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The Government will step up regional economic cooperation, especially within the Pan Pearl River Delta, in order to achieve Macao’s long-term goal of economic diversification and sustainable growth. Speaking at the launch of the Green Business Co-operation Day held alongside the 2009 MIECF, Secretary for Economy and Finance Mr Francis Tam explained that the Government was also trying to ensure sustainable development by striving to foster service industries and emerging industries, including the green industry and the convention industry. By showcasing global eco-solutions and green technologies, the MIECF aims to promote technology transfer and nurture development of the environmental industry, he said. This year the MIECF has added new events such as the Green Business Co-operation Day in order to attract wider business participation and encourage partnership between local and international enterprises.
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Based on the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Macao Government will strive to work with its Guangdong and Hong Kong counterparts to deliver on policy initiatives towards a green and quality living area in the region. This pledge was made today by the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, in a speech at the opening of the 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (2009 MIECF). The environment and sustainable development have become urgent issues as regional climate change presents real threats to our environmental wellbeing and economic development, he added. He warned that the cost of inaction was too great and the threats to the environment could not be ignored. Mr Ho said that the 2009 MIECF served as a timely opportunity for addressing these threats, with enormous contributions from governments, experts and industry leaders worldwide. Despite the global economic downturn, actions on climate change should not be postponed because this is a time when challenges bring opportunities as nations across the world are advocating a green recovery through investment in environmental infrastructure and other green industries, noted the Chief Executive. Meanwhile he took the opportunity to thank the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Environmental Protection for supporting the 2009 MIECF, as well as the governments of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region for co-organising the event.
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At the opening ceremony of 2009MIECF, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the State Environmental Protection Department and the Czech Republic government deliver speeches on specific topics about policy, results and prospects of environmental protection industry and energy-saving and emission reduction in China and the European Union. Mr. Han Yongwen, Secretary-General of National Development and Reform Commission, said in his speech that while China is resolute to cope with the international financial crisis and maintains steady economic growth, the Government attaches great importance to the development of a recycling economy, and will take further steps this year to promote the development of recycling economy. Mr. Han also pointed out that the recycling economy and energy-saving and emission reduction closely related, with the joint efforts at all levels throughout the country, the Chinese government takes comprehensive use of the following five measures: the "Energy-saving and Emission Reduction Actions for All Citizens", optimizing industrial structure, promoting energy-saving and emission reduction in major areas and key projects, improving the mechanisms of energy-saving and emission reduction system and making great efforts to develop green energy. In recent years, the work of energy-saving and emission reduction and environmental protection has achieved significant progress, he said. Subsequently, Mr. Yue Ruisheng, representative of Minister Zhou Shengxian of Ministry of Environmental Protection, and Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department of Ministry of Environmental Protection, gave an introduction about the achievements of China’s environmental protection work in the past year. He noted that in the plan of implementation a 4 trillion RMB government investment for the next two years, which was part of the basket of plans for the Central Government this year to make full implementation of promoting stable and rapid economic development, the budget for energy-saving and emission reduction and ecological projects was about 210 billion RMB, which would provided a rare opportunity for the development of environmental protection. He hoped to see a group of advanced environmental protection technologies in 2009MIECF, which fitted the national conditions and current situation of China, and would be introduced into China at an appropriate time to further strengthen the work of pollution control and ecological protection. Dr. Peter J. Kalas, the head of official delegation of the Czech Republic which is on the Rotating EU presidency (January to June, 2009), the Czech Republic Prime Minister's Advisor, former Minister of Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic, said he believed that the activities in this year's 2009MIECF, as well as the time to discuss questions on energy and global warming, are of great significance to countries all over the world. He said in his keynote speech about the EU's policy and development direction of environmental protection industry. As global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, he said, we must find the appropriate technology to separate the relationship of economic growth and gas emissions growth apart from growth of energy consumption, and to transfer this technology to the high-energy emission countries, which will not only deal with the energy crisis, protect the ecological environment, but also help to develop huge business opportunities.
