Macau Daily News (English)

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A mainland Chinese man who lost big money while gambling went berserk, stabbing his wife repeatedly and started a fire that trapped several people inside their apartment in Macau, officials said today.

The woman died after the attack, but firefighters saved three people while two others escaped, said Macau fire department spokesman Iu Chong Hin.

Firefighters also caught the 48-year-old man, identified by his surname Chen, in the apartment and handed him over to police. Police have charged him with murder and arson.

[SeeMacau]

Media investor eSun Holdings plans to spend HK$500 million on a luxury residential and hotel project in Macau to cash in on the territory's booming economy.

Chief executive Mark Lee said the company intends to increase the residential portion of the project - on a 1.5 million-square-foot site originally planned mostly for TV studios - by 70 to 80 per cent.

Julius Lau, a director for project manager Lai Sun Development, said that under the original plan, only 30 houses were to built on the site, generating a total gross floor area of about 100,000 square feet.

``Land premium negotiations with the Macau government will be necessary if the residential floor area is to be raised,'' Lau said.

Lee said the company does not rule out bringing in partners to jointly develop the project and that three or four groups have indicated their interest.

Separately, Lee said eSun's plans to spin off its film- making unit, Media Asia Holdings, through a listing in Singapore, were nearly complete,and that an announcement will be made early next month.

Lau also said Lai Sun will launch a 50 per cent-owned serviced-apartment project on Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, later this year with sales projected at about HK$1 billion.

The company plans to offer a low-rise joint-venture housing project in Yuen Long for sale by the end of this year or in early 2005, estimated to be worth HK$400 million.

Lee said Lai Sun Development's debt restructuring was approved by 90 per cent of eSun's shareholders on Wednesday.

The restructuring was also approved by all creditors and 99 per cent of Lai Sun's shareholders.

The restructuring will raise eSun's stake in Lai Sun to 40.8 per cent. Lai Sun indirectly owns 42.54 per cent of eSun. Therefore, both parties will establish a cross-holding relationship.

eSun expects to write off HK$328 million for the half year ending January 31 next year, as a result of the restructuring.

Lee said eSun agrees with the business development direction of Lai Sun and intends to hold its shares for long-term investment.

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MACAO, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao's hospitality industry logged a record 2.62 million overnight guests in the first eight months, up 42.1 percent over the same period of last year.

According to the latest release from the Macao Statistics and Census Bureau, Macao's 72 hotels and guesthouses recorded 379,952 overnight guests in August, a 7.5 percent growth year-on-year.

The official statistics suggested that some 58.1 percent of allguests were from China's mainland, and 37.2 percent of them were Hong Kong residents.

In August, the average hotel room occupancy rate stood at 82.4 percent. Three-star hotels are the most popular choice for the visitors to stay overnight.

By the end of August, Macao had a total of 9,281 hotel rooms, up 4.7 percent over the same period of last year.

Some industry insiders said that three-star hotels would be a good investment over the next few years, as many tourists prefer lavishing on shopping and food to luxury hotels in Macao.

The counting of visitor arrivals in the first eight months reached 10.8 million, which was close to the total number of 11 million recorded for the whole of last year. The increase of tourists has boosted the demand for more hotel rooms. The number of hotel rooms is expected to reach around 11,500 by the end of next year. Enditem

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MAIN DISH

MACAO-STYLE AFRICAN CHICKEN

European, Asian and African influences come together in this dish from Macao, a Chinese administrative region that was a longtime Portuguese colony. Serve it with rice or flat bread and a tossed green salad with red onions and chickpeas.

FOR THE MARINADE AND CHICKEN:

• 2 small dried red chiles, finely snipped

• 1 small garlic clove, smashed and minced

• 2 small shallots, peeled and minced

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder

• 2 teaspoons crumbled, dry rosemary

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1 (3- to 3 ½-pound) chicken, cut into pieces

FOR THE SAUCE:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 small red bell pepper, cored and minced

• 1 cup freshly grated or frozen and thawed coconut

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 1 ½ cups chicken stock

TO FINISH:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Mix marinade ingredients, rub into the chicken and marinate, covered in the fridge overnight (8 to 12 hours).

