News

Statistics and Census Service released the results of Employment Survey for the third quarter of 2006. Principal indicators such as the labour force participation rate, unemployment rate and underemployment rate have been published in the brief report in October. In the third quarter of 2006, total labour force was estimated at 282,000, of which the employed and unemployed populations were 271,000 and 11,000 respectively. Compared with the previous quarter, the employed and unemployed populations increased 7,300 and 400 respectively. Regarding the employed population, 53.8% were male. Analyzed by industry, the majority of the employed population were engaging in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (20.4%), Wholesale & retail trade (12.9%), Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (12.3%), as well as the Construction sector (12.0%). In terms of occupation, 22.4% of the employed population were Clerks (including casino dealers, floorpersons, betting service operators, etc.); 20.6% were Service & sales workers and 17.9% were Unskilled workers. The median actual hours worked per week was 47.2 hours and the median monthly employment earnings was MOP6,795. Within the unemployed, 86.5% were searching for a new job, while 13.5% had never worked and were searching for their first job. With regard to the educational attainment, 11.6% had lower than primary education; 24.7% had primary education; 28.4% had junior secondary education; 19.4% had senior secondary education and 15.8% had tertiary education. For the unemployed that were searching for a new job: Analyzed by the previous industry engaged, the majority had worked in Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (22.8%), Wholesale & retail trade (16.3%), Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services (16.0%), as well as the Construction sector (14.9%). In terms of the previous occupation, 37.7% were Service & sales workers; Unskilled workers and Clerks accounted for 18.8% and 15.9% respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that in the third quarter of 2006, construction of 18 buildings was started, with 309 units and 175,810 m² in gross floor area, down 78.8% and 60.7% respectively over the third quarter of 2005, but up 103.3% and 38.1% respectively in comparison with the second quarter of 2006. A sum of 714 parking spaces for cars and 152 parking spaces for motorcycles were provided. In the first three quarters of 2006, the newly started buildings provided 1,833 units and 589,537 m² in gross floor area, down 24.1% and 61.9% year-on-year respectively. In this quarter, a total of 27 buildings were completed and extended, involving 2,049 units and 536,745 m² in gross floor area, up 1.5 times and 4.9 times respectively over the third quarter of 2005, and up 3.1 times and 55.3% respectively in comparison with the second quarter of 2006. A sum of 2,691 parking spaces for cars and 430 parking spaces for motorcycles were provided. In the first three quarters of the year, the completed and extended buildings provided 2,904 units and 1,062,959 m² in gross floor area, up 2.2 times and 4.9 times respectively over the same period of 2005. In addition, the number of residential buildings completed and extended was 21, supplying 1,904 building units, which went up 1.6 times and 3.2 times over the third quarter of 2005 and the second quarter of 2006 respectively. The housing units were mainly T3 (1,379 units), accounting for 72.4% of the total, followed by T2 (472 units). The number of housing units completed in the first three quarters of 2006 was 2,681 units, showing a year-on-year increase of 2.5 times.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, has called on the residents of Macao to embrace innovation, take responsibilities and work with the Government to steer Macao towards becoming a harmonious society. Presenting the 2007 Policy Address in the Legislative Assembly today, Mr Ho said the Government would continue to enhance the quality of life and adaptability of the residents during Macao's evolution. As the gaming industry continued to grow, the Chief Executive emphasised that this was only part of the city's tourism industry, and it was not Macao's vision to become a mere gaming centre in the region. He pointed out that the Government would provide more incentives to promote the co-ordinated and healthy development of the gaming industry and other sectors. The Government would continue to listen to opinions on the development of the gaming industry by setting up a consultative panel consisting of representatives from different sectors. On the other hand, Mr Ho highlighted the Government's concern about the disparity between the rich and the poor, saying that the consolidation of the social welfare and social security system would be one of the priorities of the Government in next year. One of the measures would be the introduction of a minimum wage scheme for those employed by contractors to provide cleansing or security guard services to Government institutions. Regarding the reforms on legal and public administration, the Chief Executive said that the Government would propose a cross-year work plan to