News

Owing to the flooding in Australia, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to New South Wales and Queensland, particularly for the areas with postal codes bearing the prefixes below are subject to delay until further notice.
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Consumer Council pays attention to price trend of all consumer goods, long-term and individual projects are therefore constantly adopted for the improvement of the Council's work on collecting price data. A price survey on milk tea was conducted by surveying prices of milk tea in 35 randomly picked local cafés; survey result showed that over half of the surveyed cafés had not changed their prices for milk tea in the last two months. The Council reminded food establishments that any updated price lists or menus must be submitted to the license issuing department for record. Many consumers have reflected that prices of food sold in local cafés have been raised apparently after Chinese New Year and hope that the Administration could pay close attention to it. Consumer Council started its price survey on milk tea last December. Prices of milk tea for take-away from 35 local cafés were collected in December 2011 and February 2012 respectively. Result of the price survey showed that 18 out of the 35 cafés had not changed their prices for milk tea during the surveyed period. 13 cafés had raised their prices for milk tea for MOP1.00, 4 others had a price increase of MOP0.50; the percentage increase ranged from 5% to 12%. The Council indicated that as Macao is a free market, businesses have the right to determine the prices of their goods and services, however, in accordance with Article 35 of Decree Law No. 16/96/M, hotels and food establishments should submit their price lists or menus to the license issuing department and the license issuing department must be informed of any changes in the price lists as well. Café is one of the food establishments regulated by the above-mentioned Decree Law. Consumer Council conducted the price survey by purchasing beverages for take-away on the spot, and differences were noted between the actual selling prices and prices listed on the menu at those cafés. Though food establishments are free to determine their prices, the Council indicated that in accordance with Decree Law 16/96/M, any price changes or surcharge added are required to be stated on the menu and the license issuing department must be informed of the updated menu. Meanwhile, consumers have the right to pay according to the amount stated on the menu, otherwise, consumers may lodge their complaints with the Council or the license issuing body. For inquiries, please call Consumer Council at 8988 9315.
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Macau Government Tourist Office takes part in the South Asia Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE) to meet with quality buyers from all over India to promote Macau tourism and expand the source market. The 19th edition of SATTE is held in two leading outbound travel markets in India, New Delhi (February 10-12) and Mumbai (February15-16). Representatives from MGTO, accompanied by its representation office in India and Macau travel trade members, participate in the event. As India's leading B2B travel & tourism event, SATTE is the most anticipated travel and tourism event in South Asia. Over the years SATTE has grown, both in terms of exhibitors and visitors (including buyers), and is today the largest networking forum for the travel & tourism industry in South Asia. MGTO makes its debut at SATTE to showcase its new brand and slogan "Touching Moments Experience Macau" and promote new developments, new properties and attractions, including World Heritage to quality buyers in India, especially those from the smaller towns and cities to further expand the market. Macau is diversifying its tourism products and facilities to offer different experience for different age groups. MGTO has recently launched the "Incentive Travel Stimulation Program" to continue its support in boosting the development of business tourism and diversify portfolio of tourism market segments. India is an important source market for Macau and MGTO has been working extensively to explore the Indian market and lure more travelers from India to Macau. These efforts have also shown encouraging results with the number of Indian visitors to Macau increasing consistently over the past few years. Last year Macau welcomed close to 170,000 visitors from India, and over 70% were overnight guests.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitors in package tours surged by 51.5% year-on-year to 794,636 in December 2011. Visitors from Mainland China (574,427); Taiwan, China (48,071); and Hong Kong (40,203) soared by 57.7%, 135.8% and 13.8% respectively. For the whole year of 2011, visitors in package tours reached 7,307,438, up by 27.2% year-on-year. In December 2011, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours decreased by 12.9% year-on-year to 24,119. The most popular tour itineraries were Mainland China (69.9% of total); Taiwan, China (6.6%); and the Republic of Korea (6.0%). In 2011, outbound residents in package tours decreased by 3.8% year-on-year to 242,997. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies increased substantially by 40.4% year-on-year to 64,167; the main destinations were Mainland China (52.9% of total); Hong Kong (18.0%); and Taiwan, China (16.0%). For the whole year of 2011, outbound residents travelling under such arrangements increased by 29.7% year-on-year to 648,739. At the end of December 2011, number of available guest rooms of hotels and guest-houses totalled 22,356, up by 2,265 rooms (+11.3%) year-on-year, with that of 5-star hotels accounting for 63.5% of the total. Hotels and guest-houses received a new record of 820,163 guests in December 2011, an increase of 12.7% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (54.9% of total) and Hong Kong (17.8%). The average length of stay increased by 0.05 night to 1.5 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses stood at 89.7%, up by 2.0 percentage points year-on-year. Average occupancy rate of hotels was 90.3%, with 4-star and 5-star hotels reaching 93.6% and 90.2% respectively. Total number of guests increased by 11.0% year-on-year to 8,612,127 in 2011; average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses was 84.1%, up by 4.3 percentage points year-on-year. For the whole year of 2011, visitor-guests accounted for 62.3% of the total number of tourists (overnight visitors), higher than 61.1% in 2010.
