News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for April-June 2009 was 3.6% and the underemployment rate was 1.8%, both up slightly by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (March-May 2009). Total labour force held stable from the previous period, at 333,000 in April-June 2009, and the labour force participation rate stayed at 72.6%. The employed population totalled 321,000 and the number of the unemployed was 12,000, of which 9.4% (1,100) were fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 0.5 percentage point over the previous period. Analysed by industry, the number of persons working in Construction and the Gaming Sector decreased from the preceding period, while that in Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities registered an increase. In comparison with April-June 2008, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate went up by 0.8 and 0.2 percentage point respectively, while the labour force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage point. In the second quarter of 2009, the unemployment rate of local residents stood at 4.5%, down by 0.3 percentage point over the first quarter of 2009; the labour force participation rate of local residents rose by 0.3 percentage point to 67.3%.
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Macao today reported five new local and two imported Influenza A (H1N1) cases, taking the total number of such cases to 165. The seven patients, five males and two females, were aged between six and 45. One of the local cases was summer chess class student of a middle and primary school, with four other student of that class having been confirmed to have the virus previously. One of the patients confirmed today had contacted with an infected students of that class. A nurse who worked for Kiang Wu Hospital was also infected, but preliminary investigation showed that she did not contract the virus at work. To date Macao had reported 165 Influenza A (H1N1) cases, with 13 patients receiving treatment. One patient had recovered and was discharged from hospital today, taking the total number of discharged patients to 138. Macao’s pandemic alert remained at Level VI, Blue, which indicated that there were no fatal cases and the spread of the virus was moderate.
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Three local and one imported new Influenza A (H1N1) cases were found in Macao, taking the total number of such cases to 158. The four patients, two males and two females, were aged between ten and 19. The three local cases were summer chess class students of a middle and primary school. One other student of that class had been confirmed to have the virus on Friday and the Health Bureau had ordered the class to be suspended. To date Macao had reported 158 Influenza A (H1N1) cases, with 10 patients receiving treatment. Four patients had recovered and were discharged from hospital today, taking the total number of discharged patients to 124. Macao’s pandemic alert remained at Level VI, Blue, which indicated that there were no fatal cases and the spread of the virus was moderate.
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Five new Influenza A (H1N1) cases were found in Macao, taking the total number of such cases to 154. The five patients, three female and two males, were aged between four and 16. Two of the confirmed patients had visited Hong Kong for exchanges with five other classmates last week, three of which had been confirmed to have the virus yesterday. To date Macao had reported 154 Influenza A (H1N1) cases, with 13 patients receiving treatment. Seven patients had recovered and were discharged from hospital today, taking the total number of discharged patients to 120. Macao’s pandemic alert remained at Level VI, Blue, which indicated that there were no fatal cases and the spread of the virus was moderate.
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Four new Influenza A (H1N1) cases were found in Macao, taking the total number of such cases to 143. The four patients, one male and three females, were aged between seven and 56. One of the infected patients was a medical assistant who worked for the emergency room division of Hospital Conde S. Januário. The assistant had worked at the special emergency room on Sunday and escorted confirmed Influenza A (H1N1) patients to quarantine wards. The assistant developed flu symptoms on Monday and was tested positive for the virus yesterday evening. To date Macao had reported 143 Influenza A (H1N1) cases, with 22 patients receiving treatment. Four patients had recovered and were discharged from hospital today, taking the total number of discharged patients to 104. Macao’s pandemic alert remained at Level VI, Blue, which indicated that there were no fatal cases and the spread of the virus was moderate.
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Mr Chui Sai On was elected Third-term Chief Executive after getting 282 votes today, or 94 per cent of the votes from the 300-member Election Committee. The Third-term Chief Executive Election was held at the Macao East Asian Games Dome at 10 am and lasted two hours. A total of 297 members of the Election Committee attended with 296 members casting their votes. There were 14 blank votes. After the general counting of votes by the General Counting Committee, the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Committee for the Election of the Chief Executive (EACCE), Mr Chu Kin, announced that Mr Chui Sai On had won more than 50 per cent of the votes of the total number of members of Election Committee, and accordingly announced that Mr Chui had been elected as the Third-term Chief Executive. The election result will be gazetted after confirmation by the Court of Final Appeal. At a press conference after the election, Mr Chui extended his gratitude to all members of the Election Committee for their support and encouragement, and to all the citizens for the care and concern extended to him. “I promise again that I shall unswervingly execute the principle of ‘Macao people governing Macao’ with ‘a high degree of autonomy’ under ‘One country two systems’, comprehensively implement the Basic Law of Macao and do my best to put my political platform into practice,” Mr Chui said. “I shall draw on the suggestions from various sectors of the community and the citizens on my political platform during the election campaign, continue to consult extensively the views of the general public and stay closely connected with the life of the people. “Together with my fellow citizens, we shall enhance the quality of life for the people and make Macao a great place to live and work,” he said. Mr Chui will assume office on 20 December following appointment by the Central Government.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, congratulated Mr Chui Sai On today for his election as the Third-term Chief Executive-elect, according to a press release published by the Macao SAR Government. Mr Ho said that the Macao SAR Government would collaborate with Mr Chui in forming the new government and guarantee a smooth transition. The current government would also create the best environment and conditions for the new government, Mr Ho said. The election demonstrated the successful implementation of the principles of “One country, two systems”, “Macao people governing Macao” and “a high degree of autonomy”. He also expressed his gratitude for the Electoral Affairs Committee for the Election of the Chief Executive for the successful organisation of the election.
