Road and ferry accidents increase, lower economic growth for next year

A CotaiJet ferry sailing from Hong Kong to Taipa yesterday collided with a mainland-registered fishing boat off the coast Macau at about 11:45am, resulting in one death and three injuries.
Because the accident took place 7.5 nautical miles off Zhuhai near Macau's east which belongs to the mainland waters, the Maritime Administration of Macau said the cause of the collision had to be investigated by the Zhuhai maritime department.
Two of the four men who allegedly cheated a Hong Konger out of 3.5 million yuan in a gambling scam in Macau in July were arrested in September.
Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, director of the Macau Government Office (MGTO), said at a conference in Chengdu that the 17 quake relief measures had been ongoing, adding that Air Macau had now resumed to two flights per day between September and November Chengdu.
Macau casino revenue rose 44 percent to 9.6 billion patacas last month despite China's visa restrictions on mainlanders visiting the gaming city.
Macau's chief executive warned that gaming revenues in the casino haven may fall next year due to the global economic slowdown.
Air Macau's board of directors called for an audit report to all its departments and company contracts before its shareholders decide whether or not to inject fresh capital into the new flagship airline.
Macau's economic growth rate has reached 26 per cent in the first half of this year, secretary for economy and finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen said, adding that although the world economy has slowed down, the SAR's annual growth rate should be around 15 per cent.
Four female Philippine Drug Smugglers allegedly trafficking approximately 661.3 grams of drugs to Macau yesterday were detained by the police.
A total of 141 people in Macao were food poisoned after eating raw oysters in local restaurants, the health authorities announced yesterday.
Business aviation grew a staggering 300 percent in the past two years, with high-end customers traveling to the SAR more frequently than ever for conventions and exhibitions as well as business, said Antonio Rato, director of the marketing department at the Macau International Airport.
A tourist coach was suspected of driving to the inverse lane and hit a scooter opposite the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park near the Border Gate, leading to one death and one person being seriously injured.
The redevelopment of the Old Lisbon could turn away from the traditional gaming tables, with plans that the 12 billion Hong Kong dollar project might become residential units.
A local baby has been diagnosed with kidney stones, however it is not yet known if it has been caused by bad milk powder, leading to more than 12,000 students from about 60 local kindergartens and primary schools having the milk program suspended from schools.
AirAsia was named Best Budget Airline in Asia for the third consecutive year in the annual SmartTravelAsia.com poll, beating out Jetstar Asia and Nok Air.
Six Triad members who allegedly murdered a Hong Kong man outside a hot pot restaurant in Taipa earlier this month were arrested.
Tropical cyclone Hagupit slammed into Macau which led to around 20 cases of trees falling down and scaffolding, as well as flood and water investments in the inner harbor within four hours hoisting of the signal to No. 8.
The Board of Directors of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) announced that Macau has been chosen as the host city for PATA Travel Mart 2010 which is expected to be taken part by 1,500 participants.
Macau Civil Servant's Association (MCSA) yesterday organized approximately 450 local civil servants as well as their family members to conduct its first ever street protest in Macau since the handover.


Temporary contracts for buses, personal loss for Adelson

Macau's property prices were expected to drop 30 to 40 percent by the end of this year, said Fong Chi Keong, president of the Macau Association of Building Contractors and Developers.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen, announced yesterday that imports https://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/files/of non-local labourers for three main types of positions including for casinos and construction industry will be halted january 1, 2009.
philippines senate president manuel villar warned would-be overseas filipino workers (ofw) against illegal recruiters offering non-existent jobs in macau, where the number of filipinos falling prey to large-scale illegal recruitment has reportedly increased, according to gma news.
shares in macau gambling stocks slid yesterday as investors feared chinese restrictions on travel may dent the sar's three-year casino boom, boding ill also for global operators such as Las Vegas Sands.
Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah issued a dispatch authorizing Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, to sign the temporary contracts with the two bus operators to be before they were due on October 14.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen predicted that Macau's gaming revenue would stabilise to around 7 billion patacas a month until March 2009, anticipating a slowdown in the sector last month.
Casino Mogul Sheldon Adelson lost four billion US dollars of his personal fortune last month due to the slumping national economy, even before the latest stock market woes, as Forbes reported.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen, announced yesterday that the Macau government would provide a full guarantee for all deposits in local banks and sufficient liquidity or capital support to the banking system with immediate effect until the end of 2010.
Two 18-year-old girls from Macau who were allegedly deceived into work as prostitutes in Japan last month were freed and returned home.
The government wants employees' compensation to salary raise from 14,000 to 18,000 a month, according to Shuen Ka Hung, director of the Labor Affairs Bureau
Melco Crown Entertainment Limited announced the company's City of Dreams in the Cotai Strip is scheduled to open on time.
Secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said the government would provide a full guarantee for all deposits in local banks and sufficient liquidity or capital support to the banking system with immediate effect until the end of 2010.
The draft of the National Security Law prescribed by Macau Basic Law Article 23 was released by the government which proposed seven kinds of subversion acts that could put offenders in prison for up to 25 years.
Australia's David Gleeson ended his six-year title drought with a wire-to-wire success at the Macau Open.
The private budget for lawmakers and staff at the Legislative Assembly reached a new record, increasing as much as 20 million patacas from last year, to 78 million patacas.
At the end of the month of October, the Court of Second Instance (TSI) overturned most of the original verdicts given to Ao Man Long's family and businessman Frederico Nolasco da Silva who were accused of money laundering and bribery early this year, and also handed down much lighter penalties to the appellants.


