News

After almost 20 years living and doing research about Macau’s history, Celina Veiga de Oliveira is back in town, this time to be a special guide for the author of a book with Macau and Mainland China as background. With the support of Macau Government Tourist Office, until 9th of August, the historian will show the charm of Macau to the author of the book, journalist Ana Paula Cabral. From this trip to Macau will result the second book of a trilogy called “The Treaty of the Magicians”, about the magic universe targeting young readers. After “Igor from Harmeling – The Chosen one”, to be published this coming October, “Clepsydra” will be published in 2007. During the next few days, Celina Veiga de Oliveira will tell Macau’s stories to Ana Paula Cabral and, more importantly, she will try to convey to the author the magic of this land. “The enchantment I felt about Macau happened as soon as I arrived in the 1980s and that enchantment never relented. It is almost like a magical enchantment”, says Celina Veiga de Oliveira, now based in Portugal, were she is an History teacher and runs Editorial Tágide, publisher of Ana Paula Cabral’s trilogy. While living in Macau, Celina Veiga de Oliveira was the cultural adviser to the last Portuguese governor of Macau. She was also director of the Environment Council, a Macau History teacher, author of many books and television programs about Macau. Already dreaming with the success of the book, the author of the trilogy plans an English version and a movie about the second volume, taking place in the East. “If this book will have the same success of other similar books of the magic universe, this book could easily be made into a movie directed by a Chinese director”, points out the author. “Actually, I am writing it in a way that the book can be a movie script”, she adds. Prior to venturing into writing, the former news anchor from the Portuguese television RTP took part in many investigation journalism programs and presented the successful program Bombordo, about the sea, which had taken her to Macau before. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) supports many familiarization visits from opinion makers, including journalists, travel trade operators, scholars and other areas of activity, as a way to promote Macau to the world. Last year, MGTO invited close to five thousand people in fam tours.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicates that, in June 2006, Macao’s total value of exports amounted to MOP2.08 billion, up 42.6% over the same month of 2005. Among this, the value of domestic exports surged 51.2% to MOP1.54 billion and the value of re-exports rose 23.0% to MOP546 million. Value of imports amounted to MOP3.30 billion, up 27.5% over the same period of 2005. A trade deficit of MOP1.22 billion was recorded this month. During the period of January – June 2006, the value of total exports increased 40.0% year-on-year to MOP10.34 billion. In addition, the values of domestic exports and re-exports increased 55.3% and 10.8% respectively. Moreover, the value of imports amounted to MOP17.38 billion, up 29.4% over the same period of 2005. In the first six months of 2006, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP7.04 billion. During this period, the exports/imports ratio increased from 55.0% in the corresponding period of 2005 to 59.5%. In the first six months of 2006, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 74.9% of the total exports, grew 44.4% over the same period of 2005. In addition, the value of Non-textile exports also rose 28.4%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof and Footwear both expanded 13.6% and 252.9% respectively year-on-year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 66.9% of the total value of exports. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 48.2% of the total value of exports, increased 47.0% over the same period of 2005; exports to the EU, which made up 18.7% of the total value of exports, also increased 136.7% over the same period of 2005. During the period of January – June 2006, Macao’s total value of imports grew 29.4% year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in the value of imports by broad economic categories, namely Fuels & lubricants (37.1%), Consumer goods (33.8%), Raw materials & semi-manufactures (27.8%) and Capital goods (19.9%). Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong together constituted 55.1% of the total value of imports. Compared with the same period of 2005, the value of imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong rose 42.9% and 33.5% respectively.
