News

Macao joined China’s delegation in the 62nd World Health Assembly, which opened in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. During the Assembly, international health experts discussed how to prevent influenza pandemic and addressed other global health issues. The latest information presented in the Assembly showed that the Influenza A (H1N1) virus was relatively mild considering its limited mutation capability and similar fatality rate when compared with seasonal influenza, Dr Chan Wai Sin, who led Macao’s delegation, said at a press conference in Macao today. Dr Chan, who is also the Deputy Director of the Health Bureau, also said Tamiflu could effectively prevent the new virus. Another Deputy Director of the Bureau, Dr Cheang Seng Ip, said the five Filipinos under medical observation remained healthy and maintained a stable mood. If no symptoms of illness were developed within the quarantine period, they would be able to leave tomorrow. Medical observation was a useful way to prevent infectious diseases from spreading and the Bureau extended gratitude for their co-operation. The Hospital Conde S. Januário treated 72 children and 29 adults with respiratory illness symptoms today and medical teams at terminals checked body temperatures of more than 121,000 people entering Macao. They also dealt with 66 enquiries To date there is no probable or confirmed human case of influenza A (H1N1) reported in Macao.
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Seven junior high school students from the same class and suffering from respiratory illness were tested negative for Influenza A (H1N1) virus, the Health Bureau announced today. The Bureau received the group infection report yesterday, which stated that the seven students from Form 2C of Escola Secundária Luso-Chinesa Luís Gonzaga Gomes had developed fever, sore throat and cough. They were later tested negative for Influenza A (H1N1) virus. None of them had left Macao recently. The Bureau had instructed the school to always keep its areas clean, sterilise its facilities, maintain good ventilation in all classrooms and strictly prohibit sick students from attending class. Meanwhile, the Tertiary Education Services Office urged Macao students studying abroad to stay alert to the spread of the virus. When they feel sick, they should not take any vehicles for long distance travel and should see a local doctor immediately. If they feel sick when they arrive in Macao, they should report to the medical teams at the terminal. If they feel sick in the two weeks after returning to Macao, they should wear a facemask and see a doctor at the hospital and report their activities abroad. The Hospital Conde S. Januário treated 56 children and 49 adults with respiratory illness symptoms today and medical teams at terminals checked body temperatures of more than 131,000 people entering Macao. They also dealt with 191 enquiries To date there is no probable or confirmed human case of influenza A (H1N1) reported in Macao.
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A number of government departments and institutions conducted an exercise at Macau International Airport today to enhance their responsiveness to Influenza A (H1N1) cases. The exercise, conducted between 4:30 a.m. and about 6:00 a.m. simulated a suspected case on an aircraft, was aimed at enhancing the capability of the participants in dealing with such cases and lowering the probability of transmission of the disease by air transport. The exercise, co-ordinated by the Health Bureau, involved the participation of Unitary Police Service, Macao Customs Service, Public Security Police Force, Judiciary Police, Fire Services Bureau, Civil Aviation Authority, CAM-Macau International Airport Company Ltd., ADA-Administration of Airports, Ltd., Macau Security Company Ltd., Air Macau Company Ltd. and Menzies Macau Airport Services, etc. Meanwhile, Macao Prison announced a host of measures to prevent the disease. All visitors would be required to go through temperature checks before entry and those who enter the living areas of the prisoners or meet them should wear a facemask. Macao Prison would also arrange training sessions for its staff on using protective gear, hold talks for prisoners on disease prevention and prepare quarantine areas for patients. The Hospital Conde S. Januário treated 83 children and 41 adults with respiratory illness symptoms today and medical teams at terminals checked body temperatures of more than 130,000 people entering Macao. They also dealt with 78 enquiries To date there is no probable or confirmed human case of influenza A (H1N1) reported in Macao.
