News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that employment situation showed continuous improvement. The unemployment rate for November 2009 - January 2010 was 3.0%, down by 0.1 percentage point from October-December 2009; the underemployment rate was 1.7%, down by 0.2 percentage point. Total labour force was 321,400 in November 2009 - January 2010 and the labour force participation rate stood at 70.8%, with the employed population decreasing slightly by 500 over the previous period to 311,900. Analyzed by industry, employment of the Manufacturing Sector and Restaurants & Similar Activities increased from the previous period, while that of Wholesale & Retail Trade registered a decrease. In November 2009 - January 2010, number of the unemployed decreased by about 400 from the previous period to 9,500, with 10.0% (960) being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 0.7 percentage point. In comparison with November 2008 - January 2009, the labour force participation rate dropped by 2.1 percentage points; meanwhile, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate fell by 0.4 and 0.1 percentage point respectively.
…

Under the requirement of the Administrative Regulation No. 3/2005 on Investors, Managerial Personnel, Technical and Professional Qualification Holders Residency Scheme, a total of 784 new applications for investment residency were received by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) in 2009. Among which were 753 cases for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders and 31 cases for major investment and major investment plan. In 2009, 3,173 applications for investment residency were approved, including 2,607 cases for fixed assets purchase, 549 cases for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders and 17 cases for major investment and major investment plan. Breakdown of investment residency applications and approved cases in 2009 are as follows: Statistics of Investment Residency Applications and the Cases and Number of People Approved in 2009
(* Please find the attached file.)
…

The Government today announced the establishment of Government Spokesperson Office to further enhance its communication with the media and the public. The Chief of Office of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Alexis Tam Chon Weng, has been appointed head of the Office and Government Spokesperson. Mr Tam and the Deputy Spokesperson -- Director of Government Information Bureau Mr Victor Chan Chi Ping -- met the press this afternoon to give more information on the new set-up. The Government Spokesperson Office, which is under the supervision of the Chief Executive, is responsible for the co-ordinated and coherent communication of the Government with media organisations and the public, Mr Tam said. The Office is also responsible for co-ordinating the continued establishment and operation of the spokesperson mechanism of the entire government. Mr Tam said the objective of the establishment of this mechanism is to strengthen the communication of the Government with media organisations and the public, and to provide accurate and timely information to reporters. All public bureaux and entities are obliged to co-ordinate with the Office and provide the necessary information and support. The Government Spokesperson may speak on behalf of the Government and hold press conferences. He said all Principal Officials have also appointed their news and public relations co-ordinators to be in charge of the release and promotion of information, while co-ordinators of bureaux are responsible for liaising with reporters, receiving their inquiries and getting replies from their superiors. The Government Information Bureau will provide all necessary support to the establishment and operation of the spokesperson mechanism. Mr Tam said the Office would hold press conferences in due course: he gave an assurance that officials at all levels would retain their contact with media organisations. The Spokesperson Office would issue guidelines to all co-ordinators to further delineate and streamline their duties, he added.
…

