Briefs | Catholic school land plot repossessed

The land plot of Escola de São José, Ká-Hó has been reclaimed by the state. The SAR government announced the expiration of the land plot’s concession earlier this week. In 1976, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau gradually became the concessioner of the land, free of charge. The plot has a total area of 7,131 square meters. The concession expired in December 2001. The Catholic diocese never applied to renew the concession. Moreover, the city’s old land law did not include a provision for automatic renewal, so the SAR government announced the recovery of the land. The land plot currently hosts a school which offers primary education and boarding school services, and is current enrolling new students.

Gov’t issues funds to 2,500 SME loan applicants

A total of 2,500 applications for the Economic Bureau’s (DSE) interest-free loan support scheme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) had already received financial support. DSE received approximately 5,000 applications. 3,500 applicants had already been approved, of which 2,500 had already received financial support. In total, the government has granted 500 million patacas as part of the support scheme. As for the SME bank loan interest subsidy, DSE has been receiving over 100 applications daily. In total, 2,100 subsides have been granted, worth over 2.7 billion patacas. With the e-voucher scheme launching this year, Macau has more point-of-sale systems and QR codes for payment than ever before. There are now 43,000 in total, nine times as many as there were in 2019.

Macao Foundation’s financial support drops 71%

The Macao Foundation has granted 191 million patacas in support during the first quarter of the year, a decrease of 71% year-on-year, according to the dispatch of the Official Gazette. During the same period last year, the foundation has subsidized nearly 660 million pataca. Earlier, the Audit Commission released a report that uncovered subsidy errors by the Macao Foundation. The report pointed out that there was no legal requirement for the Macao Foundation to review the profit and loss reports submitted by subsidized entities, given the large number of entities the foundation subsidizes yearly.