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Macau Government Tourist Office organized a Product Update & Networking Seminar for the Hong Kong M.I.C.E. Industry today at The Mira Hotel Hong Kong. 70 guests from Hong Kong and 32 Macau trade partners participated in the seminar and networked with each other on potential cooperation opportunities. The seminar started with a presentation from MGTO on the general picture of Macau tourism and Why Macau is attractive as a M.I.C.E. destination, then followed by five Macau trade partners giving updates on their new venues and products. The presentation session ended with a briefing on the highly anticipated “Strategic MICE Market Stimulation Program” by the Macau Business Tourism Centre. Corporate travel agents, M.I.C.E. planners and corporate representatives from Hong Kong showed high interest in this program which will benefit potential business travelers to Macau. This is the third time since last year that MGTO hosts a Product Update & Networking Seminar for different sectors of the M.I.C.E. Industry in Hong Kong. The event is proved to serve as a successful platform of networking and business exchange for the industry in Hong Kong and Macau. With the introduction of “Strategic MICE Market Stimulation Program” to the Hong Kong business travel market, it is anticipated that more M.I.C.E. groups from Hong Kong and the region will be attracted to create more business for the Macau industry.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the total number of visitor and non-resident arrivals was 2,500,042 in April 2009. Visitor arrivals totalled 1,867,204, down by 3.5% from April 2008. Analysed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China were 897,335 (48.1% of total visitor arrivals), a year-on-year decrease of 13.5%, with 342,458 travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, down significantly by 42.7% from April 2008 (597,647). Visitors from Taiwan, China (116,335) and Malaysia (31,968) dropped by 6.6% and 24.1% respectively. In light of the Easter holidays, visitors from Hong Kong (612,480) rose by 16.4%, those from Thailand (27,457), the Philippines (26,905) and Singapore (22,994) also increased by 5.6%, 4.5% and 23.3% respectively. Same-day visitors (978,392) accounted for 52.4% of the total visitor arrivals, with 465,881 coming from Mainland China. The cumulative visitor arrivals totalled 7,321,374 in the first four months of 2009, down by 8.1% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (3,655,645) and Taiwan, China (430,195) decreased by 14.0% and 4.2%, while those from Hong Kong (2,345,206), Japan (123,935) and Thailand (103,550) rose by 2.5%, 13.8% and 28.2% respectively. Same-day visitors accounted for 53.4% of the total visitor arrivals, at 3,908,418. Analysed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 3,058,305 in the first four months of 2009, up by 2.3% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour registered a decrease of 23.1% to 2,066,601, but those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa surged by 479.9% to 886,324. Visitor arrivals by land dropped by 15.5% year-on-year to 3,740,943 in the first four months of 2009; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 3,471,003 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (75.6%) and Hong Kong (15.9%). Visitor arrivals by air went down by 5.9% year-on-year to 522,126 in the first four months of 2009. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport decreased by 5.7% to 513,487, with the majority coming from Taiwan, China (38.7%), Mainland China (23.3%), Thailand (8.5%) and Malaysia (8.2%).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the population of Macao was estimated at 546,200 as at 31 March 2009, down by 3,000 from the end of 2008, attributable to the decrease of non-resident workers. In the first quarter of 2009, there were 1,117 live births, down by 15.8% quarter-to-quarter, with male babies accounting for 53.6% (599). The number of mortality cases totalled 458 and the major underlying causes of death were Diseases of the Circulatory System and Neoplasms. Meanwhile, 5 cases of fetal mortality were recorded. The Health Bureau received 1,268 cases of Notifiable diseases in this quarter, consisting mainly of Influenza (446 cases), Varicella (chickenpox) (227 cases) and Hand, Foot and Mouth Diseases (170 cases). In addition, 635 cases of marriage registration were recorded, up by 4.6% over the fourth quarter of 2008. In the first quarter of 2009, there were 605 Chinese immigrants with One-way Exit Permit moving to Macao, an increase of 176 quarter-to-quarter; meanwhile, 444 illegal immigrants were repatriated. Moreover, a total of 1,588 individuals were authorized to reside in Macao, down by 218 quarter-to-quarter. Number of non-resident workers totalled 87,789 at the end of the first quarter, a decrease of 4,372 over the end of 2008.
