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Macao would continue to promote co-operation between members of the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Mr Ho was delivering a speech during a session with top officials from the PPRD region and the trade and commerce officials from the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ‘Co-operation between the PPRD region and ASEAN would bring plentiful and substantial results,’ Mr Ho said. Mr Ho also underlined Macao’s role as a gateway to the markets of the Portuguese-speaking countries and its willingness to help promote business links among members of PPRD region, ASEAN and the Portuguese-speaking countries. ‘The Portuguese-speaking countries are emerging, providing new opportunities for businesspeople,’ said Mr Ho. He emphasised that in order to better act as a business platform, Macao had to facilitate its business environment and strengthen communication with ASEAN. ‘Macao’s many new business, convention and exhibition facilities would be enchanced, enabling members of the PPRD forum and ASEAN to promote connections,’ he said. ‘We had also enhanced connections with ASEAN, with two Government and business delegations visited four Southeast Asian countries since last October,’ ‘These visits had not only prompted friendship and mutual understanding, but also substantial co-operation in trade, tourism, training of personnel and more.’ He said that ASEAN member countries had reputed advantages in many areas. ‘These advantages can be promoted to members of the PPRD forum and the Portuguese-speaking countries, and Macao should also learn from the ASEAN countries in these aspects,’ Mr Ho said.
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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam, said today that consolidation after a fast-growing period is good for the long-term healthy and stable development of Macao’s gaming industry. Mr Tam, who is attending the 4th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation and Development Forum in Changsha, was asked to respond to reports on a gaming operator’s decision to delay expansion plan after the Guangdong authorities made a revision to the implementation of the Facilitated Individual Traveling scheme. He said it was normal and common in the business world for investors to adjust their business plans according to changes in the market. Mr Tam said Macao’s gaming industry had gone through several years of rapid growth due to investors’ optimism in the industry’s outlook. “A chance for the operators to adjust their plan according to the market will consolidate the achieved development and is good for the long term healthy development of the industry, “ he said. “It will be normal even if the gaming industry is to enter a consolidating period, and it would only benefit to the overall economic development of Macao after.” He said the Government’s plan was to make gaming a splinter to boost other service industry and was glad to see signs of that emerging, as some non-gaming facilities built by gaming operators would come into service later this year.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today that Macao would continue to promote co-operation with members of the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum. Mr Ho was delivering a speech at a forum at which the governors of the nine provinces in the PPRD region, including the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, and other high-ranking officials, were taking part. Mr Ho said that given the limited domestic market, it was necessary for Macao’s business sector to value opportunities in the neighbouring regions, especially emerging ones in the Mainland. Since the commencement of the PPRD co-operation mechanism three years ago, Macao had continued to promote all-round co-operation with members of the PPRD forum and attached particular importance to partnerships in trade and tourism industry. Meanwhile, he also said that Macao could act as a gateway for companies in the PPRD region to enter Portuguese-speaking countries and the European Union. ‘Benefiting from years of endeavour, Macao had enhanced co-operation with Portuguese-speaking countries and the European Union,’ he said. ‘Lately, Macao attracted attention from investors worldwide and was gradually turning into a characterised services hub in the region.’ Mr Ho said Macao had contributed to the organisation of an economic forum and trade fair staged in Mozambique two months ago, the purpose of which was to promote trade and co-operation among companies from China and Portuguese-speaking countries. He said Macao had gained valuable experience from the event and he was confident that in the future Macao could provide excellent services for companies in the PPRD region to venture in Portuguese-speaking countries and the European Union. To better act as a business platform, Mr Ho said that Macao had to enhance its business environment and service quality. He explained that the opening of new convention and exhibition facilities in the second half of this year would enable Macao to better act as a business platform for companies in the PPRD region to enter the markets worldwide. He said Macao would hold the 12th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair in October and this would further promote business opportunities for enterprises in the region. Moreover, Macao would stage an international business forum in April 2008 to explore opportunities in the emerging environmental protection industry. Mr Ho said Macao would invite governments in the PPRD region to support the organisation of the forum, which would attract businesspeople from Europe and the PPRD region.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, met with the Secretary of Hunan Provincial CPC Committee, Mr Zhang Chunxian, and the Governor of Hunan Province, Mr Zhou Qing, when they both agreed to step up collaborative relationship between the two places. Mr Ho met the Hunan leaders after he had been received by the vice chairman of the CPPCC Hunan, Mr Yang Baohua, upon his arrival at the provincial capital of Changsha in the afternoon. “The chief aim of this visit is to further link up Macao and Hunan in trading, tourism and cultural cooperation,” said Mr Ho during the meeting. “Macao’s entrepreneurs should fully make use of the opportunities that come along with the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Cooperation and Development Forum, and to seek business opportunities outside Macao. “Meanwhile, Macao, which acts as business platform, is willing to provide favourable services and to assist Hunan and the rest ‘9+2’ brotherhood-like provinces and regions to open up markets in the Portuguese-speaking countries,“ said Mr Ho. Mr Zhang accepted Macao’s role as business platform, and said that tourism and cultural cooperation could be a starting point to strengthen collaborative relationship between the two areas. The Macao delegation attended a welcome banquet hosted by the Hunan government before the opening ceremony of the 4th PPRD Regional Cooperation and Development Forum, and a cultural performance show.
