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The Vice President, Mr Xi Jinping, today officially opened the Decade of Achievements Exhibition for the 10th Anniversary of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), in Beijing’s Capital Museum. Also participating in the ceremony were the Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, Mr Liu Qi; State Councilor, Ms Liu Yandong; Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Liao Hui; Vice Chairman of CPPCC and the Director of United Front Work Department of Communist Party of China, Mr Du Qinglin; Macao’s Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and the Third-term Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On. In an address, Chief Executive Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah said the month-long exhibition showcased the implementation of the principle of ‘One country, two systems’ in Macao in the past decade and projected the future development of Macao. Visitors would see the development of Macao in terms of economy and humanity, as well as Macao people’s love for their country and the MSAR. Vice Chairman of CPPCC and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Mr Liao Hui, said Macao had implemented the principles of ‘One country, two systems’, ‘Macao people governing Macao’, and a high degree of autonomy. With the support of the Central Government and concerted efforts of Macao people, the MSAR had made great strides in terms of economic growth, upgraded the livelihood of its people and enhanced social harmony. Mr Liao described the exhibition was a dynamic display of Macao’s achievements in the past decade. He said he believed that the Third-term Chief Executive and the next SAR Government would further unite people from all walks of life and continue to bring successes to Macao. More than 300 guests, including heads of Central Government departments, committees, Beijing Municipal Government officials, foreign diplomats in China, representatives of provinces and cities in Beijing and dignitaries in Macao, attended the opening ceremony. The exhibition is open to the public till 13 January next year. Visitors could see the changes, developments and progress made by Macao in various fields, thereby reflecting the boundless vitality of the principles of “One country, two systems”, “Macao people governing Macao” and a high degree of autonomy, as well as Macao people’s deep-rooted love for their country and the MSAR. It is also intended to project an even brighter future for the MSAR. A rich variety of innovation is featured in the exhibition, by blending multimedia content with interactive elements. Through a creative combination of text, photographs, video, music, objects, lighting, sound effects and scale models, visitors are offered an all-round insight of the journey taken by the MSAR since its establishment 10 years ago.
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President Mr Hu Jintao will lead a delegation to Macao on Saturday (19 December) to officiate the 10th Anniversary Celebration of Macao’s Return to the Motherland and the Inauguration Ceremony of the Third-term MSAR Government. Mr Hu is also the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission. Mr Hu and his delegation are scheduled to leave Macao on Sunday (20 December).
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A fireworks extravaganza held by the Macau Special Administrative Region will light up the sky of Macau at 9pm on December 20 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macau SAR. The 25-minute show is the largest fireworks display ever organized in Macau. For the first time in Macau, the grand fireworks display will be launched at seven locations at the same time, including the Nobre de Carvalho Bridge featuring fireworks waterfall, 4-inch shells and display cakes; landsite between the Nobre de Carvalho Bridge and Macau Tower featuring water shells, 6-inch shells and cakes; landsite in front of MGM Grand featuring water shells, 6-inch shells and cakes; four barges located on the two sides of the Nobre de Carvalho Bridge featuring 8-inch shells and cakes. This is the largest fireworks display ever organized by the Macau SAR in terms of launch sites and number of shells involved. To enhance enjoyment of the fireworks display, sound systems will be installed at the Avenida Panorâmica do Lago nam Van, the park between Avenida de Sagres and Nobre de Carvalho Bridge (next to Wynn Resort), Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen (in front of One Central), Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen (facing Nam Van Lake) and Avenida dos Jardins do Oceano in Taipa. Spectators can also tune to Radio Macau (FM100.7) for synchronized soundtrack. Macau Government Tourist Office called for a public tender for operating the display and among fireworks companies from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and France, “Panda Fireworks Co. Ltd” from Hunan of Mainland China, which also organized the fireworks displays for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing this year, was selected. Ian Riedel, a veteran technical consultant of the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest, is invited to be the consultant of this pyro-musical show to give professional advices for a smooth and safe completion of the event.
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IFT will offer two “Shatec Institute Courses” in the area of F&B and front desk selling in January 2010 and is inviting application. IFT strives to look for cooperation opportunities with international institutes and certification bodies, to provide training courses which are recognised globally and nurture professionals with international qualifications. For this, IFT is collaborating with Shatec Institutes Macau to co-organise different training programmes which can further raise the standard of our human resources. The first batch of “Shatec Institute Courses” will start in January. Founded in 1983, Shatec Institutes is the oldest Hotel and Tourism training organisation in Singapore. There are 7 well-equipped institutes and a team of experienced instructors to provide training on Tourism, Hospitality, Culinary, Bakery and F&B Management to more than 1,800 students from 20 different countries every year. In the past 25 years, Shatec fostered about 25,000 talents for different occupations. IFT will run a series of “Shatec Institutes Courses” in the area of selling, event planning, butler service, disaster and human resources management. The first batch of courses includes “F&B Up-selling and Suggestive Selling” and “Front Desk Up-selling and Suggestive Selling”. Courses will be delivered by experienced instructor from Shatec Institutes. The objective of the course is to enhance service staff's techniques in suggestive selling, so as to increase F&B sales and overall revenue for the organization. Both courses are inviting applications. Interested parties can visit the website www.ift.edu.mo for application information.