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Organised by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), co-organised by the Macao Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Association of Macao, Macao Importers and Exporters Association, Association of Knitting and Spinning Industry of Macao, Macao Shipper’s Association, The Macao Association of Banks, Macao Association of Building Contractors and Developers, The Macao Small and Medium Enterprises Association, The Macao Chinese Enterprises Association, Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission, The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, and coordinated by the Macao Convention and Exhibition Association, the Macau Fair and Trade Association and the Association of Advertising Agents of Macau, “The 14th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF)” will be held at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from 22nd to 25th of October 2009 (Thursday – Sunday). This year, there will be around 1,000 booths with an exhibition area of approximately 26,000 sqm. Under the theme of “Diversity – Key To Extending A Decade Of Prosperity”, this year’s MIF aims to give fuller play of Macao’s advantages as a trade and economic service platform to promote Macao’s moderate economic diversification, advance regional and cross-regional co-operation and exchange, help enterprises from Macao, the Mainland and overseas (particularly SMEs) to expand market networks and open up new horizons for business development. Being Macao’s largest annual trade and economic event, and on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR, this year’s MIF will be a showcase of Macao for the last decade: steady economic growth, vigorous development in external trade and investment, regional co-operation and building Macao into a trade and economic service platform, as well as the swift progresses in various sectors of the economy. Besides, the 14th MIF will present Macao’s latest development trends and future direction, which will enable trade visitors and guests from across the world to gain a deeper understanding of Macao and open up new markets through the platform of Macao. Besides, a wide range of preparatory work has been carried out in recruiting trade visitors, enriching exhibition contents, forums and conferences to promote exchanges, business negotiations and joint exploration of business opportunities. In the area of recruitment of exhibitors and trade visitors, this year’s MIF is going to launch numerous new measures, which include: a “Single-Trip, Multi-Stop” Service in collaboration with renowned fairs of the Mainland, a “Trade Visitor Incentive Plan” which provides a series of privileges for overseas trade visitors, and a “Special Privilege Plan” which provides “discounts” and “additional discounts” to early birds or exhibitors who have participated in either of the past two editions of MIF or MIECF. At the same time, this year’s MIF will set up numerous international and regional exhibition pavilions which will be larger in scale than before. There will also be a series of themed pavilions to promote co-operation among industries. With respect to forums and conferences, senior management from different countries and regions will be invited to participate in high level, professional conferences, so as to attract visitors from across the world. Regarding business matching, by strengthening our work with an online project-matching platform, pre-event “matching among delegations”, MIF will strive to help materialize more business deals and project co-operations. The 14th MIF – Features & New Measures
Showcasing Macao’s economic development in the past decade: There will be a themed pavilion showcasing the social construction of the Macao SAR in the past ten years since her establishment, particularly the rapid economic development, the building of a trade and economic service platform, and the course of development in external trade and investment through regional co-operation. Moreover, this year’s MIF is also going to present Macao’s latest market situation and trends and to hold seminars with the theme of Macao’s economic development path and future prospects, in order to present Macao’s direction of development and business opportunities. New measures for recruiting exhibitors and trade visitors
This year’s MIF will launch a series of new measures to recruit trade visitors, which include: n “Single-Trip, Multi-Stop” Service: to encourage the trade visitors of other neighbouring fairs such as “China Yiwu International Commodities Fair”, “106th China Import and Export Fair” and “Shenzhen Toys and Gifts Fair” to participate in this year’s MIF, we will launch a “Single-Trip, Multi-Stop” service, which provides a wide range of services and privileges to renowned enterprises who treat MIF as their merchandizing point, and thus further enhancing MIF’s commercial and trade functions.
