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The 2007 Annual Meeting of the Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors (OGBS) organized by the Monetary Authority of Macao was held on 29-31 October at the Venetian Macao Convention and Exhibition Centre. The OGBS was founded in 1980. It is an international organization of financial regulators of major offshore financial centres. Its objective is to promote cross-border banking supervision and combat money laundering and financing terrorism in accordance with international standards. The OGBS holds its annual meeting in Macao for the first time. There were more than 40 delegates who participated in the meeting. They were representatives from international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), Financial Stability Institute (FSI), Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Egmont group, Financial Services Authority (FSA) of UK, and regulatory authorities of Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Labuan, Macao SAR, Mauritius, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Vanuatu, BVI, Samoa and Cook Islands. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM), Anselmo Teng delivered the inauguration speech. Mr. Teng made a brief introduction of the development of the economy and financial sector of Macao. He pointed out that as the regulatory authority, AMCM has persistently been perfecting financial supervision in Macao based on the best international practices and standards with adaptation to cope with the practicable situation of Macao. At the same time, it helps to promote financial development to a higher level, as well as regional and international cooperation with a view to maintaining the sustainable and healthy development of the local financial system in an environment of rapid economic growth. Against the backdrop of an international concern about money laundering and financing terrorism and the integration of Macao into the international community, the Macao SAR Government has, after the return of Macao to the Motherland, attached great importance to efforts relating to anti-money laundering and the combating of financing terrorism (AML/CFT). In 2001 and 2006, it invited international organizations to appraise the AML/CFT mechanism of Macao. It also formulated related legislations in accordance with recognized international standards and adopted a series of preventive measures. For the financial system, AMCM issued and revised guidelines specifically on AML/CFT and ensured compliance through onsite inspection and offsite surveillance. Simultaneously, AMCM attached much importance to the liaison and cooperation with international organizations and regulatory authorities of other territories, hosting this annual meeting was one of the examples. This annual meeting lasted for 3 days, including a seminar jointly led by the FSI and OGBS on the first day followed by general meeting of all members on the next 2 days. Topics discussed and resolved included review of new development in international supervision, “Basel II” and implementation of core principles for effective banking supervision, “risk based” methodology in supervision, enhancement of governance, the cause and aftermath of subprime loans and corresponding supervisory policy, the 2006 AML/CFT mutual evaluation of certain members (including MSAR), future development of OGBS and its function in the international financial supervisory domain, and accession of new members.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today exchanged views of mutual co-operation with the Secretary of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mr Wei Liucheng in Sanya. Mr Ho met with Mr Wei at the welcome banquet hosted by the Hainan Provincial Government, during which they updated their counterparts the latest development. Both sides expressed wills to joint hands for better development. The Governor of Hainan, Mr Luo Baoming said in the meeting that Mr Ho has visited Hainan several times, and he believed under the environment of rapid economic development of the two areas, a closer co-operation would be achieved in the near future. The Secretary for Economic and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen attended a seminar on property market in Sanya this afternoon. The Chief Executive will end the visit and return to Macao tonight.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that in the third quarter of 2007, the overall average daily nominal wage of construction workers was MOP552, of which the average wage of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers was MOP582 and that of unskilled workers was MOP366. Among the various occupations of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, truck drivers had the highest average wage of MOP697. In the third quarter of 2007, the overall nominal wage index rose by 6.1% from the previous quarter, of which the wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers increased by 6.1% and that of unskilled workers went up by 6.4%. As regard the occupations of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, the nominal wage index of truck drivers registered the largest increase of 15.8%, while that of iron workers and plant operators surged by 13.8% & 13.7% respectively; however, the wage index of bricklayers and plasterers registered the only decrease of 0.6%. In real terms, the overall wage index for the third quarter of 2007 rose by 4.1% over the preceding quarter and 6.2% over the same quarter of 2006.