News

The English-language edition Macao Yearbook 2006, an annual publication published by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) of the Macao SAR, will hit the shelf on 19 January Meanwhile starting from tomorrow, any purchase of the three different language editions of Macao Yearbook 2006 will get a complimentary CD-ROM of the yearbook in the corresponding language. Enriched by some 177 photographs, the 617-page 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. Macao Yearbook 2006 is separately published in Chinese, Portuguese and English. The book that retails at a price of just 120 patacas/Hong Kong dollars per copy, will be available at the following places: 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. 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). The Chinese and Portuguese editions of the Macao Yearbook 2006 have been launched earlier.
…

The Henan Provincial Government today unveiled a trade promotion seminar and a photo exhibition in Macao, with the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, attending the opening ceremony. On behalf of the Macao SAR Government, Mr Ho received a gift, a bronze vessel, from the Henan Provincial Government. Speaking at the seminar to introduce the business attractions in Henan, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said the central China province occupied an important strategic location on the Mainland and enjoy excellent advantages in manufacturing, agriculture and pasturage industries. He said he hoped that Macao and Henan could co-operate in trading and tourism industries under the framework of CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement).
…

The current visit of Henan officials to Macao would enhance Macao's relationship with the central China province, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Mr Ho said this tonight at a dinner he was hosting to welcome the Henan delegation, which included the province’s Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Provincial Committee, Mr Xu Guangchun, and the Governor, Mr Li Chengyu. Mr Ho said since Macao’s reunification with the Mainland, the city had continued to prosper under the support of the Central Government and other provinces. He believed that staging events to promote Henan’s business environment would enhance bilateral relations between Macao and the central China province, said Mr Ho. Henan’s Governor, Mr Li Chengyu, said that the residents of Zhengzhou, Henan’s capital, could travel to Macao under the Facilitated Individual Travel (FIT) scheme, and this would provide more opportunities for the two places to bolster co-operation. Moreover, he said that Macao could co-operate with Henan in areas such as extracting natural resources and developing agriculture and tourism industries.
…

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Ms Helen Clark, has arrived in Macao, leading an official delegation on a one-day visit. The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, met with Ms Clark at the Santa Sancha where Macao’s high-ranking officials, including the President of the Legislative Assembly, Ms Susana Chou; the Secretary for Administration and Justice; Ms Florinda Chan; and the Secretary for Economic and Finance, Mr Francis Tam. Ms Clark arrived in the morning and visited some scenic spots such as the Ruin of St. Paul and the Guia Lighthouse. The delegation left in the afternoon.
…

Starting tomorrow, January 15, at 6 pm, at the Pousada de Mong Ha Conference Room (2nd floor), is a Course on Heritage Law and Regulations, as part of the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao. Organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre and the International Law Office, this course will have as speakers Nuno Portas, Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Oporto and renowned international specialist in areas such as urban rehabilitation and heritage protection, Ricardo Rodrigues, architect and member of the Municipal Office of the Historical Centre of Guimarães, Francisca Abreu, architect and town councillor responsible for Culture at the Municipal Council of Guimarães, and Stephan Chan, Vice-President of the Cultural Institute of the MSAR and responsible for the area of heritage protection. The subjects that will be discussed during the six sessions are: The Process of Urban Rehabilitation – Difficulties and Contradictions – Some Portuguese Examples; Talking about Cities: Macao as a Scenario; The Rehabilitation of the City of Guimarães (Introduction, The Local Office for the Historical Centre, The Plan, Criteria for Intervention); Cultural Promotion: City and Citizenship; Macau – A World Heritage City. This course will take place daily, between 6 pm and 8:30 pm, until January 20, and will specifically target legal advisors, specialists in the area of culture, architects, historians and groups of people linked with Heritage, having already an enrolment of more than sixty local participants. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, in which this course is incorporated, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System” and is currently in its fifth and final year, taking place until the end of this coming February. 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.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 289,626 in November 2006, up slightly by 0.2% year-on-year. Among them, visitors from Mainland China (214,504) dropped 10.6%, while those from Hong Kong (21,720) and Southeast Asia (13,637) reported remarkable growths of 121.4% and 114.2% respectively compared with November 2005. In the first eleven months of 2006, visitor arrivals in package tours grew 6.9% over the same period of 2005 to 2,602,613. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours in November 2006 was 21,754, a year-on-year increase of 12.0%. Mainland China; Thailand; and Taiwan, China were the three most popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 82.2%, 4.9% and 4.4% of the total respectively. In the first eleven months of 2006, Macao residents (245,335) travelling in package tours went down 8.4% compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 30,428 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by travel agencies, a marginal decrease of 0.5% over November 2005. Mainland China (37.8%); Hong Kong (33.1%); and Taiwan, China (12.5%) were the major destinations. In the first eleven months of 2006, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements increased 12.4% to 332,582 over the corresponding period of 2005. At the end of November 2006, number of guest rooms available in the hotel industry registered an increase of 1,860 rooms (+17.2%) over November 2005 to 12,693 rooms. In addition, a total of 443,377 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, representing a year-on-year growth of 14.3%. The average hotel occupancy rate dropped by 5.0 percentage points to 77.6%, with 4-star hotels leading at 85.0%. The average length of stay of hotel guests edged down by 0.01 night to 1.20 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (56.8%), Hong Kong (25.0%) and Taiwan, China (2.5%). In the first eleven months of 2006, number of hotel guests increased 12.4% over the same period of 2005 to 4,198,986. In the first eleven months of 2006, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 41.4% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 43.2% recorded in the same period of 2005.
…