n “Trade Visitor Incentive Plan” - In addition to inviting the participation of the government authorities and private enterprises in Mainland China, foreign consulates and trade commissions, international organisations, trade promotion institutes and chambers of commerce, this year’s MIF will offer several types of privileges to qualified trade visitors. Besides, we will appoint overseas sales agents in order to recruit more trade visitors from overseas. n “Special Privilege Plan” - This year’s MIF will also offer new privileges to exhibitors. Besides the 10% early bird discount to exhibitors who apply before 30 July, those who have exhibited at the 12th or 13th MIF, or MIECF will be entitled to an additional 10% discount. Exhibitors of booths with special decoration covering a raw space area of 36 sqm will enjoy other benefits in hotel accommodation and advertising. Promotions carried out at home & abroad to recruit more trade visitors: To further strengthen pre-event external promotion and publicity, and to enable more overseas trade visitors to gain an understanding about the rich contents and privileges of this year’s MIF, the Organiser has scheduled to hold promotional activities in places which have direct flight to Macao, including a number of Mainland cities, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Japan. Meanwhile, the Organiser will carry out promotions by setting up a “Macao Pavilion”, a themed booth or display to promote MIF at a number of exhibitions in the Mainland and several countries in the next few months. Thematic activities to help SMEs in search of business opportunities: To help SMEs to weather the financial crisis by looking for new opportunities under adverse conditions, and subsequent to the “SMEs International Business Days” held during the 13th MIF, the Organiser is planning an array of thematic activities for this year dedicated to local and overseas SMEs, which will include presentations of business opportunities, business meetings among industries and project matching, etc. At the same time, there will continue to be the “SME Exhibition”, comprised of local SMEs, which will help the enterprises promote their products and services to trade visitors from around world, expand market networks and find business partners through the MIF platform. To be co-located with Wine & Gourmet Asia to attract more trade visitors: “Wine & Gourmet Asia” (WGA), an event showcasing fine wines, gourmet and the hospitality industry, became a partner fair of MIF since last year. Having been held in Macao for two years, WGA will be co-located with MIF this year with the objective of gaining synergistic results by jointly attracting a wider visitors source and inviting professional visitors to participate in MIF & WGA at the same time and thereby enhancing the results of both events. This year’s WGA will feature 145 booths with participants from Australia, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, Europe, Spain, Korea and Taiwan. Gathering enterprises from Mainland provinces & Portuguese-speaking countries, Opening up new markets through the Macao platform: In response to the constant broadening and deepening of CEPA’s measures, this year’s MIF has invited a number of Mainland provinces, regions and municipalities to set up themed pavilions, organise delegations and hold trade and economic promotional activities at the MIF this year, so as to exploit new markets and businesses through the trade and economic service platform of Macao. Also, the level of participation of Portuguese-speaking countries will be increased this year. Portugal’s trade promotion institutions and chambers of commerce have been invited to organise the Portuguese enterprises’ participation at MIF. Enriched contents, Expanded Scale
Themed pavilions to present business opportunities: This year, there will be around 1,000 booths with an exhibition area of approximately 26,000 sqm. The major pavilions will include Macao Pavilion, China’s Provinces and Cities Pavilion, EU Pavilion, Portuguese-Speaking Countries Pavilion, Portugal Pavilion, German Guild Hall, and Taiwan Hall. Other specialized trades pavilions include “Digital Imaging & Photography Equipment Pavilion”, “Franchising Pavilion”, “International Investment & Financing Pavilion”, “Wedding Goods & Banquet Services Pavilion”, “International Convention & Exhibition Pavilion”, and “SME Exhibition”, etc.
High-level forums, and professional conferences to promote co-operation: Forums and conferences constitute a major feature of MIF. Every year, high ranking government officials, top management of commercial chambers and business leaders make their presence at MIF to deliver talks on specialized subjects, and discuss regional trade and economic co-operation and strategy for industrial development. The major forums and conferences being planned for this year include: “International Trade and Investment Forum 2009”, “6th World Summit of Chinese Entrepreneurs”, and other forums and conferences with such themes as Macao’s economic development in the past decade, international investment and financing co-operation, regional co-operation of the convention and exhibition trade, franchising, bi-lateral trade and investment, and industrial co-operation between Macao and the Mainland provinces/Portuguese-speaking countries/EU. Business Matching & Buyers’ Corner
In addition to “investment project matching”, “matching among delegations”, and “buyers’ corner”, this year’s MIF will enhance the “online business matching service platform”, in order to promote business co-operation and exchange, and explore business opportunities. “MIF Administrative & Service Centre” to provide services and support The “MIF Administrative & Service Centre”, set up to provide a wide range of services to exhibitors and trade visitors at home and abroad, is located at Macao Business Support Centre, on 20th Floor of China Civil Plaza Building, Alameda Dr. Carlos D’Assumpção no. 263, Macao.
