Briefs | Macau film development made easier in China

China’s State Film Administration unveiled yesterday new measures to support the further development of the Hong Kong and Macau film industries on the mainland. There would be no quantitative restriction on Hong Kong and Macau people participating in the production of mainland films, and no restrictions on the proportion of actors or on mainland elements in films co-produced by the mainland and the two Special Administrative Regions, said an administration statement.

Forex reserves reach MOP163 billion

The preliminary estimate of the foreign exchange reserves in Macau reached 163.3 billion patacas (about USD20.2 billion) at the end of March, the Monetary Authority said. The reserves decreased by 2.1 percent from the revised value of 166.8 billion patacas for the previous month. The Macau SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of March represented 10 times the currency in circulation. Meanwhile, the trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca dropped 0.03 points month-to-month but rose 5.07 points year-on-year to 105.6 in March, implying that overall speaking, the exchange rate of the pataca declined against the currencies of Macau’s major trading partners on a monthly basis but increased on an annual basis.

Only 22% of Chief Executive voters registered

The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Chief Executive Election has issued a reminder that April 23 is the closing date for legal-person voters to register for the right to have a role in the selection process regarding the formation of the Chief Executive Election Committee. As of Monday, only 22% of the aggregate number of eligible legal-person voters had filed their registration request, said the Commission’s President, Song Man Lei. The coming Friday (April 19) and Monday (April 22) were government holidays, Song noted. The date for the Chief Executive Election Committee polling – which will choose most of the Committee’s members – has been set for June 16. A 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee will subsequently elect a new Chief Executive.