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Under the framework of the "9+2" Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), strengthening multi-lateral cooperation will be the focal point of this 4th forum, said the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah. The Chief Executive said this today as he led a delegation of government officials and local business people to Changsha, Hunan to attend the 4th PPRD Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair. Asked by reporters at Macao International Airport on his departure that if Mr Ho would take this opportunity to further discuss with Hunan province officials the human resource cooperation issue. He said most activities would only concentrate on "9+2" cooperation, adding that he had no special arrangement to discuss specific cooperation with any particular province. "Macao and Hunan is willing to have a collaboration on human resource, and we hope to find ways, gradually, to strengthen our cooperation," said Mr Ho. "However, the existing cooperation mechanism for labour-market between Macao and the Mainland goes through the Ministry of Commerce, it is hard to surpass this mechanism and to discuss cooperation with specific province," he said. Mr Ho will attend the opening ceremony of the forum tomorrow and will deliver a speech on a forum to be attended by high-ranking officials. He is also scheduled to attend a dialogue with "9+2" leaders and officials from ministries of commerce of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries on June 10, which is one of the highlights of the forum. During Mr Ho's absence, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan will be the Acting Chief Executive. The PPRD Regional Cooperation and Development Forum was first established in 2004. It is also known as the "9+2", with members from nine provinces and two special administrative region, namely Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichan, Guizhou, Yunan, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is to lead a delegation of officials to Changsha, the capital city of Hunan, tomorrow for the 4th Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Co-operation Fair. During his visit to Hunan, Mr Ho will attend the opening ceremony of the forum and trade fair, and is scheduled to meet with the Secretary of Hunan Provincial CPC Committee, Mr Zhang Chunxian, and the Governor of Hunan Province, Mr Zhou Qiang. Top officials from the nine provinces and the two Special Administrative Regions (SAR) in the PPRD region will gather together and discuss further co-operation. Moreover, commerce and trade officials from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would also participate in the forum and meet with the top officials from the PPRD regions. This is the fourth PPRD forum since its establishment in 2004. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Ho is away.
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The former Secretary for Transportation and Public Works, Ao Man Long, has been formally accused of bribe-taking, money laundering, abuse of power and being in control of millions of dollars worth of properties. A statement released today by the Public Prosecutions Office said the Office has completed its investigation and has submitted the above-mentioned charges against him to the Court of Final Appeal. Under pre-trail procedures spitulated in the Macao's Criminal Procedural Code, a suspect has the right to appeal against the Public Prosections Office's charges within 10 days after having been notified of them, the statement said. The court has two months to complete the pre-trail procedures. If the charges remained at that time, the case will be heard in an appropriate court. Ao has been detained since the Commission Against Corruption arrested him on 6 December 2006.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today exchanged views on how to increase water supply to Macao from the Mainland, when he met with the Deputy Secretary General of NPC Standing Committee, Ms He Yehui, and the Vice Minister of Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Jiao Yong. Accompanied by the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR, Mr Bai Zhijian, Ms He and her delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Executive this afternoon at Government Headquarter. During the meeting, Mr Ho expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Central Government, the NPC Standing Committee and the Ministry of Water Resources for their support in helping Macao solve the water salinity problem last year. Ms He said the NPC Standing Committee would continue to be concerned with and follow the issue closely, and pay special attention to Macao's water supply problems. Mr Jiao said the Ministry of Water Resources has been working on the issue and a proposal for a long-term solution has been sent to the Central Government for approval. Ms He and delegation members from Ministry of Water Resources will attend a seminar on water supply from Mainland to Macao, and ways to restrain the so-called salt tides. Delegation members will also visit several water supply facilities during their three-day-visit in Macao. Macao had experienced increased salinity in its water supply during dry winters and springs. The Chief Executive and the members of NPC Standing Committee from Macao SAR region have expressed their concern to the Central Government during the fourth plenary Session of the 10th National People's Congress in 2006 March.