Since the Public Security Authority in Mainland announced the “Guidance Notes on Application for Adult Children of Macao Residents in Mainland to Enter Macao for Residence” (hereinafter called “Guidance Notes”) in 2009, the public in Macao from different areas have been showing welcome and appreciation. Nevertheless, different requests were made by some of the Macao residents regarding reunion with their Mainland relatives. They mainly request the SAR Government to recognize their Macao resident status during the time of possessing “Temporary Stay Permit” before obtaining their Macao Resident Card, and to issue a certificate to have their children in Mainland included under the scope of “Adult Children”. In pursuant to the stipulation of Article 22 of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, Mainland residents entering Macao for residence is governed by the Central Government. The Central Government has clearly defined the principle and the scope to settle the issue of “Adult Children” of Macao residents. “Adult Children” refers to the Mainland-born children of Macao residents, who was qualified at the time of applying for family reunion but had become overage during the application process and whose application was declined due to such reason. The abovementioned “Guidance Notes” is framed in accordance with this definition. The SAR Government should enforce and cooperate in line with relevant policy measures of the Central Government. It should be noted that, in accordance with Article 4 (2) of Decree No.29/90/M which governs “Temporary Stay Permit”, the holders of “Temporary Stay Permit” are not recognized as residents. In pursuant to Article 4 (2) of Law No.8/1999 (“Law of Macao SAR Permanent Residents and Right of Abode”), persons who are only allowed to stay are not considered as residing in Macao and hence, their period of stay cannot be counted as ordinarily resident period. Therefore, the Mainland children of Macao residents who possessed “Temporary Stay Permit” and have made the abovementioned request were originally unable to fulfill the requirements for applying to reside in Macao and was not allowed to made such application in those years. As a result, they are not under the scope of “Adult Children” specified in the aforesaid “Guidance Notes”. The SAR Government believes that the issue of “Adult Children” has reached a reasonable and complete settlement. Any Mainland relatives of Macao residents who are not within the scope of “Adult Children” specified in the said “Guidance Notes” must make the application to reside in Macao according to the existing requirements of the Public Security Authority in Mainland.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI (102.14) for January 2010 increased by 0.12% year-on-year. Price indices of Clothing & Footwear; Transport; Miscellaneous Goods & Services; and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 9.95%, 6.99%, 4.51%, and 3.60% respectively, attributable to higher prices of clothing in spite of the seasonal sales, and rising prices of gasoline, gold jewellery, meals bought away from home, fresh fish and vegetables. On the contrary, apart from the 18.95% decrease of the price index of Education, reduced charges for mobile phone services and lower rentals for housing drove the price indices of Communication; and Housing & Fuels down by 3.28% and 2.75% respectively. The CPI-A (101.66) for January 2010 decreased by 0.84% year-on-year, while the CPI-B (102.20) increased by 0.35%. The Composite CPI for January 2010 decreased slightly by 0.03% month-to-month, of which the price indices of Communication and Clothing & Footwear dropped by 3.26% and 2.84% respectively on account of reduced charges for mobile phone services as well as seasonal sales of clothing. However, price indices of Transport and Health increased by 1.25% and 0.69% respectively due to rising prices of gasoline and higher charges for medical consultation. Meanwhile, the CPI-A rose marginally by 0.02% month-to-month, while the CPI-B decreased by 0.06%. For the 12 months ended January 2010, the average Composite CPI rose by 0.71% over the preceding period. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The 2008/2009 based CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the number of visitor and non-resident arrivals was 2,533,068 in January 2010; visitor arrivals totalled 2,046,556, up by 6.8% year-on-year. Same-day visitors (1,040,977) accounted for 50.9% of the total visitor arrivals, with 565,212 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China increased by 18.9% year-on-year to 1,131,660 (55.3% of total visitor arrivals), with 447,681 travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, down by 21.7% from January 2009 (571,930). Visitors from Taiwan, China (115,673), Japan (35,641), Republic of Korea (30,302) and Malaysia (26,718) rose by 11.8%, 11.9%, 63.9% and 31.2% respectively; however, those from Hong Kong (544,603) registered a decrease of 15.7%. Analysed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 799,594 in January 2010, down slightly by 0.2% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour decreased by 8.7% to 511,155 whereas those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa increased by 27.4% to 262,655. Visitor arrivals by land was 1,098,588, up by 9.9% year-on-year, those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 1,017,313 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (80.9%) and Hong Kong (11.9%). Visitor arrivals by air rose by 30.2% year-on-year to 148,374. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport increased by 31.8% to 146,214, with the majority coming from Taiwan, China (36.9%), Mainland China (30.1%) and Malaysia (7.0%).
…

The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, had expressed his condolences to the Portuguese people over the tragedy caused by floods on Madeira island. In a letter to the Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr José Sócrates, on Monday, Mr Chui expressed his heartfelt compassion to the people in the time of sadness. He wished them speedy and smooth rescue operations in the affected areas.
…

Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On said today the Government attached much importance to enhancing the environment of people living in the older districts. Mr Chui said this as he visited a number of older districts today and spoke to residents and representatives of community associations. Most of the residents told Mr Chui they hoped the Government could improve the business environment, solve the problem of flooding during torrential downpours and traffic congestion. Mr Chui said the Government would analyse their views and follow up on the issues according to their priorities. He re-assured them that the Government attached much importance to issues affecting the quality of lives of the residents in the older districts, including housing, traffic and social security.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that value of retail sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 was MOP 6.48 billion, for which retail sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery took the largest share of 23% of the total, at MOP 1.48 billion. Retail sales of Goods in Department Stores accounted for 16%, Adults' Clothing (10%), Goods in Supermarkets (8%), Motor Vehicles (7%), Cosmetics and Sanitary Articles (3%), Automotive Fuels (3%), Communication Equipment (3%) and Goods in Pharmacies (3%). Value of retail sales for the fourth quarter surged by 28% from a year earlier (5.07 billion) and 18% from the revised MOP 5.52 billion in the third quarter of 2009. Total value of retail sales for the whole year of 2009 amounted to MOP 22.11 billion, up by 16% over 2008, with notable increase in the retail sales of Goods in Department Stores (+41%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+33%) and Adults' Clothing (+25%); however, sales of Fuels for Household Use and Automotive Fuels decreased by 24% and 22% respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2009, about 34% of the retailers reported decrease in the sales volume from the third quarter, down by 19 percentage points from the previous quarter; 66% reported that the sales volume remained stable or showed increase. In terms of retail prices, about 61% reported that the prices were stable, 18% stated that the prices increased whereas 21% reported the prices decreased. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, about 58% said that the stock level was normal in the fourth quarter of 2009, while 26% indicated that the stock level was low. Regarding the business outlook for the first quarter of 2010, about 75% expect sales volume will increase or remain stable compared with the fourth quarter of 2009 with 25% expecting a decrease. Meanwhile, about 80% expect the retail prices will remain stable or increase, while 20% expect a decrease. After removing the effect of price changes, volume of retail sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 rose by 19.2% year-on-year, of which sales volume of Goods in Department Stores; and Motor Vehicles increased by 32.9% and 30.8% respectively; on the contrary, sales volume of Automotive Fuels and Fuels for Household Use decreased by 10.0% and 5.9%. Compared with the third quarter, sales volume in the fourth quarter registered a 13.3% increase. For the whole year of 2009, retail sales volume rose by 12.4% from 2008.
…

More than a hundred world experts in aeronautical meteorology attended the 14th session of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (CAeM) in Hong Kong. On behalf of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) sent representatives to attend the meeting. Through participation in international meetings and interchange of technical knowledge with experts around the world, SMG has been improving the application of meteorology into aviation industry, which helps to ensure the safety of aviation activities more effectively. The session was held during 3rd to 10th February in Hong Kong, which marks the first time a major international meeting on aeronautical meteorology in Asia. Representatives of SMG included sub-director Mr. António Viseu and the director of the Center for Aeronautical Meteorology Mr. Ku Chi Meng. Meteorological information is important to aviation activities. SMG being the aviation servicing department to the Macao International Airport has always been committed to provide a high standard of weather service for aviation. In addition to providing precise weather forecasts and warnings to aviation working units, SMG has also been enhancing their level of scientific knowledge in order to ensure a smooth operation for air traffics. The Macao SAR has become a Member of the World Meteorological Organization since 1996, and CAeM is one of the technical commissions of WMO. The meeting is held every four years to discuss the progress and future development in the provision of aviation weather services, as well as to standardize the techniques and operational procedures of the Members. The Secretary-General of WMO, Michel Jarraud, highlighted at the opening ceremony the “significant impacts on providing aviation weather services in the 21st century”. These included establishing standards of competence for the meteorological personnel serving in the aviation industry, extending the coverage of weather forecasts in airspace and implementing quality management system for aviation weather service. On the other hand, the meeting also addressed the link between aviation and climate. In view of the anticipated increase in extreme weather, different regions should consider improving their weather warnings mechanisms accordingly.
…