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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, met with the management of six casino concessionaires today to exchange views on the development of the industry. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Mr Tam disclosed that the discussions were focused on the commission rate on VIP chips and the number of tables. He said the operators had basically concurred that 1.25% is a reasonable rate for a commission cap. He said the Government would continue to review this matter and, if necessary, give operators some guidelines in line with the consensus they have reached, for their self-regulation, and would introduce measures to enforce the guidelines if necessary. The operators had offered different opinions on the number of gaming tables, Mr Tam said. He said that recently the Government has become concerned with the industry’s competition for the VIP business. The Government is responsible for the healthy and sustainable development of the industry and the balance between the interest of the industry and the society as a whole, said Mr Tam. The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said at the Legislative Assembly last month that the Government was reviewing the future direction of the industry. Mr Tam said the Government believed that now is the appropriate time for the Government to play a more active role in directing the scale of the industry and maintaining its healthy development, four years after the first new operator entered the market. He reiterated the remarks of the Chief Executive – that the Government would strictly control the scale of the industry and co-ordinate with the industry for its healthy and sustainable development. Representatives of the six companies who attended today’s meeting included Mr Francis Lui of Galaxy Casino, S.A.; Mr Lawrence Ho of Melco PBL Jogos (Macau), S.A.; Ms Pansy Ho of MGM Grand Paradise, S.A.; Mr Stanley Ho of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A.; Mr Stephen Weaver of Venetian Macau, S.A. and Ms Linda Chan of Wynn Resorts (Macau), S.A.
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The Statistics and Census Service released the results of the Employment Survey for the first quarter of 2008. Principal indicators such as the labour force participation rate and unemployment rate have been published in April. In the first quarter of 2008, total labour force was estimated at 327,000, including 317,000 employed and 9,600 unemployed. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, the labour force registered an increase of 3,800, with the employed and the unemployed populations increasing by 3,700 and 100 respectively. Analysed by industry, the majority of the employed population were engaging in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (25.2%) and Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (12.8%). In terms of occupation, most of the employed population were Clerks (including casino dealers, floorpersons, betting service operators, etc.) and Service & sales workers, accounting for 26.0% and 21.7% respectively. The overall median monthly employment earnings was MOP8,200, with the median of those working in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services amounting to MOP12,000. Median monthly employment earnings of the employed residents stood at MOP 9,500. Within the unemployed, 7.4% had never worked and were searching for their first job, with 92.6% had worked previously and were searching for a new job. With regard to the educational attainment, 43.1% of the unemployed had primary or lower education; 28.0% had junior secondary education and 22.0% had senior secondary education. For the unemployed that were searching for a new job, analyzed by the previous industry engaged, 33.5% were in Construction and 16.6% in Hotels, restaurants & similar activities. In terms of the previous occupation, 25.5% were Service & sales workers and 24.9% were Unskilled workers.
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The Chief Executive Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, other principal officials and bureau-level officials stood in silence at 2:28 p.m. for three minutes at Government Headquarters today to mourn for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Many people in Macao also stood in silence at the exact time the deadly earthquake struck Sichuan a week ago, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. After the silence, Mr Ho asked all government agencies to strictly observe the instruction of the Central Government that all public amusement and celebrations be suspended during these three days of national mourning. He said he noticed that many civil servants have made donations to help the victims of the earthquake. He urged members of the Government to maintain their generosity to help speed up re-construction of the affected region. Motor vehicles and marine vessels sounded their horns during the three minutes silence. The national and regional flags at public agencies, organisations and schools were flying at half-mast. Members of the Executive Council also stood in silence to mourn for the victims before their meeting today.
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Due to the tragic earthquake which occurred in Sichuan province, the Government has decreed three days of national mourning, from 19 to 21 May, in memory of the victims. During this period, all the 19th Macao Arts Festival performances will be suspended, namely the performance Sensorama – Multiperceptual Experiences by the Mexican group Sensorama scheduled for 20 and 21 May at Lou Kau Mansion. The holders of tickets for the referred performances may obtain reimbursement or exchange the tickets for another date at Kong Send Ticketing Network. The performances will be resumed on 22 May.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today urged the public to donate and help relieve the hardship of the victims of the Sichuan earthquake disaster. Attending a public event this morning, Mr Ho expressed his condolences to the victims. “The Sichuan earthquake is the most serious one since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,” he said. After the quake, the Central Government is going all out to help the victims, while all Chinese around the world are contributing. He again urged the public to continue to donate and help the victims rebuild their homes and relieve their plight. The Chief Executive said that he believed that every citizen would observe the mourning rituals announced yesterday and offer their condolences to the victims.
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In accordance with the announcement of the State Council, national flags and regional flags of all agencies of the Macao SAR Government will fly at half-mast during the national mourning days from tomorrow to Wednesday. All public amusements are required to be suspended during the three mourning days for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake disaster. Residents are asked to stand in silence for three minutes from 2:28 p.m. tomorrow, the exact time a week ago when the earthquake struck. All motor vehicles and all automobiles and ships would sound their horns.