To make the sauce, heat the ¼ cup oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the pepper; cook stirring occasionally until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the coconut, peanut butter and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring from time to time, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving it. Pat dry with paper towels and brown on all sides.

Transfer chicken, marinade and potatoes to a baking dish. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Makes 6 servings.

Source: Adapted from recipes.egullet.com.

Per serving: 866 calories (69 percent from fat), 66.9 g fat (18.7 g saturated, 31.7 g monounsaturated), 195 mg cholesterol, 47.6 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 4.4 g fiber, 363 mg sodium.

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MACAO, Oct. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- the secretary for economy and finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Francis Tam Pak Yuen, left here on Sunday for Portugal, where he will attend the Guangdong, Macao and Portugal Economic Cooperation Forum 2004.

An official with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute said that the visit is expected to improve exchange between entrepreneurs from the Macao SAR and Portugal, expand the Portugal market for products made in Macao, and promote Macao's role as a platform for the development of economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The forum to be held on Tuesday in Lisbon, capital of Portugal,is co-organized by governments of the Macao SAR and the Guangdong Province.

It was reported that Tam will give a speech at the forum, describing the economic development and the investment environmentin Macao, Guangdong and the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, with an aim to promote the economic and trade cooperation between the region and Portugal.

A 22-member delegation of Macao entrepreneurs and more than 20 entrepreneurs from the Guangdong Province will also attend the forum and have dialogues with their Portuguese counterparts. Enditem

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A British commercial delegation made up of representatives from over 50 companies arrived in Macao on Friday looking for opportunities for doing business.

The delegation led by Stanley Ko, chairman of the British Chamber China Committee, was the largest ever British industry mission to Macao.

Ko said that the trip aims to introduce UK companies to business opportunities in Macao. The delegates largely came from the construction and engineering sector.

Upon schedule, the delegates will meet with Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long and Director of the Macao Tourist Office Joao Manuel Costa Antunes as well as key players of Macao's gaming and leisure industries in the one-day visit.

The UK Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong Philip Tissot said that the trip is an excellent example of the considerable interest the British companies are seeing in Macao as a result of the enormous growth taking place here.

He said there is a huge potential in Macao for collaboration with UK companies. The visit of the delegation is an opportunity to build on existing trade links. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

Starting on Monday, Macau's new identification (ID) card holders only needed to carry the "smart" cards to travel to Hong Kong without applying for travel documents.

The long-awaited easy travel scheme was officially launched on Monday, as the number of Macau's "smart" Permanent Macau Resident Identification Card holders has increased to 124,000.

According to the Identification Department of the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, the government hopes to replace all the conventional ID cards with the "smart" cards by the year 2007.

Travelers with the ID cards can insert the cards into one of nine automatic kiosks at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Macau's Outer Harbor to pick up the "declaration forms."

Verification or retrieval of the electronic cards can be done instantly at the official website of the Identification Department.

[SeeMacau]

2004-10-20 / Central News Agency /
TransAsia Airways made its maiden charter flight from the eastern Taiwan county of Hualien to Macau yesterday as part of its efforts to help boost the local tourist industry.

Hualien County Magistrate Hsieh Shen-shan said he was heading a team of officials and business executives to attract Macau investors and holidaymakers to Hualien, which has been noted for its scenery and tourist resources.

"We hope the visit can not only help us realize the goal of doubling tourist arrivals but also attract Macau businesses to invest in Hualien County to accelerate our economic development and create more jobs, " Hsieh sai.d

The carrier will operate three round-trip charter flights.

[SeeMacau]

The Bank of China Macao Branch (BOC Macao), the designated Renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Macao, announced Wednesday that it has got everything ready to start the business with the first group of participating banks in early November.

