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tonylai@macaubusiness.com
nelson.moura@macaubusiness.com
TECHNOLOGY
VIRTUALLY EVERYWHERE BUT HERE The stalled progress in the issuance of 5G licences and new telecommunications bill is slowing down the city’s digital development BY TONY LAI tonylai@macaubusiness.com
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“This reflects the lack of planning and transparency from the administration, which is detrimental to the public interests,” says legislator Lei Leong Wong
BY JOSÉ I. DUARTE
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tonylai@macaubusiness.com
BUSINESS
LOCKDOWNS AND DELAYS
“The priority task [for the Macau government] in advocating e-motorcycles is then to resolve the lack and uneven distribution of charging stations and battery-swapping cabinets in the city,” says Ku Heng Cheong, a member of the Transport Consultative Committee
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While the subsidy scheme on the replacement of old motorcycles with electric ones has drawn a positive response from the public, not many e-motorcycle have been seen in the city due to the manufacturing and logistics delays across the border. Compared with the electric automobile segment, in which consumers have a variety of options from different countries and regions like American automotive brand Telsa and others, the e-motorcycle brands available in Macau are mostly Mainland Chinese brands. Thus, the surge of COVID-19 cases in the mainland and subsequent lockdown measures in some places like Shanghai in recent months have stalled the delivery of e-motorcycles from the mainland to Macau. Xavier Tou, general manager of Segway-Ninebot Macau, the official Macau agent and distributor of the Chinese firm on short-distance transportation solutions, says it now takes about 2 months to 2 months and a half for its customers to receive their electric motorcycles after placing an order, including two weeks for the Macau government to handle the paper work of the scheme. As the manufacturing facilities of Segway-Ninebot are located in the vicinity of Shanghai, its manufacturing process has once been temporarily paused due to the strict quarantine measures across the border, he explains, for instance, Shanghai has been in lockdown since April. “The logistics process in the mainland has also been impacted, so it takes a longer time for customers to have their e-motorcycles ready,” he says. But as the pandemic situation seems to stabilise across the border, he believes the situation of manufacturing and logistics delays “will be improved in these two or three months”. Lei Chong Sam, a representative of the Macau agent and distributor of Chinese e-bike brand Ecooter, also pinpoints they have experienced similar delays in logistics for the delivery of motorcycles. He adds that the authorities could further streamline the paperwork for the replacement subsidy scheme to provide more convenience, as motorcycle owners now have to submit several documents to several government departments like the Environmental Protection Bureau and Financial Services Bureau.
PROPERTY
Notable residential property transactions - 1/5 to 20/5 District
Source: Centaline and Ricacorp (Macau)
Floor area (sq. ft)
Property
Unit
Macau
Torre Lago Panoramico
Block 2, M/F, unit G
1,567
11,850,000
Macau
La Cité
Block 3, M/F, unit A
1,511
11,500,000
7,610
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Block 29, H/F, unit D
1,880
11,100,000
5,904
Macau
M Residence
M/F, unit X
1,288
11,000,000
8,540
Macau
The Sharpness Garden
L/F, unit C
1,387
10,933,000
7,882
Macau
The Sharpness Garden
L/F, unit C
1,387
10,933,000
7,882
Macau
The Praia Station
Block 3, M/F, unit Q
1,199
9,600,000
8,007
Taipa
Nova City
Block 6, H/F, unit F
1,339
9,350,000
6,982
Taipa
Ocean Gardens
M/F, unit B
1,563
9,300,000
5,950
Macau
The Praia Station
Block 3, L/F, unit R
1,259
9,120,000
7,244
Macau
The Praia Station
Block 3, L/F, unit R
1,259
9,120,000
7,244
Macau
The Praia Station
Block 2, H/F, unit MM
1,099
9,100,000
8,280
Taipa
Nova City
Block 14, H/F, unit A
1,081
8,500,000
7,863
Macau
The Praia Station
Block 2, H/F, unit M
1,016
8,500,000
8,366
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Block 22, M/F, unit O
1,175
7,730,000
6,579
Taipa
Caesar Fortune Building
L/F, unit E
1,423
7,300,000
5,130
Taipa
Mei Keng Garden Building
Block 6, M/F, unit V
1,132
6,800,000
6,007
Taipa
Hung Fat Garden Building
Block 2, M/F, unit M
1,270
6,600,000
5,196
Taipa
New World Garden
M/F, unit J
950
6,180,000
6,505
Macau
Kam Fong Building
Block 1, H/F, unit B
1,200
6,000,000
5,000
Macau
M Residence
L/F, unit A
650
5,800,000
8,923
Taipa
New World Garden
M/F, unit G
993
5,350,000
5,388
Macau
Kam Loi Building
L/F, unit A
894
4,340,045
4,855
Macau
Kai Va Building
H/F, unit B
1,205
4,000,000
3,320
Macau
Iao Kuan Building
L/F, unit BE
1,029
2,500,000
2,429
Sale price (HK$)
Price per sq.ft. (HK$) 7,562
Note: L/F - Low floor; M/F - Middle floor; H/F - High floor
Notable residential property rentals -1/5 to 20/5
Source: Centaline and Ricacorp (Macau)
Floor area (sq. ft)
District
Property
Unit
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Block 27, M/F, unit G
2,135
23,000
10.77
Taipa
The Pacifica Garden
Block 2, H/F, unit N
1,725
22,000
12.75
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Block 21, M/F, unit A
2,167
19,000
8.77
Taipa
Nova City
Block 13, H/F, unit D
1,561
18,000
11.53
Taipa
Flower City
H/F, unit AA
1,422
16,000
11.25
Taipa
One Oasis
Block 2, M/F, unit G
1,741
15,600
8.96
Macau
Torre Lago Panoramico
Block 1, M/F, unit C
1,515
14,000
9.24
Macau
The Bayview
Block 3, L/F, unit E
1,603
14,000
8.73
Macau
Pak Tak Building
Block 2, H/F, unit R
1,209
13,000
10.75
Macau
Pak Tak Building
Block 2, H/F, unit R
1,209