the public in the first half of next year to accelerate their progress. Meanwhile, a comprehensive accountability system for public servants would be established to strengthen their sense of responsibility. The Government would also restructure its existing consultation system and enhance the transparency of the decision-making process of its policies. In view of the shortage in human resources, the Government would continue to promote the training of labour, and step up introduction of bills regulating the protection of local labour's rights and the introduction of imported labour. Furthermore, the Government would consider establishing a special-purpose department to address the shortage. To enhance the transportation system in the city, the Government would step up the introduction of the light rail rapid transit system and the construction of a cross harbour tunnel. On the political system, Mr Ho announced that the Government would complete the drafting of the methods for selecting the third Chief Executive and the forming of the Fourth Term Legislative Assembly in next year, submitting the proposals to the Legislative Assembly in 2008. The Government would also propose a bill to the Legislative Assembly for the increase of civil servants’ salaries by 4.76%, raising the salary reference point from 52.5 patacas to 55 patacas. Moreover, tentative cuts or suspension on salaries tax, business tax, property tax and other social welfare measures would continue, to benefit the public. The Chief Executive will meet legislators in the Assembly tomorrow to answer questions on his Policy Address.
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The Chinese-language and Portuguese-language editions of Macao Yearbook 2006, an annual publication compiled and edited by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) of the Macao SAR, will hit the shelf on 15 November 2006. The Macao Yearbook outlines major events, progress and changes made in the course of Macao’s political, economic, social and cultural development on a yearly and systematic basis. It provides detailed and up-to-date information for all who wish to study and understand the territory. The Macao Yearbook has been published since 2002, and it is available in three languages, namely Chinese, Portuguese and English. Comprising 177 photographs, the Macao Yearbook 2006 is divided into five sections: Administrative Priorities of the MSAR Government; Calendar of Events; Review of the MSAR; Overview of the MSAR; and Appendices. Consisting of 16 chapters, the Overview of the MSAR presents information on the political and administrative system; legal and judicial system; external relations; economy; gaming industry; tourism; public order; education; culture and sport; health and social welfare; media, communications and information technology; land, infrastructure, housing and public utilities; transport; geography, environment and population; religion and customs; and history. Meanwhile in order to trace Macao’s changes in a visual manner, the GCS co-organised a photographic competition entitled “New Faces of Macao” for the third time with eight local photography organisations in early 2006. The Macao Yearbook 2006 has been enriched by 15 winning entries from the competition. In a bid to facilitate the accessibility to the Macao Yearbook, the GCS has launched the electronic version of the yearbook while continuously improving its print edition. The yearbooks from 2002 to 2005 are now available electronically (in PDF format) in the following web site: http://yearbook.gcs.gov.mo/. The 545-page Chinese and 637-page Portuguese editions of the Macao Yearbook 2006 can be purchased at the following places at 120 patacas or 120 Hong Kong dollars per copy: major local bookstores; the Macao Post Office (Macao Post)’s Philatelic Division, Rua do Campo Branch, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal Branch, Macau International Airport Branch, and Nova Taipa Branch; Government Printing Bureau and its outlet at the Public Administrative Building on Rua do Campo. The English edition of the Macao Yearbook 2006 is in the process of printing and binding, and will be available for sale in due course. During the promotion period lasting until 31 March 2007, a 20-percent discount will be offered to any purchase of Macao Yearbook 2006. Anyone who buys the 2006 edition will also enjoy a 50-percent discount on the purchase of any of the previous editions (i.e. Macao Yearbook 2005, Macao Yearbook 2004, Macao Yearbook 2003 and Macao Yearbook 2002).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 183,697 in September 2006, down 5.5% year-on-year. Among them, visitors from Mainland China (140,220) dropped 6.9%, while those from Japan (8,773) and Hong Kong (8,636) rose 47.8% and 7.6% respectively over September 2005. In the first nine months of 2006, visitor arrivals in package tours grew 8.8% over the same period of 2005 to 2,099,627. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours was 14,287 in September 2006, a significant year-on-year decrease of 40.7%. Mainland China, Thailand and Taiwan, China were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 76.1%, 6.1% and 4.6% of the total respectively. In the first nine months of 2006, Macao residents travelling in package tours decreased 9.4% to 203,982 compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 27,072 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by travel agencies, a decrease of 6.5% over September 2005; Mainland China (34.2%), Hong Kong (30.4%) and Taiwan, China (16.5%) were the major destinations. In the first nine months of 2006, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements increased 15.7% to 275,205 from the corresponding period of 2005. At the end of September 2006, number of guest rooms available in the hotel industry registered a year-on-year increase of 1,732 rooms (+16.2%) to 12,411 rooms. In addition, a total of 365,094 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, a growth of 12.1% compared with September 2005. The average hotel occupancy rate was 67.2%, representing a marginal growth of 0.3 percentage point over September 2005; the highest average was in the 4-star hotels, at 73.6%. The average length of stay of hotel guests showed an increase of 0.01 night, at 1.18 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (53.0%), Hong Kong (28.9%) and Taiwan, China (3.1%). In the first nine months of 2006, the number of hotel guests increased 11.6% over the same period of 2005 to 3,343,161. In the first nine months of 2006, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 41.1% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 42.8% recorded in the same period of 2005.
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As part of the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, a seminar on “Mutual Legal Assistance – Civil Matters – Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitration Awards” will start tomorrow, November 13, at 6:30 pm, at the Auditorium of the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (Luso-International Bank Building, 18th floor). This training activity will have as speakers Mr. Christopher To, Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and fellow of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and The Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, and Mr. Gary Soo, Barrister at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and fellow of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and The Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators. The seminar will be conducted daily, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, until next Friday, November 17. Inserted in the program are the following topics: Overview of International Commercial Arbitration; Agreement to Arbitrate; Appointment of Arbitral Tribunal; Ethics, Rights and Powers of Arbitrators; Commencement and Pre-hearing Proceedings; The Hearing Process; Requirements of Arbitral Awards; Judicial Review of Arbitral Awards and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards. The Legal and Judicial Training Centre and the International Law Office are responsible for organising this seminar, which will be taught in English and targets Law degree holders. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System” and is currently in its fifth and final year, taking place until February 2007. The total budget for the programme is of 1.980.000 euros, shared in equal parts by the European Union and Macao. The co-ordination of the Co-operation Programme is at the responsibility of the International Law Office, being the organisation of the pertaining actions ensured by several other entities of the MSAR’s Government, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services and the Institute of European Studies, other than the International Law Office itself.
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Macau Government Tourist Office（MGTO）attended World Travel Market 2006（WTM） in London to promote Macau tourism and its valuable World Heritage as well as to uplift Macau’s profile through this fair. Deputy Director of MGTO, Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and other MGTO staff members together with some representatives from Macau’s tourism industry went to London to join the trade event. MGTO set up a pavilion at the fair to promote Macau’s World Heritage and to introduce business travel, cultural travel and leisure travel of Macau. World Travel Market 2006 took place at Excel London from 6 to 9 September, in between there were seminars, conferences, debates and performances. WTM brings together worldwide buyers and sellers from around the world. Last year, it attracted 48,211 travel industry professionals representing over 202 countries or regions. During the event, Pacific Asia Travel Association UK Chapter with the support of PATA International, organized at the House of Commons at the Palace of Westminster on 7 November this first keynote dinner, which was sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office. A wide variety of UK companies and associations from the travel sector were invited to join the dinner where MGTO’s officials had a chance to meet top-level guests of the UK travel sector. It was also an opportunity to uplift Macau’s profile and showcase the destination.