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The Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) / World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee (TC) is organizing a meeting of the Advisory Working Group of this Committee in Macao during 16-17 December 2009. The purpose of the meeting is to review its Strategic Plan 2007-2011, the Annual Operating Plan 2009 and to discuss the Annual Operating Plan 2010 and future projects and actions related to the TC main components: Meteorology, Hydrology and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness. The meeting is scheduled to be held at 9 am on 16 December at the conference room of the Conselho Consultivo para o Reordenamento dos Bairros Antigos de Macau. The meeting will be attended by the chairpersons of the Working Groups and high representatives of the ESCAP and WMO. At the commencement of the meeting, a launching ceremony for the “MMGB Collected Papers Volume 3” will be hosted by the Director of the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (MMGB) Dr. Fong Soi Kun. Since Year 2004, MMGB has started to compile the collaboration research achievements with the professors from the Sun Yat-sen University, extended abstracts for papers presented at the international symposia or seminars, as well as the regional professional cooperation workshops by the colleagues in MMGB for publication of the collected papers. This year the publication is the 3rd volume of the collected papers. In celebrating of the Tenth Anniversary of the Macao Special Administrative Region, MMGB issued the 3rd Volume of the Collected Papers this year. MMGB will continue to keep abreast of the times and to work hard on researching on meteorological and climate change, aiming to use their expertise for the improvement of livelihood.
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According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector increased further during the third quarter of 2009. At end-September 2009, the share of international assets in total banking assets grew to 85.0% from 82.9% at end-June 2009, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities rose to 78.4% from 77.6%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-September 2009, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.5% and 1.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 46.1% and 53.3% of total international assets and 47.2% and 51.7% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-September 2009, total international assets increased 8.9% quarter-to-quarter and 12.0% year-on-year to MOP363.7 billion (USD45.6 billion). Within this total, external assets rose year-on-year by 16.1% to MOP283.9 billion while local assets in foreign currencies shrank marginally by 0.3% to MOP79.9 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits expanded 14.5% over a year earlier to MOP254.5 billion, mainly attributable to the 17.6% increase of cross-border interbank assets. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities increased by 7.3% quarter-to-quarter and 10.6% year-on-year to MOP335.5 billion (USD42.0 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies amounted to MOP172.8 billion and MOP162.7 billion in respective order. Compared with a year earlier, the former grew by 12.0% while the latter rose 9.3%. Foreign currency deposits held by residents in the local banking system formed a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 9.0% to MOP155.0 billion from MOP142.3 billion at end-September 2008. Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region
The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to the regions of Asia and Europe. At end-September 2009, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 36.6% and 6.3% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal, the UK and France took up respective shares of 14.1%, 2.0% and 2.0%. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and China occupied 40.6% and 23.3% of the total while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 11.0%, 6.6% and 1.8%. The compilation of International Banking Statistics follows the methodology advocated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in order to facilitate Macao SAR’s participation in the “Locational International Banking Statistics” project of the BIS.