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Macao is to send a medical team, food and other supplies to Sichuan, the southwest province rocked by a massive earthquake on Monday. This was announced by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Chui Sai On, when he attended a public event this evening. The medical team, organised by the Health Bureau, will depart for Sichuan after co-ordination with the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Macao. The Government is collecting food, blankets and clothes and will send these to the affected area by air as soon as possible. Mr Chui urged the public to donate and help the victims rebuild their homes. He said Macao would liaise with the relevant ministries, the Liaison Office and Macau Red Cross to provide the necessary support to Sichuan.
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From the first quarter of 2008, the Statistics and Census Service will release information on the Private Sector Construction and Real Estate Transaction in one publication, to facilitate data users in getting both statistics simultaneously. In addition, with the objective to enhance the accuracy of the transaction prices of building units, the survey coverage has been extended to include the building units purchased and sold under Intermediate Transfer of Title (payment of 0.5% of stamp duty) and those that have been scheduled for re-evaluation; meanwhile, respective data for 2007 has been re-calculated accordingly. In the first quarter of 2008, the construction of 12 new buildings, with a gross floor area totalling 104,435 m², has been started. Upon completion, these buildings will provide 282 units, 467 and 346 parking space respectively for cars and for motorcycles. Meanwhile, a total of 5 buildings and the gross floor area of 89,186 m² have been completed, altogether providing 26 units, 264 parking space for cars and 64 parking space for motorcycles. There were 3,189 cases of real estate sale and purchase contracts made in the first quarter of 2008, comprising 4,364 units that amounted to MOP4.24 billion, down by 3.4% and 37.6% respectively over the preceding quarter. Moreover, the total value of mortgage loans amounted to MOP23.87 billion, which soared notably by 1.6 times compared with the preceding quarter. In the first quarter of 2008, a total of 6,518 building units, amounting to MOP12.72 billion, were purchased and sold with stamp duty paid to the Finance Service Bureau, down by 7.3% and 4.2% respectively over the preceding quarter. Besides, 2,323 units (MOP8.4 billion) were purchased and sold under Intermediate Transfer of Title. The majority (4,563 units valued at MOP10.99 billion) of these transactions were residential units that accounted for 70.0% of the total number of building units. Among these residential units, 3,167 units were situated at the Macao Peninsula, 1,380 at Taipa Island and 16 at Coloane Island. Analyzed by the transaction price, 797 residential units (17.5% of the total) were purchased and sold for more than MOP4,000,000; 1,149 units (25.2%) were in the range of MOP2,000,000 to MOP4,000,000; 715 units (15.7%) were in the range of MOP1,000,000 to MOP2,000,000; and 1,902 units (41.7%) were under MOP1,000,000. In the first quarter of 2008, the average transaction price of the overall residential unit amounted to MOP24,583 per square meter of usable area, up slightly by 0.1% over the previous quarter. The average transaction price of residential unit in the Macao Peninsula rose by 6.0% to MOP20,532 per square meter, but the average price of that in Taipa Island went down by 6.8% to MOP33,058 per square meter. Meanwhile, the average transaction price of the industrial units and office amounted to MOP5,715 and MOP21,665 per square meter of usable area, down by 14.7% and 8.2% over the fourth quarter of 2007.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that per-capita spending of visitors for the first quarter of 2008 increased by 5% year-on-year to MOP 1,730. Per-capita spending of Mainland visitors took the lead, at MOP 3,430 and that of Hong Kong visitors was MOP 1,127. Compared with the first quarter of 2007, per-capita spending of tourists went up by 6% to MOP 2,365, but per-capita spending of same-day visitors was MOP 576, a decrease of 9%. Per-capita non-shopping spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors rose by 11% year-on-year to MOP 994, of which the expenses on accommodation and food & beverage accounted for 45% and 37% respectively. However, per-capita shopping spending decreased by 3% to MOP 737, with the expenses on local food products and clothing sharing 29% and 23% respectively. Per-diem spending of visitors was MOP 1,484, a decrease of 2% over the first quarter of 2007. Mainland visitors had the highest per-diem spending, at MOP 2,423. In the first quarter of 2008, the average length of stay of visitors extended by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.2 days. The average for tourists increased by 0.1 day to 1.7 days, while that for the same-day visitors was same as the first quarter of 2007, at 0.2 day.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today expressed deep sympathy for victims of the powerful earthquake that hit Wenchuan in Sichuan Province. Mr Ho expressed his feelings as the Macao SAR Government announced that it would donate 100 million RMB to the Central Government co-ordination centre, which is responsible for rescue. The Macao Foundation would donate 10 million RMB. After yesterday’s earthquake, the Macao SAR Government had contacted the authorities there for a better understanding of the extent of the disaster. The Government also called on the Macao community to act and help the victims. The Public Security Police and Macau Government Tourist Office have set up two round-the-clock emergency hotlines for Macao residents who might need assistance relating to the disaster. The numbers are 28573333 and 28333000. So far no calls for help are received.
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