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To celebrate the 140th anniversary of Dr Sun Yat-Sen’s birth, Macau Government Tourist Office specially organize the “Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and Macau – A Photographic Commemoration on the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of his Birth” to commemorate this legendary figure. Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam, Vice Director of Coordination Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau SAR, Luo Xiangzhu, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, João Manuel Costa Antunes, Director of Zhuhai Tourism Bureau, Deng Panren and President of the Macau History Association Chan Su Weng officiated the opening ceremony today. Being the largest photo exhibition of Dr Sun Yat-Sen in Macau in recent years, the exhibition “Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and Macau – A Photographic Commemoration on the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of his Birth” is staged at the exhibition hall of Macau Tourism and Cultural Activities Center at the Ruins of St Paul’s, where 130 historic photos of Dr Sun Yat-Sen provided by Chan Su Weng of Macau History Association are on display. Dr Sun is an important figure in the modern history of China. The years Dr Sun spent in Macau formed a valuable episode of Macau’s history. Through the exhibition “Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and Macau – A Photographic Commemoration on the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of his Birth” organized by MGTO, the public can get a glimpse of the life of this legendary figure. Dr Sun’s home village, Cuiheng is just 37 kilometres from Macau and both cities were historically under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan. Dr Sun Yat-Sen had a close relationship with Macau, where he first visited with his mother when he was young. In 1892, he returned to Macau to take up the post as voluntary doctor at the Kiang Wu Hospital, where he set up “Sun Medicine Clinic” and was the first Chinese to practice western medicine in Macau. Sun not only had profound friendship with Chinese in Macau, but also made friends with many Portuguese. There are now in Macau 3 statues of Dr Sun Yat-Sen, as well as a memorial house, a garden and two streets in Dr Sun’s name. Apart from the photo exhibition, MGTO has also launched a series of activities to commemorate Dr Su Yat-Sen, including free “Tour of Dr Sun Yat-Sen’s Macau Days and World Heritage” for citizens and visitors who can get a greater understand of Dr Sun’s days in Macau. In conjunction with the Zhuhai Tourism Bureau and Zhongshan Tourism Bureau, MGTO has organized the “Greater Xiangshan – Dr Sun Yat-Sen Historical Tour” and printed guidebooks about the tour to enrich the travel experience of the visitors. Macau, Zhongshan and Zhuhai Tourism Bureaux also joined hands with Zhongshan TV Station to produce “Dreams of Xiangshan”, a TV program of 8 episodes and was also broadcasted on the Chinese channel of Teledifusão De Macau last month, for the Macau citizens to learn more about the Greater Xiangshan in the past.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today entended his congratulations to Dr Margaret Chan, following the confimation of her appointment as the next World Health Organization Director-General. Mr Ho said that Dr Chan was very experienced and had served in the public hygiene sector for many years. She became the first Chinese to be elected to head an international organisation. He said he was certain that Dr Chan would made further contribution in her new position.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, will deliver his Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2007 on 16 November (Thursday). The session, to be held in the Legislative Assembly at 3 pm, will be followed by a press conference at 5 pm in Government Headquarters. These will be broadcasted live on the Portal Website of the Macao SAR (http://www.gov.mo) and the website of the Legislative Assembly (http://www.al.gov.mo). Chinese and Portuguese versions of the Policy Address will be available on the websites. On 17 November (Friday), Mr Ho will attend a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly to answer questions raised by the legislators. Teledifusão de Macao and Radio Macao will also carry live broadcasts of the Policy Address, the press conference and the plenary meeting. On 20 November (Monday), the Legislative Assembly will discuss the budget of the Government for the Fiscal Year 2007. From 22 November (Wednesday) to 1 December (Friday), the five Secretaries will attend five sessions of plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly, to introduce their policies and answer the legislators' questions.
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