Zhang Hongyi, General Manager of the BOC Macao, said that 16 banks out of Macao's 24 banks will be the first group of banks to offer the local personal RMB services in November.

Under a memorandum signed here between the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Macao Monetary Authority in August, local banks in Macao can provide deposit, remittance, exchange and credit card services of RMB. The authorization will make Macao the second place after Hong Kong to offer an official channel for RMB notes circulating outside China's mainland.

Zhang said that at the first stage, BOC Macao will only provide deposit, remittance and exchange of RMB. The credit card services of RMB will come along later.

The launch of the RMB services will bring convenience for personnel flows between the mainland and Macao, which is conducive in boosting Macao's economy, said Zhang.

Once the service is launched, individual RMB account customers of all the 16 participating banks, who must be legal Macao residency card holders, can exchange no more than 20,000 yuan RMB per person per day with Macao pataca or other currencies, or remit no more than 50,000 yuan RMB per person per day.

Zhang said that the RMB services would bring the circulation of RMB under the control of the banking system, which is conducive in monitoring the currency in Macao.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Over 540 overseas Chinese entrepreneurs from 19 countries and regions around the world convened at the Macao International Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention here Wednesday, engaging in trade talks and group discussions.

As a prelude for the upcoming Macao International Trade and Investment Fair slated for Thursday, the two-day convention focused on exchanges on industries of environmental protection, modern medical production and real estates.

The meeting, co-organized by the World Federation of Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization (WFCEO) and several trade association in Macao, has established itself as a platform for Chinese entrepreneurs sharing experiences.

Ding Kai'en, director of WFCEO said that the effect of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and China's accession into the World Trade Organization have broaden the horizon for economic and trade cooperation among Chinese entrepreneurs from around the world.

He said Hong Kong and Macao have become important trade and investment platforms for the exchanges of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs with their counterparts in the mainland. Booming trade across the Taiwan Strait has also deepened anticipation for China's peaceful reunification. Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs wish to see a unified and coordinated market at their home.

Acting Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan said at the opening ceremony Wednesday that Chinese entrepreneurs are welcomed to makethe best use of the trade platform of Macao to seize the chance brought about by CEPA.

"Macao wishes to become an information harbor and a trade platform for exchanges among Chinese entrepreneurs," said Chan.

Founded in July last year, WFCEO set up its permanent office inMacao. It assimilates industrial and commerce organizations from Chinese communities around the world. The organization has been undertaking a project of building a databank of Chinese entrepreneurs worldwide. Enditem

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MACAO - Here on this history-soaked peninsula, where Portuguese culture mingles with the salt air of the South China Sea, a visitor from Brazil can start the day sipping café de manhã, while scanning one of three local Portuguese daily newspapers or watching the news on one of two Portuguese-language television stations.

On the street, a taxi driver will pull down his "livre," or "free," sign and take a passenger past a tableau of coconut palms, baroque Catholic churches, whitewashed forts, hilltop lighthouses, blue tile street signs in Portuguese and Chinese, and bilingual banners advertising music festivals. Making the Portuguese-speaking visitor feel more at home, Radio Macao blares fado, bossa nova and news in Portuguese all day long.

Five years ago, when Portugal surrendered this 10-square-mile enclave to China, most people predicted that its language would disappear here in a blink of an eye. The Portuguese had done little to promote their language here since their merchants first stepped ashore around 1553. By the time they left, only about 2 percent of Macao's 450,000 people spoke the language of Lisbon, with the other 98 percent speaking Cantonese and other languages.

But in a surprising turnaround, enrollments for private Portuguese classes have tripled, to 1,000, since 2002. That prompted public schools here to offer Portuguese this fall, drawing more than 5,000 students.

"The number of Portuguese speakers has exploded in the last year," said Manuel F. Moreira de Almeida, a longtime Portuguese resident who runs Livraria Portuguesa, a bookstore on a narrow colonial street here. "In a few years, there will be more Portuguese speakers here than during the Portuguese time."