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In accordance with the provisions of the “Administrative Rules on Pilot Programme of Renminbi Settlement of Cross-Border Trade Transactions”, jointly promulgated by the People’s Bank of China and relevant ministries of the State Council earlier, banks of Macao are authorized to, via the clearing bank in Macao for RMB business and/or their correspondent banks on the Mainland, handle the settlement of cross-border trade transactions denominated in RMB between Macao companies and the pilot enterprises on the Mainland. Simultaneously, to further satisfy the demand arising from development of Macao individual RMB business, as sanctioned by the State Council, the People’s Bank of China announced on 14 December 2009 further widening the restrictions and scope imposed on RMB business conducted by Macao Banks as follows: 1. Increase the quota on the value of RMB exchange for each individual each time from RMB6,000 to RMB20,000 equivalent;
2. Extend designated merchants who are allowed to exchange RMB for Pataca from Macao banks to include institutions that provide telecommunication services, education and exhibition/convention services; and 3. Allow Macao residents to use RMB cheques to pay for consumer spending in the Guangdong Province up to RMB50,000 per account per diem. To support and coordinate the inauguration and development of RMB settlement mechanism for cross-border trade, and the implementation of the three aforementioned measures relating to widened RMB business, Mr. Zhu Min, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China Head Office made a special trip to Macao and jointly signed the Memorandum of Supplementary Cooperation Relating to Macao RMB Business with Mr. Anselmo Teng, Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Macao, on the same day. The document extends the relevant supervisory cooperative measures established in 2004 to cover the “Administrative Rules on Pilot Programme of Renminbi Settlement of Cross-Border Trade Transactions” which include arrangements involving Macao, and the three aforementioned measures relating to widened RMB business. The signing ceremony took place at the Macao SAR Government Headquarters, Mr. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive; Ms. Gao Yan, Deputy Director of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government; Mr. Lu Shumin, Special Envoy of the Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Francis Tam, Secretary for Economy and Finance; Mr. Xing Yujing, Deputy Director General of Monetary Policy Department II; Mr. Zhu Jun, Deputy Director General of International Department of People’s Bank of China; Mr. Luo Bochuan, President of Guangzhou Regional Branch of People’s Bank of China; Mr. Li Canyu, President of Zhuhai Branch of People’s Bank of China; representatives from Macao banking sector and from relevant sectors of the community witnessed the signing ceremony. The signing of the aforementioned supplementary memorandum will further promote the RMB settlement business for cross-border trade, and the widened business scope and extension of individual RMB transactions, which will certainly facilitate communication between Macao and the Mainland, deepen economic and financial cooperation and integration of the two areas, which is conducive to the long term stable development of Macao banking industry.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao released today the credit card statistics for the third quarter of 2009. The total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 351,420 at the end of September 2009, up 4.28% from the previous quarter. The numbers of Pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) cards and Renminbi (RMB) cards were 281,616, 55,561 and 14,243 respectively. MOP cards, HKD cards and RMB cards witnessed respective increases of 3.20%, 0.54% and 61.10% quarter-to-quarter. Compared with the same period last year, RMB cards surged 71.35% while MOP cards and HKD cards grew 9.66% and 0.97% respectively. The introduction of MOP/RMB dual currency credit cards by local banks partly accounted for the marked increase of RMB cards during the quarter. As at the end of September 2009, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao amounted to MOP6.41 billion, up 4.09% from end-June 2009. Credit card receivables reached MOP1.03 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP0.45 billion, accounting for 43.48% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, was 1.32%. In the third quarter of 2009, the credit card turnover rose by 5.63% quarter-to-quarter to MOP1.61 billion. The cash advance turnover amounted to MOP0.12 billion, accounting for 7.34% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, grew 13.37% from last quarter to MOP1.68 billion.
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In compliance with the development of the Macao SAR electronic government to enhance administrative efficiency and transparency, and in continuous implementation of the policy of developing electronic services, the Immigration Department of the Public Security Police introduces an online progress query system regarding “Non-resident Worker’s Permit”. Any person may go to the “Non-resident Worker’s Permit Application Progress Query System” at the official website of the Public Security Police (http://www.fsm.gov.mo/psp/sm/default.htm). After entering the “Non-resident Worker’s Permit Number”, “Receipt Number” or the date of issue of the receipt, one can easily check the approval progress and collection date of the Non-resident Worker’s Permit. For any inquiry, feel free to call the Immigration Department during office hours at 2872 5488.
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The Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), together with its Japan Representation Team, participated in the 19th International Meeting Exhibition (IME2009) held at the Tokyo International Forum on December 8-9. In order to showcase the exciting MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibition) developments of the recent Macau, as well as to work collaboratively with the Industry to build a stronger presence of Macau’s MICE Product at similar events around the globe. 6 representatives among them tour operators, hotels and airline from Macau joined MBTC to co-exhibit at the IME2009. The International Meeting Exhibition is the only major MICE tradeshow for meetings and incentive travel held in Japan once every year since 1990. The event is co-organized by the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan National Tourist Organization and Japan Congress and Convention Bureau, in hope of promoting MICE as one of the growing sector in Japan. It is also an ideal networking platform for international MICE buyers and sellers to do business. Some 3,000 selected key organizers and planners participated in the IME2009, and among which over 300 business partners were invited by the MGTO Japan Representation Team. The Macau pavilion was the largest in terms of exhibition space out of 64 exhibiters in the trade show, drawing lots of potential event planners’ and organizers’ attention and requests for more information about having incentive tours in Macau. Taking the convenience of time and location, MGTO also conducted a seminar on Macau’s MICE development during the IME. The seminar brought together 22 key agents and event organizers from Japan for service and product updates and business discussions. It was well received by the participants and their response to the program was very positive.
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