News

The Health Bureau today urged the public to observe good personal and food hygiene, following the discovery of the avian flu virus in four wet markets in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Department of Health alerted Macao this evening of their decision to cull all live chickens at retail stalls and shops. The Health Bureau said it would keep close contact with the Hong Kong health authorities, and in monitoring the spread of the virus in the region and put into operation more preventive measures if necessary. The Bureau had also stepped up its surveillance on influenza and pneumonia cases. All doctors, hospitals and clinics have been told to monitor signs and symptoms of avian flu and report any suspected case to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of the Health Bureau immediately. The Bureau has set up a hotline for enquiries about avian flu: 28561122. The hotline is manned from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from 11 June to 15 June.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that Macao registered 450,017 visitor arrivals in package tours in April 2008, up by 27.2% from a year earlier. Visitors from Mainland China (301,892) and Southeast Asia (45,373) surged by 24.1% and 146.8% year-on-year, while those from Hong Kong (31,339) dropped by 15.6%. In the first four months of 2008, visitors arrived in package tours grew by 16.9% over the same period of 2007 to 1,647,576. The number of Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours in April 2008 decreased by 14.6% year-on-year to 17,084. Mainland China (75.7%), Taiwan, China (6.0%) and Thailand (5.8%) were three of the most popular tour itineraries. In the first four months of 2008, Macao residents travelling in package tours rose by 9.7% over the same period of 2007 to 70,359. Meanwhile, 29,105 residents travelled outbound under individual arrangements using services provided by travel agencies, up by 27.5% over April 2007. Hong Kong (39.8%), Mainland China (27.4%) and Taiwan, China (10.6%) were the major destinations. In the first four months of 2008, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements rose by 19.6% year-on-year to 120,741. At the end of April 2008, the total number of guest rooms available in the hotel sector grew by 3,146 (+24.1%) from a year earlier to 16,195 rooms. In April 2008, a total of 544,467 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.0%; the majority of the guests came from Mainland China (50.5%) and Hong Kong (22.0%). Attributable to the rising number of guest rooms, the average hotel occupancy rate dropped by 3.8 percentage points to 75.4%, with 4-star hotels leading at 82.4%; in addition, the average length of stay of hotel guests extended by 0.2 night to 1.3 nights. Total number of hotel guests reached 2,153,419 in the first four months of 2008, up by 17.4% over the same period of 2007. In the first four months of 2008, visitor-guests staying in hotels accounted for 43.1% of the total number of tourists, up from 42.5% in the same quarter of 2007.
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Portuguese-Speaking Countries Pavilion – Jointly organized by IPIM and the Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries, this Pavilion aims to help the building of Macao into a trade and economic service platform between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries. Statistics show that in the first semester this year, the value of imports and exports between China and Portuguese-speaking countries amounted to USD 15.296 billion, representing a net increase of USD 7.252 billion or 90.2% over the same period last year. MIF is actively advancing its advantages as a trade and economic co-operation service platform by assisting enterprises from the Mainland China and Macao to exploit new markets in the Portuguese-speaking countries, promoting import and export trade and at the same time attracting more investors, entrepreneurs and professional buyers from Portuguese-speaking countries to come to Macao for product sourcing.
Portugal Pavilion – Last year, API and ICEP merged to form AICEP, which is responsible for the promotion of trade and investment, import and export and assisting the enterprises in foreign investment. With the support of AICEP and the major chambers of commerce of Portugal, MIF attracts every year entrepreneurs from Portugal to Macao to conduct business negotiations and display Portuguese products and technologies. EU Pavilion – At the 12th MIF, with the support of the Commission of the European Community in Hong Kong, this Pavilion attracted the participation of 11 entities, namely the consulates and commercial services of Austria, Belgium, Czech, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and UK, Euro-Info Centre Macau and Institute of European Studies of Macau. This Pavilion will make its presence again in this year’s MIF and will assist the enterprises in understanding EU’s trade and economic policies, investment environment, co-operation channels and product information, etc. International Trade and Investment Promotion Institutions Pavilion – This Pavilion will help strengthen the ties between Macao and the trade promotion institutions from all over world. International Convention and Exhibition Pavilion – To cope with the development of the convention and exhibition industry of Macao, this year’s MIF will establish the International Convention and Exhibition Pavilion to attract international convention and exhibition groups to Macao to gain more in-depth knowledge about the favourable conditions of Macao for developing into a centre for convention and exhibition, so as to develop more opportunities for co-operation.
