The Macau Post and Telecommunication Bureau (CTT) will launch two new collections of stamps, entitled “Historical School Buildings in Macau” and “120th Anniversary of Banco Nacional Ultramarino” (BNU), tomorrow and on September 20 respectively, CTT Commercial Department Chief Ng Mei Kei said yesterday during a press conference at the bureau’s headquarters on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.
According to a statement handed out during the press conference, the “Historical School Buildings in Macau” set comprises six stamps, which show the historical buildings of six schools, comprising the original Colégio Mateus Ricci Primary School located on Rua da Praia do Bom Parto, the Macau Portuguese School on Avenida do Infante D. Henrique, Santa Rosa de Lima Secondary School (Chinese Section) on Rua de Santa Clara, Lingnan Secondary School on Estrada dos Parses, Pooi To Middle School on Avenida da Praia Grande, and Pui Ching Middle School on Avenida de Horta e Costa. The historical buildings are the epitome of the preservation of Macau’s precious cultural heritage, the statement said.
Ng said that the collection designed by Wong Ho Sang will be sold for 25 patacas, with the first-day cover being sold for 31 patacas, adding that the album with cover and information leaflet written by Tam Chi Kuong will be priced at 32 patacas.
The “120th Anniversary of Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU)” album designed by Wilson Chi Ian Lam consists of a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet, the statement said, adding that the design of the stamps incorporates elements such as the bank’s 120th-anniversary logo, its historical headquarters, the patterns of banknotes issued by BNU and different kinds of ships. BNU (“National Overseas Bank”) is Macau’s oldest bank. It is fully owned by Lisbon-based bank CGD.
According to Ng, the whole set of four stamps will be priced at 17 patacas, with the first-day cover with stamps being sold at 23 patacas, while stamps with only a first-day cover souvenir sheet will cost 20 patacas. Ng added that 24 patacas will be charged for the stamps with an information leaflet written by BNU, while the information leaflet with a souvenir sheet will be priced at 21 patacas.
Ng noted that the collections can be bought from Monday to Friday at the General Post Office (GPO) on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Communications Museum from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., as well as at the Rua do Campo Post Office from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Stamp sales drop
Meanwhile, when a reporter asked about Macau’s stamp sales this year, CTT Director Derby Lau Wai Meng said that apart from local philatelists, stamp dealers and overseas agents, most Macau stamps are sold to mainlanders. She noted that on every first day of the issue of Macau stamps, mainland stamp collectors would come to Macau to buy them. However, Lau said, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the recent pandemic outbreak that began on June 18, Macau’s visitor numbers decreased greatly, so local stamp sales remained static for quite a while, which had a certain impact on sales.
According to Lau, the stamp sales in the first half of this year were a third of what they were in the same period last year, and income from stamp sales was down 40 percent. Last year’s annual philatelic revenue was about 41 million patacas, she said. Lau said she hoped that with more tourists visiting Macau again in the future, the sales will gradually increase to reach last year’s sales volume.
CTT ceases using paper-based registered mail forms
Meanwhile, Lau reaffirmed during the press conference that since the beginning of this month, the bureau has stopped using paper-based registered mail forms (CTT-38). She said that senders no longer need to fill in the form when posting their registered mail, adding that the receipts of registered mail will be sent to the senders in electronic form after the post is accepted. For non-letter mail items to be sent overseas or other regions, senders will be required to submit an electronic customs declaration information before mailing them, Lau said, while the current customs declaration procedure has remained unchanged.
This photo taken yesterday shows the two new stamp collections – “Historical School Buildings in Macau” (top) and “120th Anniversary of Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU)”, which will be available from tomorrow and September 20 respectively.
Macau Post and Telecommunication Bureau (CTT) Commercial Department Chief Ng Mei Kei (from left to right), CCT Director Derby Lau Wai Meng, and BNU Executive Director Tou Kei Seng pose with the new philatelic issues during yesterday’s press conference at the CTT headquarters on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. – Photos: Yuki Lei