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The Environment Council has organised the Macao Green Hotel Award Scheme since 2007, which is designed to demonstrate the importance of environmental management, and honour hotels that have committed to environmental management. As environmental awareness and expectations of customers has been rising recently, it makes business sense for the hotel industry to adopt the “Green Hotel” model in their daily operation. It does not only save operational cost through resource conservation, but also further improves customer satisfaction. This illustrates a win-win situation for the environment as well as the community. Westin runs sewage treatment plant The Westin Resort Macau, a recipient of the 2007 Green Hotel Award, told media today that it had introduced a wide range of measures to cut energy and emission in order to protect the environment. According to the hotel, it was the first of its kind in Macao to be built with a sewage treatment plant to process all the wastewater generated from both the hotel and the golf club. It was built, with an estimated MOP$10 million, mainly to protect the nearby shorelines from being polluted. Since the hotel’s opening in 1993, the plant had processed an average of 130,000 cubic meter of effluent annually, at a yearly cost of approximately MOP$1 million. As part of the environmental program, the recycled water from the plant is used to water the hotel landscaping and that of the golf course, thus reducing the need for additional water consumption. Moreover, the hotel had introduced an energy management program since 1995 to reduce its energy consumption. According to an energy consultancy responsible for monitoring and recording all affecting factors such as hotel occupancy, food covers, laundry production, and ambient conditions, it was estimated that the resort had avoided 18,000 tones of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from 1995 to the present, which equates to approximately MOP$19 million of energy savings. The hotel’s emission-cutting measures included recovering heat from steam returns, and retrieving cold exhaust air, using energy-efficient lightings, and among many others. The management of the hotel said that they would continue to adopt more measures to cut energy consumption and operate the resort in an even more environmental way. The goal this year is to cut 5% of energy consumption than that in 2008, said Mr. Romulo Z. Estrada, the resort’s director of engineering. Other winners of the Macao Green Hotel Award 2007 were Hotel Beverly Plaza, Mandarin Oriental, Macau, Holiday Inn Macau, Riviera Hotel Macau, Metropole Hotel, Emperor Hotel and Pousada de Mong - Há of the Institute For Tourism Studies. 2009 MIECF opens on Thursday Should you require more information on environmental protection and respective business opportunities, please participate in the 2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition, which is to be opened on Thursday (2nd April). Please contact the 2009 MIECF Secretariat at: Telephone: 853-8798 9675, Fax: 853-2872 8213, Email: info@macaomiecf.com, or visit the official website: www.macaomiecf.com for details. (Some information of the press release is provided by the Westin Resort Macau)
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The "2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition” (2009MIECF) will be held at the Macao Venetian Resort from 2nd to 4th of April. The Chief Executive, Mr. Edmund Ho Hau Wah, will preside over the opening ceremony and officials from China and European Union will deliver keynote speeches. 2009MIECF is organised by the Macao SAR Government and co-organized by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and the Environment Council. The event will gather distinguished officials, experts and scholars in the field of environmental protection to discuss the latest green issues, while the exhibition will attract business executives from various countries and regions, including Mainland China, Europe and the United States, to get green business opportunities. The event will draw some 230 delegations, with more than 1400 representatives, from different countries and regions. The 2009MIECF has designated the 2nd of April as the Green Business Co-operation Day. Mr. Francis Tam Pak Yuen, the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR, Mr. Dong Songgen, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and heads of international and local economic and trade departments and chambers of commerce, will attend the launching ceremony. During the three-day event, green products and services presentations and business matching sessions will be held. Three symposiums, namely the Green Co-operation Gateway: Environment - Business – Connection “Extending Green Industry Network” Symposium, the Energy Saving, Emission Reduction and Carbon Trading Symposium and Natural Disaster Management Symposium, are scheduled on 3rd of April. In addition, in order to increase the public awareness on green industry and issues related to global warming, 2009MIECF has designated the 4th of April (Saturday) as a public open day. General public, companies and other interested parties may contact the secretariat of the 2009 Macao International Co-Operation Forum & Exhibition, (Telephone: 853-87989675, Fax: 853-28728213, Email: info@macaomiecf.com) or visit the official website at www.macaomiecf.com.