The “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign organized by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and sponsored by the Macau Foundation saws its sixth monthly lucky draw and Mega Lucky Draw held today at the lobby of the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC). A visitor from Hong Kong won the Mega Prize – a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000. Officiating the draw were MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes, Deputy Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Deputy Director Manuel Pires, Member of the Administration Council of Macau Foundation, Wu Zhiliang and President of the Executive Committee of Macau Goldsmith’s Guild, Lei Chi Fong. A total of 28 winners of fabulous prizes for the Mega Lucky Draw and 9 for the sixth monthly lucky draw were announced. Heading the list of the prizes was the Mega Prize – a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000, won by a visitor from Hong Kong, while the other 27 winners were from Hong Kong; Mainland; Taiwan, China and Singapore. There were close to 4,000 entry coupons for the Mega Lucky Draw accumulated from the previous 6 monthly lucky draws. The winner of the sixth monthly lucky draw who took away a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000 was also from Hong Kong, while the other 8 winners were from Hong Kong; Mainland; Taiwan, China and Malaysia. The six-month long “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign offering prizes worth MOP $8 million has come to a conclusion. MGTO will notify the winners who have to collect and consume the prizes within 6 months from the day of the lucky draw. The objective of the “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign was to attract more visitors to Macau, enhance their knowledge of “The Historic Centre of Macau” while driving the length of stay and spending of visitors to new heights. From July 1 to December 31 last year, over 23,000 passports have been distributed through MGTO information counters. “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign featured instant lucky draws, monthly lucky draws and a year end Mega Lucky Draw offering fabulous prizes worth a total of MOP$8 million. 3,000 instant lucky draws were held from July 1 to December 31, giving out key chains, magnets, coasters, postcards and paper fans designed with Macau heritage images. A total of more than 1,124 entries were collected for the sixth monthly lucky draw. 9 winners, entitled to 8 Special Prizes and 1 Grand Prize, were drawn at each of the 6 monthly lucky draws. The Grand Prize was a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000, while the 8 Special Prizes featuring 8 one-oz gold coin, 3 nights at a 5-star hotel and “Macau World Heritage Highlight Tour” for 2 persons, were worth a total of MOP$400,000. 28 lucky visitors have been drawn in the Mega Lucky Draw after the 6 monthly lucky draws. The winner of the Mega Prize was entitled to a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000 and each of the 5 Grand Prize winners received a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000. In addition, there were 22 Special Prizes worth over MOP$1.54 million in total, including 8 one-oz gold coins, hotel accommodation, Macau World Heritage Highlight Tours and Beijing Heritage Tours.
…

Over 1 million people crossed border during the New Year Holidays. Immigration authorities recorded a total of 1,027,452
crossing the six immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR over the holidays ( 30 December 2006 to 1 January 2007 ). Total number of arrivals stood at 518,477 with Border-gate: 407,059
Lotus Bridge: 1,846
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal: 89,162
Inner Harbour Wharf Nº14: 6,750
Macao International Airport: 13,608
Zhuhai-Macao Crossborder Industrial Zone: 52 Total of departures stood at 508,975 with Border-gate: 397,525
Lotus Bridge: 2,068
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal: 91,758
Inner Harbour Wharf Nº14: 4,166
Macao International Airport: 13,403
Zhuhai-Macao Crossborder Industrial Zone: 55 Meanwhile, total number of tourist arrivals in that period stood at 256,301,with a growth of 27.50% over the same period of last year.
…

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today encouraged Macao's residents to continue to strive and work together for the prosperity and stability of the Special Administrative Region (SAR). In his New Year's Message to the community, Mr Ho extended his greetings to everyone in Macao and wished them a fruitful year ahead. Mr Ho said that three factors - competition, advancement and harmony - would become the main backdrops during the course of Macao's development. Witnessing all the changes in the SAR in recent years, residents could appreciate that Macao's achievements in the past few years were hard to accomplish, and that we should continue to strive and work together for the prosperity and stability of the SAR, said Mr Ho. The inclusion of Macao's industrial development and co-operation with the Mainland in China's eleventh Five-Year Plan, which had started in 2006, offered new opportunities for the SAR's sustainable development. He expected that this year the tourism and leisure industries would further integrate, promoting domestic consumption and revitalising some of Macao's traditional industries, said Mr Ho. He said he believed that the year ahead would facilitate the streamlining of Macao's industrial structures.
…

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have urged Macao's residents to cherish the society's precious developments and stability, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said in Beijing today. The Chief Executive, who was in Beijing for his annual duty visit, met with the President and the Premier respectively and briefed them on the latest developments in Macao and the initiatives he had outlined in his Policy Address. Meeting the press after these meetings, he disclosed that the state leaders had encouraged Macao's residents to work together for sustainable development and harmony of the society. Moreover, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated the Central Government's full support to Macao under the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems', said Mr Ho. Speaking on Macao's economy, Mr Ho said he expected the gaming tax this year would amount to about 19 billion patacas, a growth of approximately 20 per cent over the previous year. He said the gaming tax used to make up about 80 per cent of total government revenue, but its share would dip to about 70 per cent this year, showing that the other industries were growing healthily after a series of tax cuts. The gaming sector would continue to act as the mainstay industry of the SAR while the government would spare no efforts in diversifying its industrial portfolio, Mr Ho said. He said he expected retailing, catering, hotel, exhibition and conference industries would continue to grow significantly in the next few years. Regarding government spending in next year, the Chief Executive said the SAR Government would review the social security system and carry out the public housing scheme to satisfy the needs of about 5,000 to 6,000 households. As for the case of Mr Ao Man Long, Mr Ho said that state leaders had urged the SAR Government to learn the experience and lessons from the incident, and continue its efforts in fighting corruption and building a clean team of civil servants, and this was especially important as Macao's economy was growing rapidly.
…