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The Third-term Chief Executive Election of the Macao SAR will be held at the Macao East Asian Games Dome at 10:00, 26th July. Members of the 300-member Election Committee will cast their votes and elect the Third-term Chief Executive. In accordance with the Chief Executive Election Law, the candidate should obtain more than 150 votes to be elected as the Third-term Chief Executive. The election will be broadcast live on the website of the Chief Executive Election (http://www.ece.gov.mo) and Government Portal Website (http://www.gov.mo). Teledifusão de Macao and Radio Macau will also carry live broadcasts of the election.
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In the business world, sales of products can be directly influenced by pricing. Therefore, a correct pricing strategy is very important to increase revenue efficiency. Institute For Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) and Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI) co-organised an Executive Development Programme in “Strategic Pricing for Hotels: Leveraging Consumer and Marketing Knowledge to Enhance Revenue” on 23 and 24 July to probe into the subject. The course format involved class discussion, case studies, lecture and simple mathematical analysis. The following topics were discussed: · What is price and how to change prices
· Components of value and how to improve the perceptions of value in order to earn higher prices
· How to use consumer research to determine consumers’ willingness to pay
· Consumer psychology and decision making and how firms can use this knowledge to make better pricing decisions
· How to understand market positioning and the competitive framework within which the firm operates Dr. Shoemaker is the Donald Hubbs Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean of Research of the University of Houston’s Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. He holds a PhD from Cornell University in the School of Hotel Administration. Dr. Shoemaker teaches Strategic Pricing for Hotels: Leveraging Consumer and Marketing Knowledge to Enhance Revenue, Customer Relationship Management and Frequency Marketing, Strategic Marketing for Hotels and Restaurants, and Customer Attitudes and Behaviours. His research interests include the antecedents and consequences of consumer loyalty, loyalty programs, and strategic pricing and revenue management. Prior to moving to the University of Houston, Dr. Shoemaker taught at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Courses taught include strategy, basic statistics, consumer behaviour, research methods, multivariate statistics, and services marketing. His research has won numerous awards, and has appeared in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Journal of Travel Research, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administrative Quarterly, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Gaming and Wagering Business, Journal of Restaurant and Foodservice Marketing, and Harvard Business School Case Study. He has also published two textbooks on hospitality marketing and is currently working on a third textbook for Prentice Hall with a working title of Pricing and Revenue Management in Service Industry. This is the third Executive Development Programme (EDP) co-hosted by the IFT and CNI. In March 2008, IFT and CNI co-organised a two-day EDP on “Revenue Management”. These programmes have received great support from the industry. Senior executives from over 20 establishments from the hotel, tourism, finance and education sectors participated in the programmes. To provide more diversified training to the industry, IFT and CNI co-organised the EDP to allow the participants to learn techniques in increasing revenue by better understanding customers’ consumption behaviour and how to incorporate pricing decisions into the overall strategy of the firm.
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The distribution under 2009 Wealth Partaking Scheme of Macao Special Administrative Region was launched in the middle of May this year and it proceeded smoothly after 10 weeks of implementation. Holders of valid or renewable Macao SAR identity cards as at 31st December 2008 are beneficiaries of the Wealth Partaking Scheme, i.e., every Macao SAR permanent and non-permanent resident can be granted 6,000 patacas and 3,600 patacas respectively. During the months of May and June, the SAR government paid the cash premium by bank transfer to 82,063 people, among which 18,592 are beneficiaries of financial assistance from the Social Welfare Bureau, teaching staffs receiving direct subsidy as well as students in tertiary education receiving student aid from the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Student Benefits Fund), 39,009 persons receiving subsidy for senior citizens, 24,462 civil servants, retired civil servants receiving retirement pension and other persons receiving survivor pension. The remaining others received their crossed cheques by post during ten weeks from 18th May to 24th July, according to the age group. Ever since the implementation of the Scheme for 2009 until 20th July, the SAR government posted 464,742 cheques. Among which, a total of 8,106 cheques were recalled after delivery due to various reasons. Until now, 4,701 cheques remained undelivered and are kept in the Identification Affairs Bureau of which 3,874 of them have been claimed. Citizens can claim their cheques from the Bureau within the three-year cash period. 297,342 number of cheques were cashed, representing 64% of the total. To assist the implementation of this Scheme, a Support Centre for Wealth Partaking Disbursement was set up. Since its establishment in May, a total of 29,342 enquiries were entertained, of which 15,113 were handled by telephone, while personal visits accounted for 13,788 and 441 people used email. Notwithstanding the disbursement of 2009 Wealth Partaking Scheme came to an end, the Support Centre will remain in service until 30th August 2009. Any assistance and enquiries related to the Scheme can be put through by calling the hotline no. 2822 5000. The opening hours of the Centre are 7 days a week (except public holiday), 09:00 am to 18:00 pm (no lunch break). The success of the cash disbursement relied on the support, help and coordination of different sectors. In view of this, the SAR government expressed sincere gratitude to various associations, banks and different sectors of the community for their efforts made.
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