13,000
10.75
Taipa
Ocean Gardens
M/F, unit H
1,563
13,000
8.32
Taipa
One Oasis
Block 7, M/F, unit C
1,282
13,000
10.14
Taipa
Nova City
Block 13, H/F, unit C
1,333
13,000
9.75
Taipa
One oasia
Block 10, H/F, unit E
1,295
12,800
9.88
Taipa
Chun Hung Garden Building
M/F, unit Q
1,158
12,000
10.36
Taipa
One Oasis
Block 5, L/F, unit G
1,177
12,000
10.20
Taipa
One Oasia
Block 11, H/F, unit D
1,209
12,000
9.93
Taipa
One Oasia
Block 11, M/F, unit J
1,205
11,500
9.54
Taipa
Treasure Garden
Block 1, H/F, unit D
11.35
Taipa
Flower City
H/F, unit M
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Block 28, L/F, unit A
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Taipa
Hoi Yee Fa Yuen Building
Rent price (HK$)
Price per sq.ft. (HK$)
881
10,000
1,037
10,000
9.64
889
9,000
10.12
Block 22, L/F, unit J
849
8,500
10.01
Block 3, H/F, unit W
800
8,500
10.63
Taipa
Nova Taipa Garden Building
Block 30, H/F, unit J
849
8,300
9.78
Taipa
Hoi Yee Fa Yuen Building
Block 2, M/F, unit O
850
8,300
9.76
Note: L/F - Low floor; M/F - Middle floor; H/F - High floor
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FINANCE
Crypto scamming No slump for pump and dump cryptocurrency gangs
I
BY JOSEPH BOYLE
n a sleepy corner of the cryptoeconomy, the value of an obscure coin called Enzyme was tumbling downwards along with its peers in early May, but then something unusual happened on May 15. Enzyme, also known as MLN, rocketed from $30 to more than $74 in just minutes and daily trading volumes exploded from around $3 million to more than $100 million, according to CoinGecko. A few hours later, it had crashed back down to $35. The coin had just been “pumped and dumped”, an age-old scam when traders get together and orchestrate a price hike to bag a quick profit. “In the stock market, pump and dump is illegal, which is why criminals 76
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take advantage of the less robust regulatory framework around crypto assets,” said Mircea Mihaescu of compliance outfit Coinfirm. The crypto economy has been torn to shreds in recent weeks with hundreds of billions knocked off the value of the sector and some currencies completely collapsing. The scamming industry -- worth some $7.8 billion last year according to Chainalysis data -- has not given up though. Scammers continue to find fertile ground on the Telegram app and Twitter, positioning themselves as benevolent heroes helping those who have lost out in the crash. The rationale preys on the cult-like nature of crypto investing, but experts say it is far from the truth.
‘Shill it on Twitter’
The May 15 call to arms came on a Telegram group called WallStreetBets - Pumps. After several messages building the hype, the group wrote: “The coin we are buying is $MLN... Shill it on Twitter to make it trending.” Twitter immediately lit up. “Whales accumulating, worth a shot!” tweeted a user called CryptoSanta, referring to the nickname of megarich investors. Enzyme Finance, the firm that owns the MLN coin but has no link to the Telegram channel, quickly tried to calm things down. “Please be careful of fake accounts looking to operate pump and dump schemes,” the firm tweeted, distancing
itself from the feeding frenzy. But everyone who saw the Telegram messages or the hype on Twitter knew their only chance to make a profit was to get in and out fast. In reality, almost all of them would have lost. The price spike lasted for just minutes and the only ones guaranteed success were those organising the scam. “In any pump and dump scheme, everyone is convinced they are the pumper,” said behavioural economist Stuart Mills from the London School of Economics. AFP was unable to reach WallStreetBets - Pumps for comment. But it is far from the only group openly pumping coins on Telegram. Kucoin Crypto Pumps Trading, for example, is already advertising a pump timed for next week. Monaco Pump Group claims to be run by “two of the richest whales in Monaco”.
‘Mega whales’
In fact, data scientist Matt Ranger reckons most of these schemes are run by groups of chancers and low-level career
“In any pump and dump scheme, everyone is convinced they are the pumper” – Economist Stuart Mills
scammers with one main skill -- marketing. “You don’t have to know how to write a line of code,” he said of the pump and dump schemes. The Telegram groups churn out messages that tap into the sense of grievance at the heart of the crypto-economy -- the feeling that mainstream economic institutions have failed young people. “This signal was meant for everyone to recover from the recent Luna events,” the WallStreetBets group said, referring to the failure of a major crypto project called terra/luna. And the group thanked “mega whales” for helping to pump up the value. The insular world of crypto creates its own fictions, where billionaires sac-
rifice themselves for the good of the community. It goes hand-in-glove with currently popular conspiracy theories that the crash in the crypto economy was engineered by investment firms like BlackRock or Citadel. These companies, the theory goes, deliberately crashed bitcoin so they could buy into the space at a lower price. Stuart Mills points out that this helps the pump and dump groups to dehumanise their victims and boost their own sense of grievance. “All of a sudden these unethical means become more justified,” said Mills. “I was screwed, so time to screw the bad guys over.” However, Matt Ranger points out that during slumps like the current one, such scams quickly become unsustainable. “The only buy orders are the people on that Telegram group or on Twitter,” he said. “As soon as you hit the last one, it collapses, because there’s nothing else, there’s no organic real demand.” AFP
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