2010 Shanghai World Expo Pavilion – 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be held from 1 May to 31 October in 2010 in the region between the Nanpu Bridge and Lupu Bridge along both sides of Huangpu River in Shanghai, with the theme of “Better City, Better Life”. The Expo, a mega project extending a vast area of 5.28 square km, will be represented at this year’s MIF with a themed pavilion to showcase its plans and contents.
Franchise/Agency Business Pavilion – By introducing franchise/agency business pavilion, MIF will provide local and Mainland enterprises with new business development opportunities. In recent years, it has been seen that more and more brand names have adopted this business model to expand their business. In fact, the enterprises in Macao can also make use of this model to diversify their business and enter the Mainland market, and hence sparkling new dynamics for growth. Themed Pavilions – This year, there will be a “Digital Technology Pavilion” featuring world renowned brand name digital and photographic equipment and products. Meanwhile, “Tourism and Leisure Products Pavilion” will make its presence again this year. Subsidy to SME’s for participation in MIF MIF is keen to help local Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) in finding co-operation partners, conducting promotion and publicity and introducing new products and technologies. Last year, the new SME Pavilion co-organized by Macao Chamber of Commerce and IPIM met with very encouraging response from local SME’s. All the 118 booths were sold out. The MIF this year will again set up this Pavilion and expand it moderately in order increase the level of participation and attractiveness. Initially, there will be 140 booths. To support the local SME’s and encourage them to make use of the MIF platform to open up new business opportunities, IPIM will offer local SME’s subsidy for their participation in MIF. The amount of subsidy for each booth will be MOP 5,800.00, which means that the charges for a 9 square metre booth will be MOP 5,000.00. MIF welcomes the participation of local SME’s to take the chance to develop new business opportunities. “On-site Activities Centre” This year’s MIF will introduce an “On-site Activities Centre”, which will provide the commercial chambers and participating enterprises a dynamic platform to promote their latest products and technologies, hence enriching the contents and promotion channels of the Fair. Forums & Conferences Forums and conference constitute a major feature of MIF. Every year, MIF invites top government officials, leaders of commercial chambers and different business sectors to participate in our event to jointly promote regional and cross-regional trade and economic co-operation. According to our plan, the major forums and conferences for this year include “International Trade and Investment Forum 2008”, “Macao International Convention and Exhibition CEO Conference 2008”, “Forum of Exhibition Co-operation of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao 2008”, and “Informatics Forum”. By adopting the approach of “promoting exhibition with convention”, this year’s MIF will organize more international conferences to attract more international buyers, investors and corporate representatives to come to Macao. Meanwhile, “co-operation between convention and exhibition” will help bring in more conferences and exhibitions to Macao. In fact, the “Investment Environment Presentations” and “Professional Presentations” held every year at the MIF have brought in a large number of professional visitors. By taking part in the above meetings, participants can gain knowledge about the latest investment environment, policies and regulations and market information. Business Matching & Purchase Negotiations Business Matching This year, more efforts will be put in the collection of business matching and investment projects so as to expand the volume of matching. In addition to “on-site matching” and “off-site matching”, this year’s MIF will reinforce “investment project matching” and “delegation matching”. The organiser of MIF is also planning to collect investment projects from the authorities in mainland China, with whom MIF maintains connections, including departments of commerce, investment promotion bureaus, foreign trade and investment co-operation bureaus, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and investment centers, with the intention to promote the efficiency of MIF and hence Macao’s trade and economic development. Buyers’ Corner Moreover, the organiser is going to arrange visits of local and overseas buyer delegations, with an aim to provide the exhibitors and participants with more opportunities of purchase negotiation. MIF welcomes the business sector of Macao to provide projection information for arranging business matching service. Contact person: Mr. Tylor Ian, IPIM at tel: 853-8798 9297. Specialized Sourcing Seminars To improve the professional level of the MIF and to provide a direct link between the buyers and suppliers, MIF will again organize “Specialized Sourcing Seminars” which serves as a direct exchange platform to the buyers and suppliers. Speakers will come from local and international sourcing groups who will brief participating suppliers about the international trends of sourcing and purchasing needs, followed by interaction and exchange. Examples of specialized sourcing seminars held in the past include “China and the Portuguese-Speaking Countries-Products Sourcing – 2007” and “Buyers’ Briefing for Construction Materials Sector”. Supporting Services
Online Pre-registration Since its introduction last year, this service has received favourable response from users. This year, MIF will continue to provide online pre-registration service for professional visitors. For more information, please visit our website at: www.mif.com.mo
Improved Online Services To offer more quality supporting services to exhibitors and participants, the official website of this year’s MIF will provide a wide range of services, including general information, exhibitors services, professional visitors services and business matching services. Users may also send out invitation letters from our website, make online inquiries about exhibitors’ information, shuttle buses, official hotels, forwarding service and flights to Macao.