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The 58th Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Meeting will take place in Macau between 18 and 21 April at the MGM Grand. The summit of the meeting will be a Business Forum under the topic “Discovering Opportunities in Tough Times” expected to be attended by more than 100 speakers and guests. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) director, João Manuel Costa Antunes, and PATA president, Gregory Duffell, will participate in the PATA Annual Meeting and the Business Forum. Over twenty speakers were invited to address the Business Forum, due to take place on the 20th. Tourism industry personalities and academics of the Asia Pacific region are among the participants expected for the forum. Richard Chang, executive vice president and general manager of Visa International China will deliver an in-depth look at likely trends in consumer spending based on recent research by Visa. Other topics include: PATA Asia Pacific Tourism Forecast 2009-2011, Tapping Greater China Opportunities, eCommerce Strategies in Tough Times and Succeeding in Tough Times. PATA president Gregory Duffell, will present a summary of the Annual Meeting on the 21st. The organizers will invite international, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau media to report on the event. A media center will be set up at MGM Grand Macau. PATA, the most influential tourism association in the Asia Pacific, has nearly 100 government, state and city tourism body members, more than 55 airlines and cruise lines, and hundreds of travel industry companies. In addition, thousands of travel professionals belong to a global network of PATA chapters. In preparation for the Annual Meeting, PATA Macau Chapter held a meeting today (April 1st). The 2009 PATA Gold Awards Luncheon and the PATA Travel Mart 2009, due to take place in Hangzhou, among other topics, where also being discussed during the meeting.
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Three main forums will be held during MIECF 2009, namely the “Energy-Saving, Emission-Reduction and Carbon Trading Symposium”, “Natural Disaster Management Symposium” and “Green Co-operation Gateway: Environment - Business – Connection Extending Green Industry Network”. The first two will be held at 9:30 a.m. on April 3rd and the third one will be held 3:00pm on the same day. As abnormal weather conditions, caused by global warming, are becoming increasingly serious, the organizers have invited local and overseas officials, scholars and experts to share their experiences on environmental protection, as well as the occurrence of and response to natural disasters. The keynote speeches will inspire and provide a reference for the Macao and international environmental protection industry. During the Energy-Saving, Emission-Reduction and Carbon Trading Symposium, Mr. He Bingguang, Deputy Director of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection Division of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Magnus Gislev, First Secretary (Environment) of European Commission Delegation in Beijing, Mr. Li Hui, Deputy Director of Guangdong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, Ms. Marie-Hélène Fandel, Policy Analyst of European Policy Centre, Prof. António Gonçalves Henriques, Director-General of Portuguese Environment Agency of the Ministry for Environment, Ms. Katherine Choi, Principal Assistant Secretary (Energy) of Environment Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Mr. Arnaldo Ernesto dos Santos, Director of Office for the Development of the Energy Sector of the Macao SAR, and Mr. Jon Price, Managing Director of Climate Strategies, will introduce the policies, effectiveness and expectations regarding energy-saving and emission-reduction initiatives, as well as carbon-emissions trading, energy-usage and waste treatment, along with other related issues affecting Mainland China, the European Union, Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao. During the Natural Disaster Management Symposium, Prof. Wang Xianfang and Prof. Wu Xiao Ming of the Scientific Research Institute of Pearl River Water will present the “Suggestions on Macao Water Risk Analysis and Studies”; Prof. Nie Yongfeng of Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Tsinghua University –will present their research results on “Post-Disaster Solid Waste in Earthquake-stricken Areas of Sichuan”, along with related studies on earthquake in China such as the “The Chain Disaster Research and Forecast in China” by Mr. Gao Jianguo of the Institute of Geology of China Earthquake Administration, and “Environmental Protection Emergency Countermeasures after Earthquake” by Mr. Ye Hong of Sichuan Provincial Environmental Protection Institute of Science and Technology. Other overseas scholars participating in the symposiums are Prof. Milan Konečný of Masaryk University, Prof. Raphael P.M. Lotilla of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), Mr. Martin Parr of MPCEE. They will speak on topics such as “Ubiquitous Mapping for Early Warning and Emergency Management: How to Deliver Information to Individuals”, “Integrated Coastal Management as a Framework for Natural Hazard Management” and “Contingency Plans & Contingency Planning: Planning for the Unthinkable”. Those interested in participating in the symposiums or wish to know more may contact the secretariat of the 2009 Macao International Co-Operation Forum & Exhibition (Tel: 8798 9675) or visit the official website: www.macaomiecf.com.
