Slight drop in foreign reserves

The Monetary Authority of Macau announced yesterday that the preliminary estimate of Macau’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP 143.8 billion at the end of November 2015 – a 0.8 percent monthly drop from the revised figure of MOP145 billion in October. Meanwhile the trade-weighted exchange rate index for the pataca rose 1.75 points month-to-month and 6.5 points year-on-year in November, suggesting that the pataca appreciated against the currencies of Macau’s major trading partners. According to the authority, Macau’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of November represented 12 times the currency in circulation. Reserves at the end of July represented 13 times the amount of currency in circulation.

Babel takes Macau Sessions to Shenzhen

The Macau-based non-profit organization, Babel, has prepared a talk to discuss its most recent publication titled “Macau Sessions. Dialogues on Architecture and Society”. The document was launched in Macau last October during MAP 2015 (Macau Architecture Promenade). During the talk to be presented in Shenzhen on December 18, Hendrik Tieben (CUHK), Mário Duque, Thomas Daniell (USJ) and Tiago Quadros (USJ) will discuss and examine the key issues and ambitions underscoring Macau’s unprecedented growth, trying to answer the questions: “What are the costs, and the blind spots of Macau’s rampant growth?” and “What is the role of Macau in China’s development?”

USJ joins IFCU from December

Macau’s University of Saint Joseph (USJ) has been accepted as a member of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), becoming the first and only member in China. The Federation’s mission is to contribute to the building of a more just and humane world through science, reason and a persistent dialogue between cultures and religions. According to a press release issued by the USJ, the IFCU has currently around 220 members around the world and also enjoys a consultative status with several international organizations, namely the United Nations, the Commission of Human Rights, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).