Budget hotels give visitors options: MGTO chief

Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said yesterday that budget hotels give visitors a low-cost option.Senna Fernandes made the remarks on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the two-star I FU Hotel in Rua do Bispo Enes in the Inner Harbour area, providing 41 guestrooms.The city’s tourism chief said that budget hotels were not only complementary to higher graded hotels but also could lead tourists to explore different parts of the city and hence

February 8, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Lawmakers pass stamp duty bill

The legislature yesterday passed a government-initiated bill according to which an additional stamp duty will be levied on all those who buy residential units in addition to their first one.The government submitted the bill to the Legislative Assembly (AL) last week. The outline of the bill was passed during a plenary session on Tuesday.The government has said that the bill aims to cool down the city’s red-hot home market.Accompanied by several officials, Secretary for Economy and Finance

February 8, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Health centres to open this weekend for flu jabs

Health Bureau (SSM) Director Lei Chin Ion said yesterday that the city’s public health centres would open this Saturday and Sunday for residents to get their free flu shots.Lei spoke to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony of newly-appointed Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) Director Lou Pak Sang, at the DSEJ in Nam Van.According to Lei, the public health centres will be open between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on both day, when residents can get their flu jabs, whether they have an

February 8, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Govt gets 2 new bureau chiefs

The government appointed Mok Ian Ian as the president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) for a one-year term effective from yesterday.The government also appointed Lou Pak Sang as the director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) for a two-year term effective from yesterday.The swearing-in ceremonies of the two new bureau heads took place yesterday – Mok at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape and Lou on the premises of his bureau in Nam Van. Both ceremonies were witnessed by

February 8, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Cops nab HK coke smuggler

A man from Hong Kong was arrested yesterday for smuggling cocaine, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said at a special press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape.Choi identified the suspect as a 21-year-old surnamed Sit, who told the police that he was unemployed.The police received a tip-off recently about a man smuggling drugs from Hong Kong to Macau, Choi said. After investigating, the police identified the suspect as Sit.Two police officers escort the hooded cocaine smuggler

February 8, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Graft busters suspect fraud over Coloane Hill plot

The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) says in a hard-hitting report yesterday it has discovered possible administrative illegalities, fraud and other possible crimes concerning the inheritance of the ownership of a plot at the bottom of Coloane Hill on which was previously planned a – meanwhile suspended – high-rise residential building project.The report says that the CCAC does not rule out the possibility that some people illegally obtained the ownership of the plot after fraudulently

February 7, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Lawmakers pass toughened housing tax bill

Lawmakers yesterday passed a government-initiated bill which proposes that the owners of residential units need to pay housing tax even when their flat is vacant.The urgent bill proposes amendments to the existing housing tax regulations according to which the owners of residential units do not need to pay housing tax when the flat is unoccupied.The legislature yesterday also passed the outline of another government-initiated urgent bill which proposes that an additional stamp duty be levied on

February 7, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

City’s 1st fleet of green taxis launched

The city’s first green fleet of 16 electric taxis, produced by BYD, was launched yesterday at the outdoor car park of The Macau Roosevelt Hotel in Taipa.Chinese automobile giant BYD is one of the world’s largest electric carmakers. According to the company, its latest E6 model has a range of about 400 km and a battery that takes two hours to be fully charged at a quick charging station.A taxi driver surnamed Leong, who has been test-driving the e-cab, told reporters on the sidelines of the

February 7, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Chui expresses condolences to Jao family

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On yesterday conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family of renowned sinologist Jao Tsung-I who passed away in Hong Kong yesterday, aged 100.Chui praised Jao for his “patriotic spirit and meticulous academic work”, describing him as a “model for all of us”. Chui said that Jao would be remembered for ever.Jao taught Chinese culture, history and literature at the private University of East Asia in Macau, the precursor of the public University of Macau

February 7, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

MGM to finally open Cotai resort on Tuesday

MGM China will finally open its repeatedly delayed casino-hotel resort in Cotai on Tuesday, in time for Chinese New Year.The company yesterday sent out invitations for the grand opening of MGM COTAI on February 13. This comes after the company delayed the opening at least five times since the company broke ground for the Cotai property in 2014.The US$3.4 billion MGM COTAI complex is the second property that the US gaming operator has in Macau, just over 10 years after it opened its first one in

February 7, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Govt launches tender for 100 more taxi licences

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) will launch a tender for 100 black taxi licences valid for eight years, according to an executive order signed by Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On.The order was published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday. It takes effect today.According to the bureau’s website, there were 1,492 black taxis in the city at the end of the third quarter last year.The order published yesterday does not state when the bureau will launch the tender.The order states that the 100

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Flu wave is easing: govt

The Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday that the number of influenza patients seeking treatment at the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre has decreased over the past week.The bureau also said that there was no need for local schools to bring schoolchildren’s Chinese New Year holidays forward because of the flu wave.The statement noted that the number of patients, both adults and minors, with flu-like symptoms seeking treatment in the emergency department at the public

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

5,177 new firms set up in 2017

The number of newly registered companies rose by 785 year on year to 5,177 last year, reversing a decline in the previous two years, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.According to a DSEC statement, the total value of the newly incorporated companies’ registered capital rose by 1,013 percent to 8.2 billion patacas, mainly due to the incorporation of large-capital companies in the financial services sector.A total of 803 companies were wound up last year, involving a

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Tam doubts feasibility of health insurance system

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng yesterday expressed doubts as to whether it would be feasible to implement a health insurance system in Macau.Tam attended a plenum in the legislature’s hemicycle which discussed a debate motion jointly proposed by directly-elected lawmakers Becky Song Pek Kei and Si Ka Lon.The legislature passed the duo’s debate motion in December, which questioned whether a city-wide health insurance system should be established in

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

Comment: 0