Group urges govt to boost support for insurance sector

The government should strengthen its support for the insurance industry as the city’s market is still too small and the local economy is heavily dependent on gambling, Macau Insurers’ Association (MIA) President Jiang Yidao said yesterday on the sidelines of a press conference at the Financial Services Bureau (DSF).Jiang announced during the press conference that the 28th East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC), to be hosted by the 28th EAIC Organising Committee set up by Jiang’s

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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3 Filipinos, 1 local nabbed for taking & selling drugs

Three Filipinos and a local resident were arrested on Tuesday for the alleged selling and taking of drugs, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a regular briefing yesterday.According to the spokesperson, the 48-year-old local suspect, surnamed Lou, is an unemployed woman. One of the Filipino suspects, surnamed Huertas, is a 28-year-old unemployed woman. The second suspect, surnamed Doronila, is a 35-year-old unemployed man. The spokesperson said Huertas and Doronila are Macau

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Couple cheat 18 victims out of 741,700 patacas

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a local couple on Tuesday on suspicion of cheating 18 local people out of a total of 741,700 patacas through three different scams. One of the scams was that the pair claimed they could provide assistance in renting Guangdong vehicle registration plates The plates are for vehicles registered in Macau to be allowed to drive in the mainland. Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the two hooded scam suspects to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Group says govt’s long approval time raises risks for developers

The government’s long approval time for development projects is raising developers’ risk factors, Macau Association of Building Contractors and Developers (MABCD) President Tommy Lau Veng Seng said yesterday, calling on the government to improve the approval procedures.Lau, a lawmaker, made the comment while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the association’s 67th anniversary cocktail reception on its premises in Rua do Campo.Lau said that the long period of time that it takes for

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Mong Ha housing estate ready in 4 to 5 years: official

Construction of the Mong Ha social housing estate, which has been suspended for several years, will restart soon and is expected to be completed in four to five years, Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) Director Chau Vai Man said yesterday.In 2011, the government demolished the original public housing estate and adjacent sports pavilion, and started construction of a high-rise social rental housing estate – the second phase of the estate, as well as a new sports pavilion.The first phase

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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LRT in Taipa to start operating in 2019: Rosario

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said yesterday he was confident that the Taipa section of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) will start running in 2019.Rosario made the upbeat remark while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a plaque unveiling ceremony that marked the official re-opening of the Carmo Post Office in Taipa, following its renovation.Rosario said that construction of the 11 stations on 9.3 kilometres of track in Taipa and Cotai would be completed by the

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Council backs Old Courthouse central library

Four members of the government-appointed Cultural Consultative Council yesterday backed the government’s proposal to use the plot the Old Courthouse is standing on in Nam Van for the city’s new central library.Yesterday’s meeting of the council, held at the Tourism Activities Centre (CAT) in Zape, included a discussion on the government’s proposed new central library project.Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Guilherme Ung Vai Meng. Only four

September 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt insists on location of new central library: official

Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Guilherme Ung Vai Meng said yesterday on the sidelines of a regular Cultural Heritage Council meeting that the government had already made up its mind to build the new central library at the Old Courthouse.Ung also said the bidding process for the library’s detailed design plan would start later this year.Ung said: “We have decided to build [the new central library] on the site where the Old Courthouse is standing... We do not have any more time to

September 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Residents’ health improves from 5 years ago: govt

Sports Bureau (ID) President Pun Weng Kun said yesterday that residents’ health had improved from five years ago. Pun also said he was satisfied with the findings of a report that was released by the bureau yesterday. Pun spoke to reporters after a press conference about the government’s report on the 2015 Health Physical Fitness Test. The press conference was held at the Olympic Sports Centre in Taipa.Sports Bureau (ID) President Pun Weng Kun talks to the media after

September 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Jobless rate stays at 1.9 pct,

Macau’s officially estimated unemployment rate remained at 1.9 percent in the Statistics and Census Bureau’s (DSEC) June-August employment survey period compared with the May-July period. The bureau said in a statement yesterday that the rate also stayed unchanged from the same period last year. The city’s total labour force in June-August amounted to 400,000 when the labour force participation rate stood at 72.7 percent. Total employment increased by 600 from May-July to

September 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Venezuelan nurse caught with cocaine worth 12 million patacas: police

A Venezuelan female nurse was caught at the airport at 3 a.m. yesterday for smuggling 4.1 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in the lining of her suitcase, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a special briefing yesterday.According to the spokesperson, the drugs have a street value of about 12 million patacas.After receiving a tip-off that traffickers were planning to smuggle drugs into the city hidden in the linings of their suitcases, the police strengthened their inspections of

September 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Surveillance would help ban on off-duty gaming staff entering casinos: scholar

Professor Davis Fong Ka Chio, who heads the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau (UM), said yesterday that it would be easy to implement a ban on gaming workers entering casinos during their leisure time, particularly with the assistance of advanced surveillance systems already installed in casinos.Fong made the comments while speaking to reporters on the UM campus in Hengqin where he attended the opening ceremony of the annual Responsible Gambling awareness

September 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Police nab 27 suspected casino loansharks

The Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday announced the arrests of 27 mainlanders on suspicion of being members of a casino loansharking gang.PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam announced the case during a special press conference at the PJ headquarters.According to Ho, the suspects comprise 23 men and four women, aged between 20 to 53, most of them from Fujian province.PJ officers escort hooded loansharking suspects to vehicles parked outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. Photo: Iong Tat

September 28, 2016 | BY admin

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4 locals cheat VIP room out of HK$24 million with ‘tampered’ cards in 1/2 hour

A casino pit manager and three junket workers have been detained for using a pack of apparently tampered-with cards in a baccarat game and managed to cheat a VIP room out of HK$24 million in just 30 minutes of gambling.The Judiciary Police (PJ) held a special press conference yesterday during which PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam said that the four are all local residents.According to Ho, the foursome consists of a pit manager surnamed Ao, aged 38, and three junket workers: a 39-year-old surnamed

September 27, 2016 | BY admin

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