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The "2009 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition” (2009MIECF) will be held at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from 2nd to 4th of April. The Chief Executive, Mr. Edmund Ho Hau Wah, will preside over the opening ceremony. The event gathers distinguished officials, experts and scholars in the field of environmental protection to discuss the latest green issues, while the exhibition will attract business executives from various countries and regions, including Mainland China, Europe and the United States, to get green business opportunities. Over 1000 participants from entities 2009MIECF is organised by the Macao SAR Government and co-organized by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and the Environment Council. The Opening Ceremony will be held at 10:00am on 2nd of April. During the ceremony, Chief Executive Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, the Secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission of the PRC, Mr. Han Yongwen, the Deputy Department Director of Department of International Cooperation of Ministry of Environmental Protection of the PRC, Mr. Yue Ruisheng (who represents Minister Zhou Shengxian), the Advisor to the Prime Minister and the former Minister of Environment of the Czech Republic, Peter J. Kalas will deliver keynote speeches. At the press conference, members of the organising committee of MIECF told of the preparatory works. With the strong support from the Central Government and “9+2” Provinces and Autonomous Regions in the Pan-Pearl River Delta, and participation of world-renowned experts, scholars and representatives of related industries, the event will draw some delegations, with more than 1000 representatives, from Macao, Mainland China, the European Union, America and other countries and regions. The representatives are from local and overseas governments and environmental departments, environmental protection organizations and leading representatives of the chambers of commerce. Flourish your business at MIECF The 2009MIECF will showcase the latest products and technologies in environmental protection field. To boost green business opportunities and financing, the MIECF has designated the 2nd of April as the Green Business Co-operation Day. During that day, the Green Co-operation Gateway: Environment - Business – Connection “Extending Green Industry Network” Symposium, green products and services presentations and business matching will be held. In the Energy Saving, Emission Reduction and Carbon Trading Symposium and Natural Disaster Management Symposium, which are scheduled on 3rd of April, participants across the world will study the methods of saving energy and cutting emissions amid the crisis of global warming and share their experience in the prevention of natural disasters. Free shuttle bus on Saturday's Public Day In addition, to increase the public awareness on green industry and issues related to global warming, 2009MIECF designates the 4th of April (Saturday) as a public open day. Visitors are welcome during the opening hours, from 9:00am to 6:00pm, addmission passes are available at Hall A of Exhibition Center of the Macao Venetian. Free shuttle buses will operate on three routes from 9:00am to 6:30pm. The first return trip of the shuttle bus is scheduled at 10:30am. The shuttle buses will operate at 30-minute intervals. The drop-off points of free shuttle buses are at Avenida Doutor Mario Soares (Macao Square), Avenida do Coronel Mesquita (Pak Wai Popular Pharmacy), Avenida de Kwong Tung, Taipa (next to Hung Fat Garden) and the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. MIECF staff will set up location signs at the above locations. Visitors will be given 4 hours of free parking by showing the passes in the car parks of Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. General public, companies and other interested parties may contact the secretariat of the 2009 Macao International Co-Operation Forum & Exhibition, (Telephone: 853-87989675, Fax: 853-28728213, Email: info@macaomiecf.com) or visit the official website at www.macaomiecf.com.