. Investing in education is particularly meaningful because it could help develop future leaders for our country and contribute to the welfare of society. This collaboration with UM is based on our shared mission to pursue innovation and excellence in the service of social progress. Our hope is to create for students a college setting with excellent facilities so that they can stay focused on exploring the vast ocean of knowledge for the benefit of their community and country.” UM aims to become a world-class university with regional characteristics by fulfilling its mission of quality teaching, research and service for the community. One of the ways to realize these objectives is to follow the practice of other top universities overseas by establishing residential colleges. They will form learning communities for students in their pursuit of knowledge and foster cross-disciplinary interactions. The creation of these Colleges is conducive to the attainment of whole-person education and will help broaden students’ horizons and develop their ability of creative thinking. All this is important to develop the leadership attributes in our students by exposing them to a multi-cultural perspective. In this regard, the donation from Chow Tai Fook Cheng Yu Tung Fund is surely opportune to help the UM go closer toward fulfilling its aspirations. In order to express our gratitude for the generous donation, one of our residential colleges will be named after Dr. Cheng Yu Tung in commemoration of his great contribution to our education. So far the UMDF has received a donation of MOP 30 million for each of the five residential colleges. In addition to Cheng Yu Tung College, four other colleges will be denominated “Stanley Ho College”, “Lui Che Woo College”, “Henry Fok College”, and “Cao Guang Biao College” in recognition of the contribution from the respective donor.
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The 57th Macau Grand Prix will be held in November, and preparation work is continuing apace. The race programme and regulations are complete, and pre-qualifying races for the Macau Grand Prix are underway ahead of entries opening in September. Media accreditation will be open from mid-August. A series of open tenders for public works and logistic services have been completed. Close cooperation and coordination with various government bureaus, teams, the media and TV broadcasters are crucial to the smooth running of all aspects of the event. Training for Race officials, the scrutineering team, track marshals and the rescue team is scheduled from June onwards, with both theoretical instruction and practical exercises to ensure the professionalism of the support team. This year, V.W.M. Motors Limited will be providing Volkswagen Scirocco R as the Official Safety Car, Golf R models as the Official Cars, and Passat Variant R36 models as Rescue Cars for the first time. The Macau Grand Prix Committee is once again cooperating with the Macau Federation of Trade Unions to run an awareness promotion: “The 2010 Macau Grand Prix Carnival Day”, which includes activities such as a “Q & A lucky draw”, a “Secondary Students Essay Contest” and a “Coloring Competition”. The regulations and registration form for “Q & A lucky draw” are available at the Official Website http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo and http://www.faom.org.mo/web/?action-viewnews-itemid-6333. Tickets for the 57th Macau Grand Prix are on sale now, with prices ranging from MOP50.00 for Practice Days, to MOP900.00 for Race Days at the Lisboa Bend Stand. Call the 24 hours ticketing reservation hotline (+853) 2855 5555 in Macau, (+852) 2380 5083 in Hong Kong, and (+86) 13926911111 in Mainland China, or visit the Kong Seng Ticket Network in Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China for reservations. More details could be found at the Official Website http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo or http://www.macauticket.com.
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The Office for Personal Data Protection (the GPDP) held a discussion this morning (3 Aug) with six entities assigned by the competent organs of the government to collect citizens’ application forms for drawing on accounts under the Central Savings System (the Union General of Community Association of Macau, Macao Federation of Trade Unions, The Women's General Association of Macau, Caritas Macau, The Macau Chamber of Commerce, Association of Returned Overseas Chinese Macau), on data protection issues on the service of submitting citizens’ application forms. In the meeting it is confirmed that these entities are in the practice of collecting and submitting citizens’ application forms as a service rather than by requirement of the Social Security Fund. They should collect and handle only personal data that are necessary for the service, in compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act. Once the service is completed, the entities should destroy and delete the data within a reasonable period. In the case of data subjects being their members or clients, the entities should keep their data for this service separate from their data collected for other purposes. The entities should also take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the personal data in their possession. The GPDP advises that these entities formulate clearly and promptly their personal data processing policy for their services to ensure that data subjects’ rights to information, access, rectification and objection are properly exercised. The Office also suggests that the entities prepare their Statement on Personal Data Collection. As to the situation where it is difficult to forward the submission slips back to data subjects, the GPDP advises that the entities formulate their rules for handling such matters and keep the data subjects informed. The GPDP indicates that it will keep in contact with the entities and help them do a good job in personal data protection.
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The “Annual Report 2009” of the Office for Personal Data Protection is now published. The Annual Report summarizes the work on personal data protection of this Office in 2009, including enquiries about the law, case investigation, supervising and coordinating law implementation, regime construction, etc. It also reviews the work on international and regional connection, community relations, publicity and promotion. According to no. 5 of Article 25 of the Personal Data Protection Act, the Opinions and Authorizations issued by this Office in 2009 are also published in the Annual Report. The Annual Report is now available for free distribution in this Office (Av. Praia Grande, 804, China Plaza, 13 A-F), and in its website (www.gpdp.gov.mo). An unofficial English translation of the Annual Report is also available in the website.
