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President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao told the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, in Beijing today that the Central Government would continue to give its all-out support to the Special Administrative Region (SAR). President Hu met with Mr Ho, who was in Beijing for an annual duty visit, when the Chief Executive briefed him on the latest developments in Macao. President Hu said that since Macao's return to the motherland, its economy had grown rapidly and its public order improved significantly. Moreover, it had continued to co-operate with the Mainland and developed links with other countries and regions, said Mr Hu. The President said that the Central Government would continue to give its all-out support to Macao, as well as the policies and plans that would be of benefit to the long-term stability and prosperity of the SAR. He urged the SAR Government and people from all sectors to work together and continue to make Macao an even better society. Answering the President, Mr Ho expressed his gratitude for the Central Government's support and confidence in the SAR Government, and said that Macao’s economy had developed steadily in recent years, yet there were some issues that remained to be tackled. Also attending the meeting were the Vice President, Mr Zeng Qinghong; the Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, Mr Wang Gang; State Councilor of State Council, Mr Tang Jiaxuan, and Vice-Chairman of the 10th CPPCC National Committee and the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Liao Hui. Earlier in the morning, Premier Wen Jiabao met with Mr Ho and was also briefed on developments. On hearing Mr Ho's brief, the Premier said the general situation for Macao's development was beneficial, after steady economic growth in recent years. The Central Government had affirmed the work of Mr Ho and the SAR Government, said Premier Wen, and he urged the SAR Government to unite different sectors of Macao and work towards a co-ordinated development of Macao’s economy and society. Mr Wen also expressed his concern over the possible increase in salinity of Macao's potable water in the next few months, and said that the Central Government and Guangdong Province were developing measures to tackle the problem on a long-term basis. Mr Ho expressed his gratitude to the Central Government’s concern over the issue and said he was confident the problem would be fully solved after several measures are put into effect in the next two years. Also attending the meeting were Vice Premier, Ms Wu Yi; State Councilor of State Council, Mr Tang Jiaxuan; State Councilor of State Council and the Secretary-General of State Council, Mr Hua Jianmin, and Vice-Chairman of the 10th CPPCC National Committee and the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Liao Hui.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that, in November 2006, Macao’s total value of exports amounted to MOP1.45 billion, down 33.2% over the same month of 2005. Among this, the value of domestic exports dropped 42.0% to MOP908 million, and the value of re-exports decreased 10.5% to MOP544 million. Total value of imports amounted to MOP3.25 billion, up 9.8% over the same period of 2005. A trade deficit of MOP1.80 billion was recorded. During the period of January – November 2006, the value of total exports expanded 6.8% year-on-year to MOP18.88 billion. Both the values of domestic exports and re-exports registered increases, up by 5.5% and 10.0% respectively. Moreover, the value of imports grew 17.1% to MOP33.13 billion. In the first eleven months of 2006, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP14.25 billion. The exports/imports ratio decreased from 62.5% in the corresponding period of 2005 to 57.0%. During these eleven months, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 72.3% of the total exports, grew 0.4% over the same period of 2005, while the value of Non-textile exports rose 27.8%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof and Footwear expanded 3.8% and 425.0% respectively year-on-year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 64.1% of the total value of exports. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 44.8% of the total value of exports, decreased 1.8%, while exports to the EU, which took up 19.3% of the total, increased 28.7% over the same period of 2005. During the period of January – November 2006, Macao’s total value of imports grew 17.1% year-on-year, mainly due to increases in import values of, by broad economic categories, Fuels & lubricants (+33.8%), Consumer goods (+19.7%), Raw materials & semi-manufactures (+14.8%) and Capital goods (+7.5%). Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong, which together constituted 55.4% of the total import value, rose 23.5% and 22.1% respectively compared with the same period of 2005.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is scheduled to brief state leaders tomorrow on his initiatives and developments in Macao. Mr Ho, who arrived in Beijing today on his annual duty visit, will tell them about recent developments in Macao and the initiatives he had outlined in his Policy Address. On his departure at the Macau International Airport, Mr Ho was asked by reporters who the next Secretary for Transport and Public Works would be. He said he had not yet considered this, but he hoped he would be able to find a suitable candidate to propose to the Central Government after January next year. Welcoming Mr Ho at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Mr Chen Zuoer, told reporters that the incident of Mr Ao Man Long demonstrated the efficiency of Macao's Commission Against Corruption. He said this was an isolated case and urged Macao's residents to be confident in the Macao Special Administrative Regional Government, as their standard of living continued to rise after the establishment of the SAR. Mr Chen said that the Central Government would continue to support the governance of the SAR Government and its efforts in fighting corruption. While Mr Ho is in Beijing, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, is acting as the Chief Executive.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for September - November 2006 was held stable at 3.6%, as in August - October 2006, but decreased by 0.4 percentage point over the same period of 2005. The underemployment rate stood at 0.9%, which remained unchanged from the previous period, but down by 0.6 percentage point year-on-year. About 1,300 unemployed persons were searching for their first job, representing 12.7% of the total unemployed population, a decline of 1.0 percentage point over the preceding period. Compared with August - October 2006, the unemployment situation was improved in Manufacturing; Transport, storage & communications; and Real estate, renting & business activities, while the situation in other sectors remained stable. Total labour force was estimated at 285,000 in September - November 2006, of which the employed and the unemployed populations were 275,000 and 10,000 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 66.2%, same as that in August - October 2006, but up by 2.7 percentage points over the same period of 2005.
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Immigration authorities recorded a total of 1,308,237 crossing the six immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR over the holidays (22 to 25 December 2006) Total number of arrivals stood at 663,366 with Border-gate: 504,891 Lotus Bridge: 3,055 Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal: 132,236 Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14: 6,069 Macao International Airport: 17,062 Cross-border Industrial Zone: 53 Total number of departures stood at 644,871 with Border-gate: 510,915 Lotus Bridge: 3,371 Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal: 107,398 Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14: 4,174 Macao International Airport: 18,967 Cross-border Industrial Zone: 46 Meanwhile, total number of tourist arrivals in that period stood at 318,960 with a growth of 34.43% over the same period of last year.
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The Statistics and Census Service released the preliminary results of the By-census 2006 conducted this August, as follows: Information from the By-census 2006 indicated that the resident population of Macao was 502,000 on 19 August 2006, which increased by 15.4% in comparison with the Census 2001; the average annual growth rate was 2.9%. Among the resident population, 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. The higher ratio of the female population is mainly attributable to the fact that about 60.0% of the non-resident workers and immigrants were female. In terms of age structure, the youth population aged 0-14 shared 15.2% of the total, while the proportion of the elderly population aged 65 and above was 7.0%. Analysed by Parish, the resident population living in the Nossa Senhora de Fátima Parish reached 201,000 that accounted for 40.0% of the total, which was followed by the Santo António Parish, with 113,000 persons (22.5%). Taipa Island logged 63,000 persons, sharing 12.6% of the total resident population. More detailed information on the population’s demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the By-census 2006 will be available in April 2007. In addition, the estimates of resident population after Census 200l will be revised accordingly based on the results of the By-census 2006.