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released summary of the GDP for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2008. The rates of change mentioned in the text refer to the year-on-year change, unless otherwise specified. GDP for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2008 The outbreak of the global financial tsunami in 2008 led to burst of the bubble arisen out of the real estate property and the financial assets, causing the real sector economy to slide in the second half of the year. Despite the rapid economic downturn, the economy of Macao was not much affected in the first half year and managed to sustain rapid growth upon the impetus of the surging gaming and tourism sector, albeit decline of investment. Entering the second half year, the economy was hit by the adverse impact of the financial crisis and decrease of Mainland visitors travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, the gaming and tourism sector started to slow down, total investment continued to fall, bringing the entire economy to contract obviously, with GDP for the fourth quarter registering the first negative growth during the past five years. For the whole year of 2008, Macao’s GDP was estimated at MOP 171.87 billion, up by 13.2% in real terms, with per-capita GDP amounting to MOP 313,091 (US$ 39,036). GDP for the fourth quarter of 2008 shrank by 7.6% in real terms, upon declining exports of gaming services, investment and exports of goods; besides, the economic growth for the first and second quarters were revised upward from 32.3% and 22.2% to 32.5% and 22.4% respectively, while that for the third quarter was revised downward from 11.3% to 10.4%. The favourable factors that contributed to the economic growth in 2008 included: - the 31.0% surge of the annual gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) from 2007; - visitor arrivals were 22,907,724 for 2008, with rising per-capita spending of visitors in all quarters, total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) for 2008 registered a 2.2% growth in real terms; - growing employed population and employment income drove private consumption expenditure up by 7.5% year-on-year in real terms. Changes of the economic structure of Macao - the 30.9% surge in export of gaming services in 2008 offset the substantial drop of merchandise exports; the 40.0% growth of net exports of goods and services (exports of goods and services minus imports of goods and services) was far higher than the level of the overall economic growth, contributing to an apparent increase in its relative importance to GDP, from 41.4% in 2007 to 51.2% in 2008; - total investment (gross fixed capital formation plus changes in inventories) plunged noticeably by 18.7% in 2008, lowering its relative importance to GDP from 27.4% in 2007 to 19.7% in 2008; - albeit the rising private consumption expenditure, the rate was lower than that of the overall economic growth; therefore, the relative importance of private consumption expenditure to GDP went down from 23.7% in 2007 to 22.5% in 2008, while that of government final consumption expenditure decreased slightly from 7.4% in 2007 to 6.5% in 2008. On account of detailed breakdown on the arrivals of visitor and other non-resident in 2008, number of visitor arrivals was revised downward substantially, which would affect the estimate of “Consumption expenditure of non-residents in the domestic market” and “Imports of goods”; therefore, GDP for 2004 to 2007 and the respective components were revised.
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The Statistics and Census Service released the results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages of the Gaming Industry for the fourth quarter of 2008. Survey coverage excluded junket promoters and junket associates. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2008, there were 43,835 paid employees engaged in the Gaming Industry, down by 2.0% year-on-year. Analyzed by occupations that are directly related to betting services, 18,196 were dealers, down by 6.5% year-on-year, while 11,874 were engaged in positions such as hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc., up by 7.7% year-on-year. Meanwhile, 5,059 were working as casino and slot machine attendants/hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc., down by 5.3% from a year earlier. In December 2008, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) for full-time employees in the Gaming Industry rose by 4.9% year-on-year to MOP 15,626. Average earnings for dealers grew by 6.0% over December 2007 to MOP 13,947, and that for employees in positions such as hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc. stood at MOP 19,520, up by 6.6%. The average earnings for casino and slot machine attendants/hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc. reported a year-on-year increase of 6.0% to MOP 9,604. At the end of December 2008, the Gaming Industry reported 258 vacant posts, a substantial decrease of 3,153 or -92.4% from a year earlier. Of these vacancies, 28 were for dealers, 59 for hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc., and 41 for services and sales workers, including casino and slot machine attendants/hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc.. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 55.0% of the vacancies required no working experience; 79.4% required senior secondary education or higher. Besides Cantonese, other preferred language skills were Mandarin (66.3%) and English (67.4%).
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