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that coverage of the 2006 Service Sector Survey was extended, other than services of real estate agencies and real estate management, to include security services and cleaning services. The booming gaming and tourism sector spurred continuous economic growth of Macao, and the purchase and sales of real estate property, leading to satisfactory growth in the overall business performance of the real estate agencies. In 2006, the number of operating real estate agencies rose by 51 over 2005 to 838, engaging a total of 1,783 persons, down slightly by 1%. Total receipts amounted to MOP 318 million (+35%) and total expenditure was MOP 271 million (+20%). Gross value added, a gauge of an industry’s contribution to the economy, jumped remarkably by 53% to MOP 165 million. At the same time, the number of establishments providing real estate management services stood at 159, same as 2005, with the number of persons engaged grew by 10% to 4,652. Total receipts and total expenditure amounted to MOP 611 million and MOP 510 million, up by 21% and 15% respectively. Gross value added reached MOP 363 million, an increase of 25% over 2005. In 2006, there were 9 establishments operating in the provision of security services, with 3,384 persons engaged. Total receipts and total expenditure amounted to MOP 365 million and MOP 296 million respectively. Gross value added was MOP 304 million. In addition, a total of 81 establishments were operating in the provision of cleaning services, with 1,979 persons engaged. Total receipts and total expenditure was MOP 163 million and MOP 140 million respectively; gross value added amounted to MOP 128 million.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that number of licensed vehicles in Macao totalled 173,020 at the end of September 2007, an increase of 8% over the same month of 2006, of which 52% (90,651) were motorcycles and 41% (70,373) were light private cars. New registration of vehicles grew by 23% year-on-year to 16,601 in the first nine months of 2007, with motorcycles and light vehicles accounting for 62% and 35% respectively. From January to September of 2007, the number of traffic accidents grew by 2% over the same period of 2006 to 9,874 cases, which resulted in 3,410 casualties, including 13 deaths. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China rose by 15% to 2,804,743 vehicle trips. The Border Gate was the major passage that took up 81% of the total, while the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 528,888 vehicle trips. Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport totalled 36,911, up by 4% over the first nine months of 2006. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 45% and 34% respectively of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong grew by 4% year-on-year to 12,690, while 2,265 helicopter flights were recorded between Macao and Mainland China. Passenger transport by sea between Macao and Hong Kong rose by 9% compared with the first nine months of 2006 to 65,119 ferry trips; passenger ferry operating between Macao and Mainland China totalled 12,650 trips, up by 15%. For containerized cargo, total seaborne container throughput in the first nine months of 2007 increased by 2% to 100,685 TEUs or 70,173 containers handled, up slightly by 0.3% over the same period of 2006. Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo increased by 2% to 244,099 tonnes, of which 32,020 tonnes were transshipment goods. Meanwhile, gross weight of containerized cargo by land decreased by 11% to 53,461 tonnes, including 21,059 tonnes of transit goods. Outward cargo handled at the Macao International Airport fell by 21% year-on-year to 49,923 tonnes for the first nine months of 2007. Taiwan, China; Mainland China; and Luxembourg were the major destinations that accounted for 66%, 13% and 6% of the total respectively. Concurrently, inward air cargo decreased by 11% to 16,452 tonnes, of which cargos from Taiwan, China took a predominant share of 87%. In addition, transit air cargos handled dropped by 19% over the first nine months of 2006 to 66,285 tonnes. At the end of September 2007, number of mobile telephone and fixed line telephone users reached 732,329 and 177,945, up by 19% and 1% respectively over the same period of last year. Regarding internet services, number of subscribers increased to 117,129 and the cumulative hour of usage reached 127.4 million hours in the first nine months of 2007, up by 14% and 47% respectively year-on-year.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that Macao’s total value of exports amounted to MOP1.81 billion in September 2007, up by 6.1% over the same month of 2006. Among this, the value of domestic exports went up by 2.3% to MOP1.16 billion, and the value of re-exports increased by 13.4% to MOP657 million. Total value of imports amounted to MOP3.65 billion, up by 14.4% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP1.84 billion was recorded for September 2007. During the period of January-September 2007, the value of total exports dropped by 5.1% year-on-year to MOP15.04 billion, of which the value of domestic exports fell by 14.8% whereas the value of re-exports rose by 20.1%. Meanwhile, the value of imports grew by 17.3% to MOP31.60 billion, bringing about a trade deficit of MOP16.56 billion. The exports/imports ratio decreased from 58.8% in the first nine months of 2006 to 47.6% in the same period of 2007. In the first nine months of 2007, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 64.8% of the total exports, decreased by 16.4% over the same period of 2006; nevertheless, the value of Non-textile exports rose by 26.7%, of which Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof and Footwear surged by 84.4% and 14.8% respectively. The USA and the EU remained the major destinations of Macao’s exports, together making up 57.7% of the total value of exports. In the first nine months of 2007, the value of exports to the USA and the EU decreased by 17.0% and 15.0% respectively year-on-year. In the first nine months of 2007, Macao’s total value of imports grew by 17.3% year-on-year. In terms of broad economic categories, the value of imports of Capital goods, Consumer goods and Fuels & lubricants rose by 40.7%, 20.6% and 19.9% respectively, whereas the value of imports of Raw materials & semi-manufactures registered a slight decrease of 0.3% year-on-year. Moreover, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. The value of imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong, comprising 52.7% of the total, rose by 10.3% and 16.7% respectively year-on-year.