On-site Searching Service
This year, the organiser is going to install computer terminals at the MIF venue through which participants can search for exhibitors’ products and services. Professional visitors or buyers can instantly obtain the booth number and zone of the exhibitors they are looking for, thus enhancing the effectiveness of business matching.
Venue management to be reinforced MIF will establish a regulatory and complaint mechanism at the venue this year, and will make every effort to protect intellectual property rights, handle complaints and inspect products, with the goal of improving the professional level of the Fair.
All Round Ancillary Services
This year’s MIF will continue to improve the various ancillary services. In addition to “Media Centre”, “Business Centre”, “Registration Centre”, “Agreement Signing Centre”, “Business Matching Centre” and “Buyer’s Corner”, there will be a “Small and Medium Enterprises Service Counter” dedicated to provide on-site consulting service to local SME’s. Other ancillary services include “telecommunications service”, “postal service”, “travel service’, “translation service”, “shuttle bus service” and “on-site transportation service”.
More Convenient Local Transportation To cope with the needs of the participants, this year’s MIF will improve the transportation arrangement to and from the MIF venue, including the extension of the service hours of shuttle buses to 7:00 PM, increasing the frequency of buses to and from official hotels to every 30 minutes, so as to encourage more participants to make use of the official transportation of the MIF and thus minimize the need for car park space at the venue. Meanwhile, more publicity will be made about the routes of the shuttle buses.
MIF Administrative & Service Centre Set Up
Committed to Providing Quality Service to Participants
The MIF Administrative & Service Centre, located on 20th Floor of China Civil Plaza Building at Alameda Dr. Carlos D’Assumpção No. 263, is now open for service, and is committed to providing local and overseas exhibitors and participants with quality service.
For further information about the 13th 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 Largest International Economic and Trade Event in Macao
Dedicated to Helping You Develop New Business Opportunities 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 13th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF)” will be held at The Cotai StripTM Convention and Exhibition Center at the Venetian® Macao from 23rd to 26th of October 2008. Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) is the largest trade and economic event held annually in Macao. MIF serves as your platform to network with international companies and businesspeople and is a hub for trade and investment promotion, publicity of your products and services, and establishment of business partnerships. Since its first launch, MIF has all along been strongly supported by the business sector of Macao. Last year, the 12th MIF was graced by the presence of 27 local chambers of commerce who organised activities at the Fair, and attracted successfully 236 delegations from 50 countries and regions, who participated as exhibitors and/or attendees of forums/conferences. MIF serves to promote Macao’s advantage as a business service platform. The theme of this year’s MIF is “Macao: An Efficient Business Platform to Leverage the Advantages of Regional Co-operation.” With the deepening of regional co-operation, it helps to bring forth new dynamics for economic growth. With the completion of numerous large investment projects in Macao, it has generated tremendous trade and investment opportunities, favorable to promoting co-operation with peripheral industries and neighbouring regions. With regard to exhibitions, this year’s MIF will enrich the contents of the various pavilions. The main pavilions include China’s Provinces and Cities Pavilion, Macao Pavilion, EU Pavilion, Portuguese-Speaking Countries Pavilion, Portugal Pavilion, International Trade and Investment Promotion Institutions Pavilion, International Convention and Exhibition Pavilion and a number of themed products pavilions. This year, MIF is intending to establish some new pavilions, namely “2010 Shanghai World Expo Pavilion”, “Franchise/Agency Business Pavilion” and “Taiwan Pavilion”. Regarding forums and conferences, by adopting the approach of “promoting exhibition with convention”, this year’s MIF will organize trade and economic conferences, and forums on co-operation in the convention and exhibition industry, which will help to bring in visitors from different countries and regions. As for business matching, this year’s MIF will introduce “delegation matching” which is a more sophisticated system for business matching service. Meanwhile, MIF will reinforce the on-site information management system. Participants can obtain information about the exhibitor’s industry and booth location via the on-site computer terminals, which facilitates the process of purchase negotiations. With respect to the arrangement of activities, this year’s MIF will introduce an “on-site activities centre”, which will provide space for the chambers of commerce and exhibitors to demonstrate their strength with a variety of shows and displays, hence contributing to increasing the attractiveness of the Fair. Extensive Promotion Activities Being Rolled Out