For further information about the 14th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF), please contact us at tel: 853-2882 8711, fax: 853-2882 8722, or visit our website at: www.mif.com.mo
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The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) launched the ‘Macau Festival 2009’ at One U Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (May 20). The launch was officiated by Tunku Dato’ Seri Iskandar Tunku Abdullah, MGTO Representative in Malaysia. Among the invited guests were Macau travel trade, airlines partner and travel industry leaders in Malaysia. As this year marks the 10th Year Anniversary of Macau S.A.R, the 5-days Macau Festival event was organized as part of the “Experience Macau! Celebrations” activities to showcase the unique blend of the western and oriental culture that is so characteristic of Macau. The whole lower concourse area of the One U Shopping Centre was ‘transformed’ to a quaint Piazza with the iconic Ruins of St Paul’s as a background and a ‘turntable’ featuring the miniatures of the Macau World Heritage sites.
At the launch, Tunku Iskandar said “To enable visitors to experience Macau through the ‘Macau Festival’, we have arranged a variety of entertainment and other activities for all, giving the consumers a taste of Macau, where they will discover that Macau is indeed a unique and fascinating destination, one of the premier tourist destinations in Asia Pacific region that must not be missed!” The Macau Festival is being held for five days from 20th to 24th May, 2009 and showcases the historical destination of Macau, with its unique blend of Western and Oriental cultures. Attractions at the festival are aimed at enabling families and individuals to “Experience Macau” and to enjoy the performances and activities lined up which includes Portuguese and Chinese folk dances, games, clowns, lucky draws and free sampling of Macau delicacies. There was also a special booth for sales promotion of tours to Macau by 6 Malaysian travel agencies. There were a wide variety of holiday packages offered such as the Celebrate Macau packages, Macau Walk Hunt, Honeymoon package and Wedding Photography Shoot in Macau, to entice holiday makers. Consumers who purchased a Macau package from any of these travel agencies from 20th to 24th May, 2009 will be entitled for the daily draws where the prizes include return air tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Macau, room nights stay in Macau hotel and many other attractive prizes. As AirAsia has started flight connections between Macau and Penang from March, MGTO organized tourism business session for the travel trade member of the two places to strengthen ties and discover business opportunities to attract more visitors to Macau. Macau continues to attract more Malaysians visitors with the Historic Centre of Macau that exhibits Chinese and Western cultures, lifestyle and unique cuisine, as well as the liberalization of the gaming industry that has attracted investments for world class tourism and MICE facilities in Macau. Malaysia is Macau’s important source of visitors. At present, AirAsia provides direct services from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to Macau.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for April 2009 rose by 2.45% year-on-year to 125.40, of which the price indices of Clothing & Footwear; and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages went up by 11.75% and 6.70% respectively. Among the subgroups of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, notable increase was observed in the price indices of fresh fish (+32.28%) and fruit (+11.75%). For the subgroups of Clothing & Footwear, price indices of women’s clothing (+10.82%) and footwear (+16.76%) registered marked increase. Meanwhile, the price index of Miscellaneous Goods & Services increased by 4.75% due to dearer prices of articles and products for personal care. On the contrary, price index of Transport registered a year-on-year decrease of 10.06% on account of falling prices of gasoline. The CPI-A and CPI-B for April 2009 were 127.25 and 124.86 respectively, up by 2.49% and 2.50% year-on-year. The Composite CPI for April 2009 dropped slightly by 0.01% month-to-month, with the price index of Housing & Fuels decreasing by 0.64%, attributable to the continuous electricity subsidy provided by the Government, reduced tariff clause adjustment on electricity charges and lower rentals for housing. However, arrivals of Summer clothings drove up the price index of Clothing & Footwear by 4.93%. Moreover, the CPI-A decreased by 0.23% whereas the CPI-B increased by 0.02% month-to-month. The average Composite CPI for the first four months of 2009 went up by 3.09% year-on-year. For the 12 months ended April 2009, the average Composite CPI rose by 6.58% over the preceding period. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP3,000 to MOP9,999. The CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP19,999.
