Year I | Number 27 | Tuesday May 8, 2012 Editor-in-chief | Tiago Azevedo Deputy editor-in-chief | José I. Duarte MOP $ 6.00 www.macaubusinessdaily.com
‘Advanced’ talks on SJM Cotai
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Office in Taipei opens this Sunday
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Inflation stalks migrant workers
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Tax code binned, full review looms A
fter taking ten years to draft a tax code and letting it spend a year frozen at the Legislative Assembly, the government has decided to remove the proposal and go back to square one. The Financial Services Bureau confirmed to Business Daily that this unprecedented decision was made, but only “after serious consideration”. The next step will now be to set up a special working
group to launch “a complete and detailed review” of Macau’s tax system, which might include “amending existing tax laws and enacting new tax laws”. The existing tax system, which was created in the 1970s, survives another day, even though authorities claim the lack of a tax code has been identified since the handover. The proposal that has now been dropped would have introduced new interna-
tional standards from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which three years ago almost classified Macau as a tax haven. It would have also allowed taxpayers to pay taxes in the period between the official deadline and the beginning of enforced collection or to pay taxes in instalments, as well as setting a two million-pataca (US$192,300) ceiling for fines.
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No expansion in sight for SMEs HANG SENG INDEX
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20700
20640
20580
20520
20460
20400
Most small and medium enterprises are not expecting to grow this year, as bosses say they are facing high running costs, a shortage of labour, limited demand and strong competition. About 64 percent of owners expect their businesses to carry on just about unchanged in the coming year, and 16.2 percent expect business to be worse, shows a survey carried out by the Macau Economic Association.
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May 7
HSI - Movers Name
%Day
WANT WANT CHINA
3.73
ALUMINUM CORP-H
0.55
CHINA RES POWER
-0.58
HONG KG CHINA GS
-0.70
CHINA MOBILE
-0.73
Jeweller planning to open flagship store in Macau
CHINA LIFE INS-H
-4.42
H
TENCENT HOLDINGS
-4.86
LI & FUNG LTD
-5.12
CHINA MERCHANT
-6.73
COSCO PAC LTD
-8.82
Graff Diamonds aims for June listing igh-end Londonbased jeweller Graff Diamonds is planning to list in Hong Kong on June 7, as it seeks to raise up to US$1.0 billion (7.99 billion patacas) in one of the biggest IPOs this year. The firm plans to start taking orders from investors in a roadshow between May 21 and 31 and is set to price the initial public offering at the end of the event, according to a term sheet seen by Dow Jones Newswires and quoted by AFP.
The IPO is set to be one of this year’s blockbuster share sales after China’s second largest brokerage Haitong Securities last month raised US$1.68 billion from its Hong Kong IPO, the world’s biggest so far this year. The jeweller’s listing in Hong Kong will enable the company to raise its profile in Asia and tap the fast-growing luxury goods market on mainland China. Graff Diamonds’ presence
in Asia includes boutiques in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei. It is planning to open three flagship stores in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Macau and Dubai this year, according to its website. The jeweller will join other luxury brands using Hong Kong as a gateway to the burgeoning Chinese market, after the listings of firms such as Prada of Italy, US handbag maker Coach and US luggage maker Samsonite.
Source: Bloomberg
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Swamp wars As casino companies vie with each other to make the most upbeat announcement on the next phase of Cotai resort building, a Hong Kong investor says he welcomes more projects – but takes the hype on timing with a pinch of salt. When media speculation, financial industry expectation and government roadblocks combine in the context of Macau gaming industry development, it all adds up to – Swamp Wars.
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