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The Macao Special Administrative Region Government this morning (October 29) signed a concession contract for operating maritime passenger services between Taipa Ferry Terminal, Macao and Hong Kong with COTAI Waterjets (Macau) Limited. The signing ceremony took place in the Office of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, with the contract signed by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, on behalf of the Macao SAR Government with COTAI Waterjets (Macau) Limited. The concession contract comes into effective from tomorrow onwards, for a term of 20 years. According to the contract, COTAI Waterjets (Macau) Limited is obligated to provide at least 30 sailings every day between Hong Kong and Macao before the end of 2007, and at least 80 sailings every day before the end of September, 2008. To cope with the needs of maritime passenger services at that time, the SAR Government may conduct an interim review of the concession contract in 2012.
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The Government will share the economic success achieved with the society, by readjusting its policies and resources. The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, made this pledge when he spoke to reporters at Macao International Airport as he left for Sanya in the morning. Asked about the progress of his annual policy address, Mr Ho said that he should be presenting it earlier this year than in previous years, adding that the Government would address concerns on different social issues and to share the economic success with the society in a prudent manner. On his visit to Sanya, Mr Ho said he would be looking at the real estates market as well as tourism resources. He said a number of Macao's real estates associations have shown interest in investing in Sanya and he hoped that the visit would open up business opportunities for businesspeople in these two places. The Chief Executive is scheduled to meet with Hainan's leaders to exchange views on strengthening co-operation. He is accompanied by the Secretary for Economic and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, who is leading a delegation with some 140 local entrepreneurs, he President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Lee Peng Hong. Mr Ho will return to Macao tonight.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that in the third quarter of 2007, among the 15 types of construction materials surveyed, the price index of steel registered the largest increase of 7.6% over the second quarter of 2007; followed by the indices of glass and electric wires, up by 6.7% and 3.2% respectively. Meanwhile, the indices of lime, red bricks, ceramic products, paint, pipes and cement rose between 0.5% and 2.9%. On the other hand, the price indices of aluminium, sand, concrete, aggregates, timber and sanitary articles fell between 0.2% and 4.9%. The index of concrete has recorded consecutive quarter-to-quarter decreases since the third quarter of 2006, down between 0.2% and 4.3%. In the third quarter of 2007, the price indices of the construction materials surveyed, except concrete, moved up compared with the same quarter of 2006, of which the index of steel surged by 27% and the indices of sand and electric wires increased by 10.4% and 10.2% respectively.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, the unemployment rate for July-September 2007 stood at 3.1%, same as that in the previous period (June-August 2007), but down by 0.7 percentage point year-on-year. The underemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous period, at 1.1%, representing an increase of 0.2 percentage point over the same period of 2006. Induced by the increment in the employed population engaged in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services; and Hotels, restaurants & similar activities, labour force participation rate for July-September 2007 rose further to 70.4%, up by 0.4 percentage point from the previous period or by 4.1 percentage points year-on-year. Total labour force was estimated at 317,500, within which 307,700 were employed, up by 3,400 over June-August 2007. Number of unemployed was similar as the previous period, at 9,800. About 2,000 were searching for their first job, down by 4.1 percentage points over the preceding period to take up 20.8% of the total unemployed. Administrative information from the Public Security Police indicated that the number of non-resident workers with working permits totalled 79,753 at the end of September 2007.
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