New air link gives Korea opportunities Air Busan is giving Korean visitors reasons to linger longer here with direct flights between the country’s second city and Macau, starting on July 19. Around 400,000 Koreans visited Macau last year, but nearly half stayed for fewer than 24 hours, preferring to spend the rest of their trip in Hong Kong or the mainland.
Year I - Number 62 Tuesday June 26, 2012 Editor-in-chief: Tiago Azevedo Deputy editor-in-chief: José I. Duarte MOP 6.00
Pages 2 & 3
Battle flag hoisted over Yacht Club land
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Environment
Change afoot in water use W
ith thousands of new hotel rooms built since 2002 and the city’s population growing by 29 percent in that time, water consumption in Macau has been rising just like in other parts of China. The challenge of local H2O conservation hit home in the past few years when the citizenry and hotel guests found their be-
loved ‘cha’ tasted salty. That happened after the downstream flow of the Pearl River – from where much local drinking water is drawn – became so weak during dry spells that salt tides from the sea rushed up the river course. Now the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre says the concept of a water footprint can help
individuals and companies think more carefully about how they use this most precious of resources. “It is a new concept globally, and we are trying to introduce it to Macau, from a management perspective, to enterprises,” says the Centre’s Helena Lei. A water footprint is the volume of fresh water that an enterprise uses directly
Economy, not policy, slowing VIP growth Page 7
and indirectly in making a product, and is akin to a carbon footprint measuring use of fossil fuels. In 2011 the city’s rate of water consumption increased by 1.1 percent year-on-year to 212,602 cubic metres per day. But the business sector’s water consumption grew much faster, by 10.3 percent.
www.macaubusinessdaily.com
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More on page 3
HANG SENG INDEX
No control over Hengqin funding
19090
19040
Macau has spent four billion patacas (US$500 million) in Hengqin Island projects without a detailed execution and budget plan, complains legislator Ng Kuok Cheong. He also said there is no budget for the new Taipa ferry terminal and the Areia Preta treatment plant. In the end, 25 out of the 44 biggest projects in the 2012 public investment plan exceed their initial budgets.
18990
18940
Page 4 18890
June 25
Catering Expo comes to dine
HSI - Movers Name
The China Catering Expo will be held in Macau for the first time in September and, if all goes well, it could become a regular event in the future. The organisers praise the city’s long history of Western and Eastern culinary fusion but warn about the lack of manpower, competition from fast-food chains and the gradual disappearance of traditional restaurants. Page 6
Local bank hit by Portugal fears
%Day
HANG LUNG PROPER
2.20
CHINA RES POWER
1.90
CHINA MOBILE
1.17
POWER ASSETS HOL
1.16
BOC HONG KONG HO
0.86
NEW WORLD DEV
-2.34
ALUMINUM CORP-H
-2.44
WANT WANT CHINA
-2.56
CHINA MERCHANT
-2.67
CHINA COAL ENE-H
-2.79
Source: Bloomberg
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Moody’s has classified deposits at the Macau branch of Banco Comercial Português (BCP) within the ‘junk’ investment spectrum, due to the woes of the parent – Portugal’s biggest private lender. The agency equated the ratings of the two companies, adding a negative outlook. Moody’s added that an upgrade of BCP Macau “is unlikely in the short to medium term given the current negative outlook”.
2012-6-26
2012-6-27
2012-6-28
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