Attracting More Trade Visitors to Take Part in MIF Until now, IPIM has sent out over 10,000 invitation letters to the government departments and private enterprises in Mainland China, overseas consulates and commercial services, international organisations, trade promotion institutes, chambers of commerce, multinational corporations and enterprises. Since the end of last year, MIF has been actively carrying out external promotion and publicity work, including the setting up of exhibition booth and organization of promotional activities in such large trade and economic exchange activities as “12th East-West China Co-operation & Investment Trade Fair” of Xi’an, “Canton Fair” (103rd China Import and Export Fair) of Guangzhou, “3rd Expo Central China” of Wuhan, and “Forum of Enterprises for Trade and Economic Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries” of Cape Verde. Besides, MIF has been carrying out cross promotion and radiative promotion through co-operation partners and partner fairs, such as “China Hi-Tech Fair” organized by several ministries and authorities of the Mainland including Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology, “Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo” organized by The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, “International Fair of Maputo” organized by Institute of Export Promotion of Mozambique, and “China International Fair for Investment and Trade” organized by Ministry of Commerce of China. In addition, IPIM will hold two promotional activities for MIF in Hong Kong and Guangzhou later in this month, and will announce or update the latest information about MIF through such media as newspapers, magazines, internet websites, and outdoor advertisements. IPIM will hold two promotional activities for MIF in Hong Kong and Guangzhou later month. Besides, IPIM will take every opportunity to promote MIF in the provinces of Mainland China, Portuguese-Speaking Countries, EU countries, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. With the further improvement in the number of flight routes and transport facilities, MIF will liaise with countries and regions which have direct flights to Macao and invite their chambers of commerce to organise trade and economic delegations to participate in the Fair, to attract more trade visitors who will learn about the investment environment and co-operation opportunities in Macao. The co-ordinators of the 13th MIF, namely the Macao Convention and Exhibition Association, the Macau Fair and Trade Association and the Association of Advertising Agents of Macau are giving their full support in promotion work, by the use of emails, direct mails and promotion plan, to convey news about the MIF to the above mentioned target organisations. In Macao, the organiser will publicize the latest news about the MIF through advertisements in newspapers and electronic media, outdoor advertisements, and the support of chambers of commerce, with the aim of expanding the reach to all sectors of Macao. Main Pavilions
China’s Provinces and Cities Pavilion – With the deepening of the implementation of CEPA, it has provided local and overseas enterprises with broader market and facilitating measures. MIF, being a platform to promote regional trade and investment, will provide participants with an opportunity to understand in greater depth the investment policies, development trend, investment environment and investment hot spots. Macao Pavilion – This pavilion comprises the “Macao Pavilion” organised by IPIM, “Macao Pavilion for Commerce and Industry” featuring the commerce and industry of Macao and “Macao – An Ideal Place to Live” which showcases the real estate industry of Macao. This Pavilion provides a comprehensive overview of the traditional and new industries in Macao, as well as participating local corporations and enterprises. For registration, please call 2882-8711.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah said today that the Portuguese community is one of the most important components of the society and that they have made great contributions in helping build the Macao SAR with one heart. Mr Ho made this remark when he attended the reception this evening held by the Portuguese Consulate General to celebrate the Portugal Day, Camoes Day and the Portuguese Community Day. He said he appreciated the Portuguese community's generosity for the donation to the Sichuan’s earthquake victims. Mr Ho also welcomed the visiting Secretary of State of Portugal, Dr. Filipe Baptista. He said the SAR Government would act according to the spirit of the Basic Law andd that all Macao residents, including members of Portuguese community, could live happily in Macao. Mr Ho also wished the Portugal national team would get the best position in Euro2008, and as well as in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
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Following the discovery of the deadly H5N1 virus in chickens in a market in Hong Kong, the Health Bureau and the Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau have met today to discuss ways to step up prevention measures. Though the sources of poultry imports are different from that of Hong Kong, Macao authorities will closely monitor the latest situation and to implement contingency plans accordingly. The authorities said monitoring measures would be in force continuously, such as exchanging information with the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization, and monitoring incoming passengers’ body temperatures at all checkpoints.