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A visitor from Hong Kong won a golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s at the first monthly lucky draw of the “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign held this afternoon at the lobby of Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC). The “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign is organized by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and sponsored by the Macau Foundation. Officiating the draw were MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes, Deputy Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Administration Council Member of Macao Foundation Lei Song Fan. “Macau Heritage Passport” campaign features instant lucky draws, monthly lucky draws and a year end Mega Lucky Draw offering fabulous prizes worth a total of MOP$8 million. 480 instant lucky draws were held from July 1 to July 30, giving out key chains, magnets, coasters, postcards and paper fans designed with Macau heritage images. A total of 698 entries were collected for the first monthly lucky draw. 9 winners, entitled to 8 Special Prizes and 1 Grand Prize, will be drawn at each of the 6 monthly lucky draws. The Grand Prize is a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000, while the 8 Special Prizes featuring an 8 oz golden coin, 3 nights at a 5-star hotel and “Macau World Heritage Highlight Tour” for 2 persons, are worth a total of MOP$400,000. MGTO will notify the winners who have to collect and consume the prizes within 6 months from the day of the lucky draw. Director Antunes expressed that “Macau Heritage Passport” is a core campaign of ‘Macau World Heritage Year”. Visitors’ response to the campaign has been encouraging and over 6,400 “Passports” have been distributed. He pointed out that the objective of the “Macau Heritage Passport” was to enhance visitors’ knowledge of “The Historic Centre of Macau” while driving the length of stay and spending of visitors to new heights. There will be a Mega Lucky Draw after the 6 monthly lucky draws, wherein 28 lucky visitors will be drawn. The winner of the Mega Prize will receive a 1kg golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$200,000 and each of the 5 Grand Prize winners will receive a 500g golden miniature of the Ruins of St Paul’s worth MOP$100,000. In addition, there will be 22 Special Prizes worth over MOP$1.54 million in total, including 8 oz golden coins, 5-star hotel accommodation, Macau World Heritage Highlight Tours and Mainland China Heritage Tours. Participating visitors have to collect 4 stamps on their “Macau Heritage Passport” which can be obtained at MGTO Information Counters and participating hotels in Macau. One of the stamps can be obtained from the participating hotel where the “Passport” holder is staying; the second can be obtained from any of the participating merchants with a single purchase of MOP$300 or above. The last two stamps are to be obtained from MGTO’s Information Counters at the Macau Business Tourism Centre, Macau Tourism & Cultural Activities Centre and Guia Lighthouse located near a number of world heritage sites after the “Passport” holder has visited these sites. Participating visitors can enter an instant lucky draw by presenting the 4 stamps and the completed lucky draw slip to any of the designated MGTO Information Counters. In addition to the instant lucky draw, participating visitors can also enter the monthly and year end Mega Lucky Draws by dropping the stamped and completed lucky draw slip into the lucky draw box located at any of the MGTO Information Counters or participating hotels.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the second quarter of 2006, the average daily nominal wage of construction workers continued to rise. The overall average daily nominal wage was MOP491, of which skilled workers & semi-skilled workers was MOP525 and unskilled workers MOP364. Among the various occupations of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, the average daily nominal wage of structural iron erectors was the highest, reaching MOP623. The overall nominal wage index increased 6.5% from the previous quarter. The nominal wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 5.2%, and that of unskilled workers went up 15.6%. In view of the fact that a number of large-scale construction projects started decoration works, the nominal wage indices of the skilled workers & semi-skilled workers related to these occupations rose more; for example, plumbers registered the largest increase of 13.2%, followed by bricklayers & plasterers (up 9.4%) and carpenters (up 8.5%). However, the nominal wage index of concreters and drain layers registered the largest decline, down 6.9%. On the other hand, the overall real wage index increased 5.0% compared with the first quarter of 2006. The real wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 3.7%, and that of unskilled workers went up 13.9%. Compared with the second quarter of 2005, the overall real wage index increased 20.5%, of which the index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 17.4%, and that of unskilled workers went up 44.1%.
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The Port Authority said in a statement today that the reported new ferry route between Tuen Mun and Macau has not yet received government approval. The statement was issued in the wake of media reports that Hong Kong North West Express would launch ferry services between Tuen Mun and Macao in September. The statement said the company has applied for permission to introduce the route: the Macao Government had asked for and was waiting for further information to enable it to study and evaluate the application. The Macao Government is still awaiting such information and until such time, the application could not be evaluated, the statement said.
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The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Ao Man Long, said today that regular flights between Macao and Japan could be operating in the near future. Mr Ao, who led a delegation from the civil aviation sector, tourism sector and cultural sector on a visit to Tokyo and Osaka from 26-30 July, disclosed this on his return. During the visit, the delegation paid visited the Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Katsutoshi Kaneda, and to the Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Mr Ryuji Matsunura. In the meetings, Mr Ao updated his Japanese counterparts on the latest economic development in Macao, such as launching of complete of large-scale hotels and theme parks. The Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Katsutoshi Kaneda, said Macao could become one of the hottest destinations for Japanese travellers with the conclusion of an aviation treaty that would allow direct flights between the two places. The Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Mr Ryuji Matsunura, said the aviation treaty would not only promote tourism between Macao and Japan, but also facilitating trade as well. Mr Ao said Macao has always been attracting travelers from mainland and Taiwan: these travelers could also make Macao a transit point from which they could travel on to Japan. Mr Ao said the Japanese government supported an aviation treaty. Moreover, the delegation also visited Osaka Airport and paid a courtesy call to the Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, Mr Wang Yi. Mr Ao and the delegation returned to Macao on 30 July.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that number of licensed vehicles in Macao reached 157,204 at the end of June 2006, of which 51% (80,684) were motorcycles and 42% (65,590) were private vehicles. Registration of new vehicles grew by 3% year-on-year to 8,604 in the first half of 2006, motorcycles and light vehicles accounted for 60% and 37% respectively. In the first six months of 2006, there were 6,382 cases of traffic accidents, a drop of 2% over the same period of 2005, resulting in 2,129 casualties and 7 of them were killed. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China rose by 8% to 1,593,182 vehicle trips. The Border Gate was the major passage that took up 81% of the total, while the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 301,871 vehicle trips. In the first six months of 2006, arrivals and departures of commercial flights at the Macao International Airport totalled 23,387, up by 13% over the same period of 2005. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 48% and 35% of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong registered a 2% year-on-year decrease to 7,775 ; besides, 1,400 helicopter flights were recorded between Macao and Mainland China. Passenger transport by sea between Hong Kong and Macao rose slightly by 1% to 39,937 ferry trips over the first half of 2005, while passenger ferry between Macao and Mainland China surged significantly by 37% to 7,242 trips. For containerized cargo, total seaborne container throughput reached 62,213 TEUs or 44,562 seaborne containers handled, up by 25% and 22% over the first six months of 2005. Outward air cargo handled at the Macao International Airport registered a year-on-year increase of 2% to 41,784 tonnes in the first half of 2006. Taiwan, China; Mainland China; and the Luxembourg were major destinations that accounted for 67%, 15% and 7% respectively of the total. Concurrently, inward air cargo fell by 4% to 12,715 tonnes where those from Taiwan, China took up 89% of the total. In addition, transit cargo by air increased by 26% year-on-year to 52,967 tonnes in the first six months of 2006. At the end of June 2006, number of fixed line telephone totalled 175,340; mobile telephone and stored value GSM card users reached 593,061 when the number of internet services subscribers increased by 17% to 96,549. The cumulative usage of internet services reached 54.28 million hours in the first half of 2006, up by 57% over the same period of 2005.
