Briefs | José Tavares to head new municipal bureau

José Tavares has been appointed as the first head of the city’s new Municipal Affairs Bureau, according to a dispatch published in the Official Gazette. Tavares’ two-year term will start on Jan. 1, the day the new bureau commences operations. Lei Wai Nong and Lo Chi Kin have been appointed vice-presidents of the bureau. The pair are currently vice-presidents of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.  Lei and Lo will also hold two-year terms starting New Year’s day.

Live pig supply ensured amid Zhuhai ASF outbreak

Macau’s supply of live pigs has returned to normal, after an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) was reported in Zhuhai last week. The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau issued a statement, informing the public that the bureau had been keeping in close contact with mainland quarantine authorities over live pig exports to Macau. “Even though the supply of live pigs to Macau has decreased, it remains guaranteed. The supply will be coming from farms not involved in the outbreak,” the IACM statement reads.

Monetary Authority of Macau raises discount base rate

The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) on Friday added 25 basis points to the discount rate raising it to 2.75%, the fourth review since the start of the year, the AMCM announced. This rise is due to the Macau being indexed to the Hong Kong dollar, which in turn is pegged to the United States dollar, “in order to safeguard the efficient functioning of this exchange indexation regime.” According to the statement, the AMCM decision follows a 25 basis point increase in the base interest rate announced by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which itself followed a US Federal Reserve decision on 19 December to raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points. The AMCM noted that some banks have increased the preferential interest rate and the interest rates in the individual deposit categories, so it warned the population about the risk of increased financial charges associated with interest rate hikes and that any decision to take on a loan should be carefully considered.

Inflation up in November

The composite consumer price index (CPI) in Macau increased by 3.12 percent to 113.96 in November year-on-year, a decrease of 0.23 percentage points from the 3.35 percent growth recorded in October, according to the Statistics and Census Service. The decrease was attributable to increased fees for eating out, higher rental costs, rising parking meter rates, as well as the increasing prices of gasoline and adults’ clothing. Among goods and services, the price indixes of clothing and footwear, education and transport notably grew by 6.94 percent, 5.88 percent and 5.13 percent respectively year-on-year, while the index of communication decreased by 6.86 percent. For the 12-month period ending in November 2018, the average composite CPI rose by 2.93 percent compared with the previous period. During this period, there was notable growth in the price indixes of clothing and footwear (6.18 percent), transport (5.22 percent), health (4.79 percent) and education (4.62 percent).

2.5pct of residents may have gambling addiction

A recent study which interviewed 2,000 residents revealed that 2.5 percent were suspected of having some level of gambling addiction. Presented at the “Responsible Gaming Symposium” at the University of Macau, the study suggests that when looking at the overall adult population in the SAR, some 14,000 local residents are likely to have gambling disorder. Data from the Social Welfare Bureau shows that the percent of residents who took part in some form of gambling dropped from nearly 70 percent in 2003 down to 51.5 percent in 2016. This year, over 300 people have asked to be banned from entering casinos. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the government’s efforts in promoting responsible gaming.