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The SAR Government has sent a second team comprising 21 medical professionals from orthopaedics and infectious disease departments to help the victims of the killer earthquake in Sichuan. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Chui Sai On, was at the airport this morning when the team headed for two hospitals in Nanchong. The Director of the Health Bureau, Mr Lei Chin Ion said the team brought them medical equipment and medicines.
He said rescue work in the disaster area had entered into another stage and that the Government would soon decide if it would be necessary to send a third medical team, depending on the situation in the affected region. After fierce earthquakes rocked Sichuan on 12 May, Macao sent its first medical team to Chengdu on 23 May. To date more than 500 medical professionals have volunteered to go and help the victims.
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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, reasserted today the SAR Government would not tolerate any gaming operator carrying on business in breach of the gaming law. He was commenting on a case in which a managing director of a gaming company who resigned in April and the post has not been filled. He was a permanent resident of Macao, as required by law. The Government has already urged that operator to fill the position and to deal with the shares accordingly, said Mr Tam He said that it was understood the gaming company required time to select the right candidate, which caused the present breach. But he said he believed the company was not doing it on purpose and the Government allowed the company several more of days to complete all the necessary administrative procedures. He said the Government has been keeping in close touch with the gaming operator on this issue. Meanwhile, Mr Tam said the Government is currently reviewing the development of the gaming sector. Except for those under examination and in the pipeline, no new project will be approved.
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Residents of Macao will get their cash subsidies according to the year of their birth, within a 10 weeks period starting from July. From 1 July, a special office will open to answer enquiries, the Spokesperson for the Executive Council, Mr Tong Chi Kin, said today at a press conference. He said the Executive Council has finished discussion on the by-law for the cash-sharing scheme, which comes into effective tomorrow. According to the by-law, children who are under five years old on or before 1 July 2008 and do not have any identity cards will be eligible for the one if they apply for identity cards by 30 June 2011. The money will be delivered in two ways -- bank transfers or crossed cheques. For those who are under age, their cheques could be deposited into their parents’ bank accounts, said Mr Tong. From 16 June, residents may call a hotline at 2822-5000 or fax to 2822-3000 for any inquires, or browse www.planocp.gov.mo for more details. In order to share the fruitful economic development of Macao, the Government earlier announced that permanent and non-permanent residents of Macao would each get a cash payment of 5,000 patacas and 3,000 patacas respectively.
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A bill that would give the law enforcement agencies more teeth in the fight against human trafficking should be passed before the end of the current legislative year in August. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, was speaking to reporters today after attending a seminar on the problems of human trafficking. She said she expected that the bill to be passed before the end of the current legislative year in August. The Legislative Assembly passed the draft bill in its first reading last April. It is currently under review by the Assembly’s First Standing Committee. A revised draft has been submitted to the Committee, which is now studying the proposed law in detail. Ms Chan said that the Government had set up an inter-departmental committee last year to step up the fight against human trafficking, and urged to public to help fight this very serious crime.
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