News

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP192.0 billion (USD23.92 billion) at the end of January 2011. The reserves rose by 0.9% from the revised value of MOP190.2 billion (USD23.73 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP44.4 billion or 30.1%. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-January 2011 represented 35 times the currency in circulation or 282.1% of Pataca M2 at end-December 2010. 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 0.63 points month-to-month and 0.59 points year-on-year to 88.83 in January 2011. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
…

From February 8 until 5p.m. of February 14, the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed three more premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally. During the operation, three operators and three overstayers were found while two occupants failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation. In addition, with the assistance of police, 5 people were taken away for further investigation. Meanwhile, one more operator who provided accommodation illegally was fined 200 000 patacas. Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, to date, 1,251 premise-checks were conducted, involving 826 premises, of which 107 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 120 were normal residences. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will continue investigation on unanswered doors, which are suspected to be used to provide accommodation illegally. Meanwhile, during investigations to other cases, PSP has found 23 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has waged a total of 107 sanctions, among which two sanction proceedings have been completed and six operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas. Other cases are in different stages of sanction proceedings. To date, the operations involved 1,077 occupants, among whom 491 were occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 26 overstayers and 18 illegal immigrants. 18 operators, 14 touts, 19 persons who managed the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) and 10 occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were seized on site. MGTO has begun sanction proceedings on offenders according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". If the six operators who provided accommodation illegally, who were fined 200 000 patacas, do not pay within the statutory period, the Financial Services Bureau will enforce the collection of fine. Meanwhile, the 10 occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each, among which four have paid the fine. For those who fail to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP that the involved persons should pay the fine or their reentry into Macau will be denied.
According to the law, operators and persons who manage the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) incur a penalty of up to 800 000 patacas, touts can be fined up to 100 000 patacas, persons who fail to cooperate can be fined up to 20 000 patacas and occupants who fail to cooperate are fined 3 000 patacas.
Following the raid to premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, MGTO began sanction proceedings on involved operators, touts and managing staff, and adopted provisional measures to cut the supply of water and electricity to the concerned premises and sealed the doors. Public can also call 2833 3000 to report suspected premises.
…

To celebrate the Year of Rabbit, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) hosted a spring luncheon in Hong Kong to thank over 200 representatives from the Hong Kong travel trade, business partners and media friends for their support to promote Macau last year. Guests participated in the Spring Luncheon include Commissioner for Tourism of Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Philip Yung, Deputy Director of Asia Tourism Exchange Centre, Li Xue Dong, Executive Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board, Anthony Lau, Chairman of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, Michael Wu and many others. Director of MGTO, João Manuel Costa Antunes expressed his New Year blessings and gratitude in his welcome remarks for the efforts of the local travel partners and the press for bringing over 7.4 millions of Hong Kong visitors to Macau in 2010. While Hong Kong remains the second largest tourist source market of Macau. The tourism industry of Macau enjoyed a steady growth last year, with provisional figures showing that visitor arrivals hit 25 millions in 2010, registering an increase of 15% compared with 2009. Entering 2011, Macau will leverage and develop directions to establish Macau as a quality tourism destination. Strategies include optimizing the role of industry management and enhancement of tourism service quality; participation in cross department cooperation, enhancement of tourism environment and facilities; promotion through creative means and creation of a brand new thematic image; opening up the regional level cooperation and creation of tourism platform at international level. In order to position Macau as an exciting and quality tourism destination, MGTO Hong Kong Representative (MGTO-HK) will continue to accord with MGTO’s marketing strategies. The office will carry out a wide range of promotional events and activities including product presentations, luncheons, thematic familiarization tours, seminars, roadshows and trade visits etc for the different target segments.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 737 new companies were incorporated in the fourth quarter of 2010, up by 9.3% year-on-year; total value of registered capital decreased by 45.6% to MOP76 million. The majority of new incorporations were operating in Wholesale & Retail (276), with value of registered capital totalling MOP26 million; 125 were in Business Services and 108 in Real Estate. Number of companies in dissolution totalled 119 in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the value of registered capital amounted to MOP119 million, of which 6 were in Transport, Storage & Communications and the registered capital reached MOP102 million (85.8% of total); besides, 35 were in Wholesale & Retail and 23 in Real Estate. In 2010, number of new incorporations increased by 18.3% year-on-year to 2,991 and the value of registered capital rose by 48.8% to MOP507 million. Capital from Macao totalled MOP249 million, up notably by 50.0% over 2009, and that from Hong Kong and Mainland China amounted to MOP124 million and MOP72 million respectively; furthermore, capital originating from the 9 Provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region amounted to MOP28 million, with that from Guangdong province leading at MOP22 million. The majority of the new companies were operating in Wholesale & Retail (1,139), Business Services (501) and Real Estate (376). For the whole year of 2010, there were 1,910 (63.9% of total) new incorporations registered with capital under MOP50,000 and the value of capital (MOP50 million) made up merely 9.8% of the total; however, there were 79 new companies registered with capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, yet the value of capital (MOP323 million) accounted for 63.8% of the total. In addition, more than 80% of the new incorporations were limited companies. Analyzed by place of residence of the shareholders, 1,881 new companies were established solely by Macao shareholders, and 381 were joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. In 2010, there were 492 companies in dissolution, up by 4.9% over 2009, while the value of registered capital decreased notably by 89.2% to MOP216 million, of which capital of Transport, Storage & Communications companies in dissolution amounted to MOP156 million.
…