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A cooperation agreement to establish a Joint Research Centre for Chinese Innovative Medicines is signed today (13 February) in Beijing by four universities in the Greater China: Peking University (PKU), the National Taiwan University (NTU), the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the University of Macau (UM). The purpose of this Centre is to bring the academic and research strengths of the four universities into full play through collaboration in researching and developing innovative medicines and health products of world-class quality. This Centre will make the best use of UM's strength in Chinese medicine research and the nurturing of talents in this field so that it can advance research and development of Chinese innovative medicines to the world-class level. Several officials attended the occasion, including Vice Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NCP) Mr. Han Qide and Mr. Sang Guowei, Vice Minister of Health Mr. Liu Qian, and Vice Minister of Science and Technology Mr. Wang Weizhong. More than two hundred scholars from the four universities also witnessed this historic moment of collaboration in the Greater China in the field of Chinese bio-medical sciences. The President of PKU Prof. Zhou Qifeng, the President of NTU Prof. Si-chen Lee, the Vice-Chancellor of HKU Prof. Lap-Chee Tsui, and the Rector of UM Prof. Wei Zhao signed the agreement on behalf of their respective university at the ceremony. Mr. Han Qide stressed that in spite of the variance of the governance systems, educational philosophy, teaching and research focuses among the four higher learning institutions, they all worked proactively towards the same goal of making the Chinese hold their heads high internationally. For this purpose, we should all make the most of the forte of our tradition and chart a way for the research and innovation of traditional Chinese medicines by weathering all the difficulties in our way. Prof. Wei Zhao noted that thanks to the great joint efforts made over the past decade by the Macao SAR Government and the University of Macau in the research of Chinese medicine, UM was in a good stead to collaborate with the other top universities. The cooperation this time was a further testimony to and recognition of the commitment of the SAR Government, UM and the community at large. Macao would play an important role in this joint project by capitalizing on its unique strengths as well as the research facilities on the new campus of the University of Macau. Apart from that, our University would continue to expand the frontier of our research field and establish a faculty of health to provide better education, research and service for the societal development of the Macao SAR and diversification of its economy. A meeting will be held at UM next month to discuss the establishment of a joint research platform of the Centre.
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Consumer Council's latest specific price survey (February) on tissue and toilet papers has been released. In comparison with data from September last year, most surveyed brands reflected stability in their average price this month. Significant price discrepancy of up to 55% was shown in 'Scott Bathroom Tissue 3 Ply (10 pcs)' in different retail spots. Consumer Council conducted the latest survey on 8th February, surveying 13 samples of tissue and toilet papers from 25 local retail outlets. In comparison with last time's data, most surveyed items only recorded slight changes in price. 6 surveyed products recorded price increases of around 1% to 10%, only 'Kleenex Brand Tissues (5 boxes)' had a price rise of almost 20% in one retail spot. 10 products recorded price decreases of around 2% to 10%, 'Andrex Bathroom Tissue (3 ply) (10 rolls)' had a price drop of almost 20% in one retail spot in Taipa. In the current survey, a general price difference of 20 % was observed for the same product sold in different outlets. The highest difference recorded this time was found in ''Scott Bathroom Tissue 3 Ply (10 pcs)' in which the lowest and highest selling price differed for around 55.2%. Consumers are advised to check with the price data available on the Council's website before making consumption. The latest specific price survey on tissue and toilet papers is now available online on the Council's official website (www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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Owing to the snowfalls in France, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet and Parcel) from Macao to France, particularly for the areas with postal codes bearing the prefixes below are subject to delay until further notice. Postal Code Prefixes
06, 09, 13, 14, 26, 27, 28, 31, 41, 45, 50, 53, 61, 72, 76, 78, 83 Thank you for your kind attention.
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Owing to the snowfalls in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet and Parcel) from Macao to Bosnia and Herzegovina are subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money supply witnessed a decline in December. As deposits with banks dropped and total loans increased, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio rose from a month earlier.