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Non-gaming facilities to be brought on line in the third and fourth quarters of this year would help fuel Macao's economic growth, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said today. Mr Tam said mega shopping malls, convention and exhibition venues due to open in the second half of the year would help steer Macao towards a healthier and more diversified and sustainable economy. He described the year 2007 as a 'crucial time' for Macao's economic development. Macao recorded a real growth of 25.6% in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter. As for the Mainland authorities' decision to revise the Facilitated Individual Travel (FIT) policy, Mr Tam said this was understandable and Macao would fully support its decision.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released the expenditure-based GDP and the related information for the first quarter of 2007 as follows. The growth rates indicated in this release refer to the real year-on-year growth rates, unless otherwise specified. In the first quarter of 2007, the gaming and tourism sector continued to perform well. Gross gaming receipts (excluding gratuities) grew significantly by 43.5% in nominal terms compared with the same quarter of 2006. Total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose by 16.0% upon rises in the number of visitors and the visitors’ per-capita spending. Investment went up strongly by 38.1% on the back of several large-scale construction projects in progress. However, exports of goods fell by 8.5%. Estimated from all relevant data, the real GDP growth rate in the first quarter was 25.6%. In terms of major GDP components, private consumption expenditure in the first quarter of 2007 increased 12.4% in nominal terms, following a similar increase of 12.5% in the previous quarter, whereas the real growth rate was 8.0%, slower than the 10.6% growth in the previous quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market rose 8.5% while that abroad went down 1.7%, with the expenditure in Mainland China amounted to MOP 478 million. Government final consumption expenditure increased 3.5%, up from the 1.7% in the previous quarter. Among this, compensation of employees was up 4.9% while net purchases of goods and services dropped 13.5%. Gross fixed capital formation, a gauge of investment, showed a sustained robust expansion, at 38.1%, higher than the 25.6% in the previous quarter. In the private sector, total investment recorded an increase of 39.7% mainly attributable to a surge in investment in construction by 42.4%, whereas investment in equipment rose 32.5%. On the other hand, total government investment slumped 61.9%, in which investment in construction decreased 77.4% while that in equipment surged by 135.4%. Based on the data of the public and private sectors, total investment in construction expanded 40.0% in the first quarter of 2007, quickening from the 33.0% in the previous quarter; total investment in equipment increased 33.0%, significantly up from the 1.8% in the previous quarter. In terms of visible trade, decline in total export value of goods in the first quarter narrowed from 28.6% in the previous quarter to 9.7% in nominal terms, or from 28.9% to 8.5% in real terms. Among this, exports to the United States and European Union went down in nominal terms by 27.0% and 14.2% respectively. Total import value of goods increased considerably upon greater demand, by 18.9% and 17.3% in nominal and real terms respectively, higher than the corresponding figures of 11.8% and 10.3% in the previous quarter. As regards invisible trade (exports of services), exports of gaming services rose 43.0%; total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) increased 16.0% upon rises in the number of visitor arrivals and the visitors’ per-capita spending. Based on the integrated data of the exports of services, total exports of invisible trade recorded an increase of 32.9%, slightly lower than the 34.2% in the previous quarter. Moreover, imports of services grew 17.7%, up from the 11.7% in the previous quarter.
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