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Students of the Portuguese Summer Course at the University of Macau gathered at “Macau’s highest point” for a farewell dinner offered by the Macau Government Tourist Office. Macau Tower received the 270 students of the Portuguese Language and Culture Course of the University of Macau for a last meeting before returning home. Half of the participants of the XXI Portuguese Summer course came from Beijng, Shanghai, Taipei, Bangkok, Hanoi, Tokyo, Seoul and Pusan, while the remainder are local students. For the students that traveled to Macau to take part in the course, the territory offers a kind of a Portuguese experience without having to travel to Portuguese speaking countries like Portugal or Brazil. In their “luggage” they take back home more Portuguese knowledge and memories of Macau. “When I entered Macau for the first time at the Border Gate I was very excited”, says Zhu Lin, student at the Shanghai International Studies University. “By taking the course, I hope I can broaden my Portuguese ability and know better this wonderful city. Macau is very different from Mainland cities, it has very special characteristics”, describes the student from China’s biggest city. The month-long program of classes includes several workshops on Portuguese folk dances, tours around the old city streets, visits to museums and monuments, along with gastronomic events. The cultural and sightseeing tours are an important part of the course curriculum to showcase Macau, a tourism city. “These occasions are opportunities that allow all of them to see also this angle of Macau that is the hospitality, the good treatment and manners when receiving visitors”, points out University of Macau Portuguese Department director Maria Antónia Espadinha. In Macau, a city built on more than 450 years’ interchange of Chinese and Portuguese cultures, after the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in 1999, Portuguese is, along with Chinese, one of the official languages. The Macau Government Tourist Office supports initiatives like the Portuguese Summer Course of the University of Macau, as well as exhibitions, conferences and other events in order to help organizers to show the best of Macau to participants from other parts of the world.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the second quarter of 2006, among the surveyed construction materials, the price indices of electric wires and aluminium registered the largest increase, up 31.3% and 10.2% respectively, compared with the first quarter of 2006. Further to the upsurge in the first quarter, these metal construction materials kept the upward trend. In addition, steel, sand, concrete, lime, timber, red bricks, ceramic products, pipes, sanitary articles and cement rose between 0.2% and 5.7%. However, the price indices of aggregates, glass and paint fell between 1.0% and 6.1%. Compared with the second quarter of 2005, price indices rose in most of the surveyed construction materials, with the biggest increase in aluminium, up 59.7%, followed by electric wires and sand, up 55.1% and 28.9% respectively.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for April - June 2006 was held stable at 3.8%, same as that in March - May 2006, and decreased by 0.4 percentage point over the same period of 2005. The underemployment rate was 1.2%, down by 0.1 and 0.4 percentage point respectively compared with the preceding period and the same period of 2005. Number of the unemployed searching for their first job was about 1,000, representing 9.6% of the total unemployed population, up by 1.9 percentage points over the preceding period. Compared with the previous period, the unemployment situation was improved in Transport, storage & communications sector; and Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services when the situation for other sectors was similar to that of the preceding period. Total labour force was estimated at 274,000 in April - June 2006; the employed and the unemployed populations were 264,000 and 10,000 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 65.3%, up by 0.3 and 3.1 percentage points respectively over the preceding period and the same period of 2005. Administrative information from the Labour Affairs Bureau and the Public Security Police indicated that number of non-resident workers with working permits totalled 50,247 at the end of June 2006, an increase of 5.0% over March. Please refer to the attached table for detailed information on non-resident workers by industry.
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