Money supply
Currency in circulation rose 2.8% while demand deposits dropped 9.3%. M1 thus decreased 7.4% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities dropped 0.4%, driving M2 to fall 1.3% to MOP297.7 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 4.4% and 22.5% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 26.0%, up 0.9 percentage points over a month ago but down 2.0 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.6%, down 0.5 percentage points month-to-month and 0.1 percentage point year-on-year.
Deposits
Resident deposits dropped 1.4% from the previous month to MOP291.6 billion. Of which, MOP deposits grew 2.1% while HKD deposits and other foreign currency deposits decreased at respective rates of 2.2% and 3.5%. In the meantime, non-resident deposits decreased 1.4% to MOP92.9 billion while public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 13.3% to MOP29.6 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector dropped 0.5% from a month earlier to MOP414.0 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 22.4% and 45.4% respectively.
Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector increased 1.9% on a monthly basis to MOP167.7 billion. Among which, MOP42.3 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP112.2 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 25.2% and 66.9% of the total respectively. Compared with a quarter ago, loans to "gaming", "manufacturing industries" and "non-monetary financial institutions" increased at respective rates of 76.7%, 12.9% and 7.3% whereas those to "electricity, gas and water" and "restaurants, hotels and similar" dropped 12.5% and 7.5% respectively. External loans rose 1.6% to MOP154.3 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.7% (MOP1.1 billion) and 33.2% (MOP51.2 billion) respectively.
Loan-to-deposit ratios
Due to the decline in resident deposits and increase in domestic loans to the private sector, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-December 2011 rose 1.1 percentage points month-to-month to 52.2%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors was 77.8%, up 1.7 percentage points from the previous month. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao
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The Macao Museum, under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, concluded the assessment for the four 2011 nominations to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Macao, "Macanese Gastronomy", "Patuá Theatre", the "A-Ma Customs and Beliefs of Macao" and the "Na Cha Customs and Beliefs of Macao", all of which were approved by an appointed jury. Beginning tomorrow, February 10th, the applications will undergo a 30-day public review period, allowing all Macao residents the opportunity to examine the documents pertaining to each item and submit their suggestions or concerns.
Owing to the publicity and promotional campaigns implemented in recent years to raise awareness about local heritage, the efforts to protect Macao's Intangible Cultural Heritage have gradually earned the recognition, attention and participation of the Region's citizens. In 2011, five local associations nominated a total of four heritage items for inclusion by the Cultural Affairs Bureau on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Macao. The number of applications is an increase over the nominations received in 2010 – a truly encouraging fact.
The recent applications also represent a more diverse array of cultural areas. This batch marks the first ever participation by Macanese associations, who have shown great enthusiasm with two nominations to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List, namely "Macanese Gastronomy", submitted by the Confraria da Gastronomia Macaense, and "Patuá Theatre", submitted by Dóci Papiaçám di Macau. Associations from within the Chinese community made an equal showing. Setting aside old grievances, the Associação do Templo da Calçada das Verdades de Macau and the Associação do Templo Na Cha joined forces to nominate the "Na Cha Customs and Beliefs of Macao", while the Chinese Opera Association of Terrestrial and Maritime Dwellers of Barra appealed for the inscription of the locally influential Cult of A-Ma with their nomination of the "A-Ma Customs and Beliefs of Macao".
The Macao Museum finished collecting applications in the first half of last year. They then invited a jury of three national specialists on intangible cultural heritage and four local individuals with recognised merit in the field to evaluate the submissions. After a rigorous screening process, the jury approved the nomination of all four items to Macao's Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
In addition to the jury's comments, the Cultural Affairs Bureau will take into account public opinion about the nominated items, gathered from the various social sectors in Macao during a 30-day public review, to commence February 10th. Introductions of the four nominated items, along with supporting videos, may be accessed on the websites of the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Macao Museum. Photocopies of the submissions' supporting documentation may be viewed at the following Bureau-run facilities: the Macao Central Library, the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, the Ilha Verde Library and the IACM Building Library. Local residents are requested to submit any opinions or objections regarding the nominated items or their evaluations, in writing, to the Macao Museum, by post (Address: Praçeta do Museu de Macau, Nº 112), by fax (2835 8503) or delivered in person, before the close of the public review period, which ends March 10th. Please write "Opinion regarding the items nominated for Intangible Cultural Heritage status" on the envelope and clearly describe your reasoning and arguments. All correspondence should include the sender's name, address, contact number and preferred form of contact, so that the Cultural Affairs Bureau can process the matter and make the necessary recommendations. For enquiries, please visit the Museum website at www.macaumuseum.gov.mo or contact Mr. Tou on 8394 1209.
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