According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money supply M2 resumed its growth in December. As loans grew at a faster pace than deposits, the loan-to-deposit ratio continued to increase. Money supply Currency in circulation and demand deposits increased 3.1% and 4.3% respectively. M1 thus grew 4.1% when compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, quasi-monetary liabilities also rose by 0.7%. M2 therefore increased by 1.2% to MOP243.2 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 13.4% and 14.6% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 28.0%, down 0.2 percentage points over a month ago and a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.7%, down 0.1 percentage point month-to-month but up 1.1 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits grew 1.1% from the previous month to MOP237.6 billion. Of which, MOP deposits, HKD deposits and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 0.2%, 1.0% and 3.0%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits grew 2.1% to MOP79.4 billion and public sector deposits with the banking sector increased 12.2% to MOP22.9 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector grew 2.0% from a month earlier to MOP340.0 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 23.7% and 45.9% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector grew at a significantly faster pace. Their value increased 4.9% on a monthly basis to MOP130.5 billion. Among which, MOP37.5 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP83.8 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 28.8% and 64.2% of the total respectively. Loans to “restaurants, hotels and similar”, “personal housing loans” and loans to “gaming” increased quarter-to-quarter at respective rates of 20.9%, 11.3% and 7.5% whereas those to “manufacturing industries” dropped 7.8%. Meanwhile, external loans increased 1.0% to MOP115.3 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.4% (MOP0.4 billion) and 41.3% (MOP47.6 billion) respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios As domestic loans to the private sector grew faster than resident deposits, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-December 2010 rose 1.4 percentage points month-to-month to 50.1%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors stood at 72.3%, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.
…

Owing to the domestic situation in Egypt, Macao Post announced that all postal services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Egypt are suspended until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
…

From February 2 until 5p.m. of February 7, the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed three more premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally. During the operation, two overstayers, two forged travel document holders and two illegal immigrants were found while one occupant failed to fulfill his duty of cooperation. In addition, with the assistance of police, 5 people were taken away for further investigation. Since the Cross-departmental Working Team started operations, to date, 1,245 premise-checks were conducted, involving 820 premises, of which 104 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 121 were normal residences. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will continue investigation on unanswered doors, which are suspected to be used to provide accommodation illegally. Meanwhile, during investigations to other cases, PSP has found 23 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has waged a total of 104 sanctions, among which two sanction proceedings have been completed and two operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas. Other cases are in different stages of sanction proceedings. To date, the operations involved 1,057 occupants, among whom 481 were occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 23 overstayers and 18 illegal immigrants. 18 operators, 14 touts, 16 persons who managed the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) and eight occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were seized on site. MGTO has begun sanction proceedings on offenders according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". If the two operators who provided accommodation illegally, who were fined 200 000 patacas, do not pay within the statutory period, the Financial Services Bureau will enforce the collection of fine. Meanwhile, the eight occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each, among which three have paid the fine. For those who fail to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP that the involved persons should pay the fine or their reentry into Macau will be denied. According to the law, operators and persons who manage the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) incur a penalty of up to 800 000 patacas, touts can be fined up to 100 000 patacas, persons who fail to cooperate can be fined up to 20 000 patacas and occupants who fail to cooperate are fined 3 000 patacas. Following the raid to premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, MGTO began sanction proceedings on involved operators, touts and managing staff, and adopted provisional measures to cut the supply of water and electricity to the concerned premises and sealed the doors. Public can also call 2833 3000 to report suspected premises.
…