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The Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS), jointly conducted by the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) and the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), is aimed at collecting information on investment by Macao residents in securities issued by unrelated non-residents, in terms of market value and geographical distribution. The results of CPIS for the reference year 2009 are summarised as follows: Investment of Macao residents in securities witnessed a notable increase due to a significant improvement in investment sentiment in financial instruments and an upsurge in asset prices. On 31 December 2009, investment of Macao residents (including individuals, the government and other legal entities but excluding Macao’s foreign exchange reserves) in securities issued by unrelated non-residents amounted to MOP116.3 billion, up markedly by 41.6% from a revised MOP82.2 billion at end-2008, a record high value since the inception of this survey in 2002. Of this total, equity securities, long-term debt securities and short-term debt securities were valued at MOP61.1 billion, MOP49.9 billion and MOP5.3 billion respectively. In comparison with the previous year, the investment in equity securities, of which mutual funds/investment trusts amounted to MOP13.6 billion, soared by 96.9%. Investment in long-term debt securities rose by a relatively modest 15.1% whereas that in short-term debt securities fell by 31.7%. In terms of geographical distribution, the investment in securities issued by Hong Kong entities accounted for the largest share, at 20.2% of the total market value of Macao residents’ portfolio investment abroad. The rest was mainly invested in Mainland China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Cayman Islands, Australia, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg. The market value of investment in securities issued by Hong Kong entities reached MOP23.5 billion, a marked increase of 74.5% or MOP10.0 billion from end-2008. This amount consisted of MOP14.4 billion in equity securities, MOP7.3 billion in long-term debt securities and MOP1.8 billion in short-term debt securities, constituting 23.6%, 14.5% and 34.6% of the respective total. The share of investment in securities issued by Mainland Chinese entities (including those listed in non-Mainland exchanges) rose by 3.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 17.5%. The corresponding market value surged by 77.4% to MOP20.4 billion, of which the investment in equity securities rose by a hefty 96.6% to MOP18.6 billion, accounting for the largest share in the respective securities category, at 30.5%. The share of investment in European securities dropped by 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 29.6% but the corresponding market value rose by 26.2%. In particular, equity investment in the United Kingdom and Luxembourg registered significant increases. Among the European countries, the United Kingdom continued to assume the largest share in the total securities investment (8.8%), with a market value of MOP10.3 billion at end-2009. Meanwhile, Macao residents’ investment in securities issued by entities in France also rose whereas investment in German securities dropped. The share of US securities held by Macao residents dipped by 3.4 percentage points from 2008 to 7.7%, and the corresponding market value fell slightly by 1.5% to MOP9.0 billion at end-2009. The investment in long-term US debt securities was valued at MOP6.9 billion, representing the second largest share in the respective securities category after Hong Kong. The market value of Macao residents’ portfolio investment in Latin America soared by 70.9% at end-2009 mainly attributed to a notable 120.6% increase in the portfolio investment in the Cayman Islands. Meanwhile, although the investment in securities issued by Australian entities grew by 8.8% year-on-year, the share of Oceanian securities contracted from 6.5% at end-2008 to 5.0%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total merchandise export for June 2010 decreased by 3.7% year-on-year to MOP596 million, with value of domestic exports falling by 24.3% to MOP202 million, but that of re-exports rising by 11.9% to MOP394 million. The value of total merchandise import amounted to MOP3.68 billion, up by 28.7% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP3.08 billion was recorded for June 2010. In the second quarter of 2010, total value of merchandise export (MOP1.80 billion) dropped by 4.2% year-on-year, but that of merchandise import (MOP10.62 billion) rose by 22.5%, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP8.82 billion. In the first half year of 2010, total value of merchandise export fell by 7.1% year-on-year to MOP3.62 billion, of which the value of domestic exports declined by 33.2%, but that of re-exports expanded by 12.8%; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import grew by 20.9% to MOP20.48 billion. The trade deficit for the first half year of 2010 widened by 29.3% year-on-year to MOP16.86 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 5.3 percentage points year-on-year to 17.7%. Analyzed by destination of exports, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP1.64 billion) and Mainland China (MOP585 million) in the first half year of 2010 increased by 18.9% and 0.6% respectively year-on-year, while that to the USA (MOP385 million) and the EU (MOP201 million) decreased substantially by 52.6% and 47.1% respectively. Exports of Textile & garment amounted to MOP770 million, down by 48.9% year-on-year to account for 21.2% of the total merchandise export; however, value of Non-textile exports (MOP2.85 billion) grew by 19.3%, with that of Copper & articles thereof and Clocks & watches rising notably by 103.4% and 100.8% respectively. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, in the first half year of 2010, value of merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP6.30 billion) and the EU (MOP4.44 billion) expanded by 20.4% and 25.1% respectively year-on-year. The value of imports of Consumer goods rose by 40.4% year-on-year, with that of Motor cars & motorcycles growing significantly by 122.6%; nevertheless, the value of imports of Capital goods and Raw materials & semi-manufactures fell by 11.8% and 1.3% respectively. In the first half year of 2010, total value of merchandise import and export amounted to MOP24.10 billion, up by 15.7% compared with MOP20.84 billion in the first half year of 2009.
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