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The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) met the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan, on 18 and 19 May 2009 respectively to discuss a new Record of Discussions regarding the air transport market between the two places and the bilateral Air Services Agreement. The meetings were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides renewed the Record of Discussions on 18 May in which commencing March 2010, in addition to operating scheduled air services to all other destinations in Japan, Macao’s airlines can also fly to Tokyo (which is prohibited presently) on a scheduled basis with three frequencies per week. Macao and Japan also initialed the bilateral Air Services Agreement on 19 May 2009, establishing the legal framework for the operation of scheduled air services between the two places. At present, the air services between Macao and Japan are operated based on the Record of Discussions which was signed between the two sides in January 2008. In accordance with this Record of Discussions, the airlines of both sides are allowed to operate scheduled services between Macao and all points of Japan with no limitation on capacity, but for Tokyo, the airlines of Macao do not have the scheduled services right but are only permitted to fly charter flights. During the meeting on 18 May, the two sides therefore focused on the discussion about the operation of scheduled services by Macao’s airlines to Tokyo. The two parties exchanged views and eventually signed a new Record of Discussed. Given the situation that both the Narita Airport and the Haneda Airport are facing slot saturation problem at present, the new Record of Discussions allows Macao’s airlines to fly to the Marita Airport in Tokyo with three weekly frequencies commencing March 2010 when the airport has increased its capacity by that time. In addition, to establish the legal framework for the operation of scheduled services, AACM and MOFA held air consultations on 19 May in which both sides reached consensus on the provisions and initialed the bilateral Air Services Agreement. The Agreement will be officially signed pending the completion of the internal legal procedures of both sides required for bringing the Agreement into force. At both meetings, AACM gave an overview on the Japanese tourist profile in Macao: in accordance with the official statistics, the number of Japanese tourists to Macao increased from 122,184 in 2004 to 370,409 in 2008, with an average increase of 30% year on year. Japan ranked the fifth position in the inbound tourist market in Macao. Despite the global financial crisis resulting from the economic tsunami last year, the number of Japanese tourists to Macao still reported a remarkable growth. Among the Japanese tourists to Macao, only less than 10% came to Macao by air. Given this factual account, both sides agreed there is a big potential in exploring the air transport market between Macao and Japan. The Macao and the Japanese delegations of both sides included representatives from AACM, Air Macao, Viva Macau and CAM-Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. from the Macao side and representatives from MLIT, MOFA, Japan Airlines International, All Nippon Airways and Nippon Cargo Airlines from the Japanese side. The signatories were the President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong, the Director of International Air Transport Division, Civil Aviation Bureau of MLIT, Mr. Hiroshi Narahira and the Director of Japan-China Economic Affairs Division, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, MOFA, Mr. Masashi Ogawa. Air Macau has commenced scheduled operations to Osaka since July 2007 and presently operates a daily service. Viva Macau has started charter services to Tokyo since December 2007 with 2 weekly flights. Both operations have generated good market yields. The Macao delegation also paid a visit to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China on 20 May 2009 which was received by the Minister, Mr. Kong Xuanyou. The Macao delegation thanked the Embassy for its long-term support and assistance rendered to the establishment of the Air Services Agreement between Macao and Japan. The delegation also gave a brief report about the results of the meetings to the Minister who has reiterated the Embassy’s continuous support and assistance to the development of the air transport market between Macao and Japan in the future.
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