As a new year comes around and everything looks fresh and cheerful, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) wishes all residents and visitors good health and prosperity in the Year of the Rabbit, and that the tourism industry of Macau would continue to develop and diversify, building the city into a global center of tourism and leisure. MGTO and the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) join hands to organize celebratory activities on the first day of Lunar New Year (Feb 3) at the Ruins of St. Paul's and Senado Square to mark the spring festival and add a festive atmosphere to the city. Visitor arrivals came close to 25 million last year, registering an increase of 14.8% compared with 2009.The number of visitor arrivals to Macau surged from 7.5 million in 1999 to almost 25 million in 2010, a growth of more than 330%.
The "Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta" consolidates Macau's position as a global center of tourism and leisure, and Macau is leveraging this strategic position and development direction. MGTO has also dedicated efforts to showcase Macau’s unique multi-cultural characteristics through various activities and products. Lunar New Year is an important festival in Chinese society and also a peak season for visitors to experience the traditional celebrations in Macau. MGTO and IACM take this opportunity to express New Year greetings to residents and hospitality to visitors. On the first morning of Lunar New Year, Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes, Vice President of IACM, Lei Wai Nong and Deputy Director of MGTO Helena Fernandes, joined by other guests, hosted the eye-dotting ceremony of the golden dragon and lions at the Ruins of St. Paul's and lit firecrackers at Senado Square to mark the celebrations. Guests and officials from MGTO, teamed up with the God of Fortune, greeted the public and distributed "Lai Si" (red packets with lucky money) and souvenirs to residents and visitors. "Lai Si" distributed by the God of Fortune bestow good luck and fortune for the Year of the Rabbit. The crowd also enjoyed lively performance by the folkloric art troupe from Anhui province. During Lunar New Year, MGTO's "Tourism Hotline 2833 3000" maintains its 24-hour operator service to answer tourists' enquiries. MGTO advises visitors to stay at licensed hotels and guesthouses for a pleasant journey. Visitors and residents can enjoy the parade of the 238-meter long golden dragon at major tourist spots. The vibrant dragon and lion dances signal Macau to be as energetic and spirited as these noble creatures in the Year of the Rabbit. The vivacity and gentle characteristics of the rabbit encourage Macau’s residents to live in harmony and work hand in hand for the betterment of Macau. The Lunar New Year celebrations are held on the first and second day of the Lunar New Year. Details of the activities are available on the website of MGTO http://www.macautourism.gov.mo. In keeping with tradition, lucky "Lai Si" will be distributed at MGTO counters during Lunar New Year while stock lasts. Each packet contains a 10-cent coin as a symbol of MGTO's wishes for good luck and prosperity throughout the year. On Lunar New Year's Eve, MGTO staged a splendid fireworks extravaganza set off from barges anchored in waters just off the Macau Tower to usher in the Year of the Rabbit. Thousands of residents and visitors gathered at the waterfront for the magnificent spectacle.
…

In his Lunar New Year Message today, Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On said the Government would continue to promote economic expansion, enhance the livelihood of the people and build Macao an even better place together with the people of Macao. In reminiscence of the Year of the Tiger, Mr Chui said Macao had made achievements in propelling a swift recovery in economy and in ensuring social stability. The Government would continue to bring and share the gains among the people. In these joyful days, we have to care and help socially vulnerable groups and share our happiness with them, he said. Mr Chui also thanked civil servants and people who had to work over the holidays, and he wished everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
…

A survey on the evaluation of Consumer Council’s ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ conducted earlier shows that most consumers and ‘Certified Shops’ and ‘Adherents’ interviewed agreed to increase the number of days of the current monthly ‘No Plastic Bag Day’. Survey details have been published in the latest issue of Consumer Report. In order to better the current ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ scheme, the Council interviewed over 800 consumers and 52 retail stores participating in the scheme for their opinion and statistics, etc. Survey result shows that most interviewees were aware of ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ on 28th of each month, quite a number of consumers said they had reduced the number of plastic bags used since the scheme launched and now had their own shopping bag; however, such data was not reflected from surveys collected from ‘Certified Shops’ and ‘Adherents’. Consumer Council will improve its strategies in promoting ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ base on the result of the said survey. When asked about their opinion on the number of ‘No Plastic Bag Day’, both consumers and ‘Certified Shops’ and ‘Adherents’ participating in the scheme agreed to increase the number of days of the current scheme; most interviewees voted for a weekly scheme, others chose biweekly or three times a month; the suggestion of making every day a ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ gained the 3rd largest number of votes. The Council is now planning to increase the number of days of the said scheme. Consumers International (CI) announced its yearly theme for 2011 to be ‘Consumers for Fair Financial Services’. CI states that ‘consumer financial services are complex and exist in a dynamic and fast changing market which can be challenging for consumers. The issue is made all the more pressing by the addition of 150 million new consumers of financial services to the global economy each year - many in countries with low levels of financial literacy and traditionally weak consumer protection.’ CI therefore announced ‘Consumers for Fair Financial Services’ to be its 2011 theme, and provided suggestions to world leaders to make sure consumers around the world are able to receive fair financial services. CI’s key information is listed in the latest Consumer Report. The latest Consumer Report issue no. 210 also introduces the use of electronic money and electric blanket. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the two offices of the Consumer Council, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources online at the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For inquiries, please call 8988 9315.
…