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The Macau Grand Prix Committee (MGPC) paid today a tribute to the departed Cheong Vai Kei, with the unveiling of a sculpture of his face at the Macau Grand Prix Museum. Macau SAR Chief Executive Edmund Ho was present at the ceremony along with Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and president of the MGPC, Chui Sai On, director of Macau Government Tourist Office and coordinator of the MGPC, João Manuel Costa Antunes, members of the MGPC, among other individuals. Cheong Vai Kei is the latest individual to be honored at the Macau Grand Prix Museum with a sculpture of his face. The Museum pays tribute to those who contributed extensively to the success of the Grand Prix during its more than 50 years of history. Sculptures of the face of Teddy Yip, John Corsmit, Arsenio Laurel and Paul Dutoit, are also showcased at the Museum. As member of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, from 1988 to 2005, Cheong Vai Kei has committed himself, through his contacts and influence, to garner the support of the local community for the event, which he firmly believed to be more than just a mere sports spectacle. While Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Macau SAR, Cheong Vai Kei once again was the fundamental bridge to further the cause of the Macau Grand Prix as an important sports event, with return on investment beyond comparison in raising the city’s international profile. The Macau Grand Prix Committee was but one of the many prestigious roles undertaken by him for the city. Born in Macau, he passed away on 22 December 2005, victim of disease, at the age of only 48. A Bachelor of Business Administration, he was director of various companies, was a legislator nominated by the Chief Executive, exercised the role of Secretary General of the Macau Olympic Committee, was president of the Military Club, among many other distinguished titles. In a multicultural society like Macau, those who know him unanimously agree that he was a vital link between the Chinese and Portuguese communities, friendly and always accessible.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI for November 2006 was 109.94, up by 0.22% over October. The increment was driven by increases in the price indices of Housing & fuels and Clothing & footwear. Compared with October 2006, the indices of Clothing & footwear and Housing & fuels recorded notable increases of 2.44% and 0.54% respectively, which were attributable to the rising prices of women’s clothing and footwear, as well as higher rentals for housing. Moreover, dearer charges for dental services raised the index of Health by 0.14%. On the other hand, lower charges for outbound package tour pushed the price index of Recreation & culture down by 0.24%. Despite the higher charges for the meals bought away from home, the price index of Food & non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 0.05% as a result of lower prices of vegetables and fruit. The Composite CPI for November 2006 registered a year-on-year increase of 4.40%. The average Composite CPI for January to November went up by 5.20% compared with the same period of 2005. For the 12 months ended November 2006, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.24% over the previous period. In addition, the CPI-A and CPI-B for November 2006 were 111.18 and 109.63, up by 0.14% and 0.24% respectively compared with October. Starting from January 2006, the CPI has been rebased to July 2004 to June 2005. The Composite CPI reflects the impacts of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP 3,000 to MOP 9,999; the CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP 10,000 to MOP 19,999.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the total number of visitor arrivals reached 1,949,583 in November 2006, representing a year-on-year increase of 21.4%. Visitors from Mainland China; Hong Kong; and Taiwan, China grew 14.5%, 33.9% and 9.1% respectively. Meanwhile, same-day visitors accounted for 51.5% of the total arrivals, at 1,003,355. Visitors came mainly from Mainland China (54.8% of the total), Hong Kong (30.6%) and Taiwan, China (6.1%). Among those from Mainland China, 513,119 (48.0%) travelled to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme. In the first eleven months of 2006, visitor arrivals totalled 19,835,205, which have surpassed the annual total of 2005 (18,711,187), up 16.4% over the same period of last year. Visitors from Mainland China rose 13.7% to 10,843,042, which accounted for 54.7% of the total arrivals; those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China shared 31.4% and 6.7% respectively. Furthermore, same-day visitors made up 51.6% of the total, at 10,237,410. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea increased 13.2% year-on-year to 6,900,231 in the first eleven months of 2006, with 6,562,275 arriving at the Outer Harbour; the majority of these visitors were from Hong Kong (59.9%) and Mainland China (27.6%). Visitor arrivals at the Inner Harbour jumped 78.7% to 337,956. At the same time, the cumulative number of visitors arriving through the Border Gate soared 25.9% to 11,816,570. The majority of the visitors came from Mainland China (73.0%) and Hong Kong (19.1%). In addition, visitor arrivals by air were 1,118,404, up 17.2% compared with the same period of last year, with 1,109,147 arriving at the Macao International Airport (+17.4%). Visitors from Taiwan, China (54.7%) and Mainland China (20.2%) were the major users of this access.
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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen said today that this year’s economic growth could reach the projected 12%, with gaming revenue likely to MOP50 billion. Mr Tam, speaking to the press at the reception to celebrate the 7th anniversary of the establishment of the SAR, said the Governement was confident that these could be reached in this year. He said as the Facilitated Individual Traveling Scheme would be implemented in five more cities in China, with more tourism facilities due to open in 2007, the general economy was expected to get a boost from the booming tourism and service industry. Asked about the issue of a minimum wage, Mr Tam said that as the Chief Executive had clearly stated in his Policy Address, the Government would implement a trial of minimun wages in tenders for cleaning and security services provided to Government institutions. And next year, a bill that would include minimum wage and maximum working hours clauses would be submitted for public consultation, hopefully would be introduced later in the same year.
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