Markets feel effect of global financial crises

Wynn Resorts said third-quarter profit rose 14 percent as increased gambling in Macau made up for declines in Las Vegas, while the overall average wage of construction workers went down 2.7 per cent quarter-to-quarter, to 542 patacas a day.
Also in November, Macau was said to have low transparency below mainland first-tier cities but slightly higher than second- and third-tier cities, while Hong Kong is one of the world's most transparent real estate markets, and Taiwan has a slightly higher level of semi-transparency.
In 10 days the Judiciary Police arrest four foreign suspects who allegedly smuggled more than 2.5 kilograms of heroin into Macau by ingesting the wrapped substances in order to avoid police detection.
The New Macau Association submitted a petition to the government calling for more public housing construction and a cease to non local labourer importshttps://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/files/.
the government said it would keep a “close eye” on Las Vegas Sands, after an auditor to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that said the enterprise was in danger of defaulting on debt and breaching debt ration covenants.
Director General of the local Health Association, Ao Ka Fai, said he hoped the administrative department would implement the smoking controls as quickly as possible.
Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah said in his policy address speech that the government's priority for next year is ensuring locals get selected first for jobs.
He also said that should things go awry in Macau due to the global financial crisis, newly unemployed locals can join one of social enterprises the government is setting up and get further training in case new job opportunities arise.
A large number of the 9,000 construction workers from the recently suspended Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) Parcels 5 and 6 expansion on the Cotai Strip were arranged to leave Macau, however some of the remaining 2,000 local workers faced losing their jobs.
Lawmakers unanimously approved the 44.7 billion pataca government budget for next year, an increase of 4.7 billion patacas to this year's budget of 40 billion patacas, which was also an increase of 32.7 per cent from that of 2007, equivalent to 10 billion patacas.
The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) denied that the developer of the high rise building on the foothill of the Guia Hill would receive two billion patacas in compensation for the losses caused by the property height limits imposed in the area earlier this year.
Despite what the lawmakers and the public service expected, the government is not planning on raising civil servants' wages, Secretary for Administration and Justice, Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan announced in November while at the Legislative Assembly.
The government also predicted that the surplus next year is estimated to shrink from 20 billion patacas to about 740 million patacas as attributed by the global economic environment and the largest budget ever set out for public construction projects in a bid to boost employment opportunities for local people.


More corruption scandals see the year on high note

The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) announced it plans to hand out 10 million patacas encouraging community institutions especially for those related to the disabled to establish social enterprises.
In his second and final day at the Legislative Assembly, Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, announced the government had finished studying a “concrete plan” which would see a new road linking the power plant in Coloane to the Ka Ho port.
Local casinos were driven to minimise operational costs under the global financial downturn by cutting staff salaries following the government's approval to Crown Macau's proposal.
Eight protocols to enhance cooperation between Macau and Guangdong Province were signed by the two governments.
The president of the Consumer Council, Alexandre Ho Si Him, was suspended from his duties and is under investigation for corruption, abusing his powers, fraud as well as forging documents.
“The public servant, who was the chief of an autonomous entity of the Macau government, is suspected of having abused his authority to directly contract some construction works and acquire public goods and services to a number of companies established or controlled by one of his relatives since 2004,” the statement from the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) read.
In response to the shocking news, Chief Executive Edmund Ho said that the process of building an integrated society inevitably means a stage of self-improvement, without excluding the possibility of someone challenging the law, however the “SAR government is determined and confident to build an incorruptible society and does not condone incidents that could call this into question.”
Yemane Tsegay Adhane from Ethiopia won this year's Macau Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon finishing the race in a record time of 2:15:06.
The Orient Foundation is set to remain as it currently is, Carlos Monjardino, president of the Foundation, said denying rumours that Casa Garden would be next on the chopping board.
After the government confirmed it purchased a series of heritage buildings along the Tap Seac Square, Monjardino denied the move was the beginning of the end for the Foundation.
The government was suggested to set up formal systems in dealing with disputes in the construction industry, with Chris Morgan from the Hong Kong Government Panels of Dispute Resolution Advisors (DRA), saying that worldwide the construction industry had "quite a bad record for disputes" but a lot of countries had introduced various measures in order to try to minimise the problem.
Macau registered a 17 percent rise in the number of visitor arrivals in package tours compared to last year's 431,880 visitors, while residents also travelling outbound in package tours increased.
Ambrose So, managing director of SJM, said that despite the current global financial crises which has forced the suspension of several construction projects in the SAR, he is confident in the success of Grand Lisboa's hotel, which opened on December 17.
The number of child abuse cases is on the rise, with as many as 24 reported cases in Macau since 2006. However, this year alone the number reached 14, almost tripling that of the previous year.
Twenty-four Hong Kong democracy campaigners, including nine legislators, were barred from entering Macau ahead of a march against a proposed national security law.