If economics dictate the rise and fall of languages, the renaissance of Portuguese is dictated by Beijing's new determination that Macao will serve as a platform for China's growing commercial and strategic interests in the Latin world. Although gambling has long been the main industry here, tiny Macao has found a new role: China's link to the 220 million people of the Portuguese-speaking world.

While Beijing will always draw the top-level visits, like the trip last May by President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Macao offers training programs and conventions in the culturally friendly environment of China's Mediterranean corner, where Portuguese, is, officially at least, on equal footing with Chinese.

"Macao can be a bridge between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries," China's vice commerce minister, An Min, said in October 2003 after trade talks here with seven Portuguese-speaking countries. Capping the talks, China signed an agreement to increase trade, investment and economic cooperation with Portugal and six of its former colonies: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and East Timor. São Tomé and Principe did not come because it has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The University of Macao now teaches law in Portuguese to Angolans and Mozambicans. Training seminars in tourism, nursing, translation and business administration draw students from the five Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa and from East Timor, an Asian land with long ties to this trading post on the Pearl River Delta.

"Macao could come in as a middleman, providing good quality services in training, translation and consultants," said Gary M. C. Ngai, a local researcher.

Slow to establish connections with Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, China now is moving aggressively. Almost overnight, it has become Brazil's second-largest trading partner, after the United States, buying Brazilian iron, steel, aluminum and soy. China's bilateral trade with Brazil has quadrupled since 1999, to $6.7 billion last year. In return, China is backing Brazil's effort to gain a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

"China is intimidating from a military and industrial standpoint, but its special regions have a different image," Brazil's trade minister, Luiz Fernando Furlan, said here at the trade talks last year, referring to Macao and Hong Kong, according to The Associated Press.

In Northern Brazil, a $1.5 billion steel mill is being built in a joint venture between the Shanghai Baosteel Group and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce of Brazil, the world's largest iron ore producer. C.V.R.D. also has a partnership with the Chinese aluminum producer Chalco to build a $1 billion alumina refinery, also in northern Brazil.

Argentina's trade with China has doubled since 2000. Chile is negotiating a free trade pact with China.

[SeeMacau]

The US Consul General James Keith, and Rector of the University of Macao Iu Vai Pan inaugurated an American Corner in the university on Wednesday.

The American Corner is a resource center with an extensive book collection, CD-ROMs, DVDs, videos, and Internet and database access to information about the United States.

Keith said here that the American Corner will also be the site of public programs featuring US experts and for virtual discussionvia digital video conferences interacting with over 100 other American Corners opened globally.

Keith also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Fulbright Program in Macao, which provides grants for students, scholars, teachers and administrators.

The program named after the former Senator J. William Fulbrightwards approximately 4,500 new grants annually. Enditem

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An exciting mega Latin-American culture show will be in full swing in Hong Kong and Macao from Oct.28 to the end of November., the group of Latin America Consulates (GRULAC) said here Wednesday.

"The sensational month-long line up of events celebrates all things in Latin America and is expected to take Hong Kong and Macao by storm," said Ricardo Forrester, the GRULA spokesman and consul general of Argentina in Hong Kong.

He said the GRULAC will make the show an annual event from 2004.

The "Latin America in Hong Kong" festival is co-launched by GRULAC members, which are the consulates of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela in Hong Kong. The eight countries will team up to bring their culture, traditions, and folklore to Asia through exhibitions, performances,cinema folkloric show, food tasting and open forums.

In the extravaganza of music, dance, arts and food, the festival is about to bring people together and celebrate the breadth and depth of Latin American cultural diversity, Forrester added.

A myriad of events will be staged during the festival, including colorful rhythm, arts and crafts exhibition, Latin gaze photo exhibition, and rooted music, festival on the beach, flea market and etc..

"This big event is not commercially aimed, but in long term, webelieve it will enhance the economic and trade cooperation betweenHong Kong, Macao, and the Latin American countries, and bring moretourists to our region," said David Tang, counsel general of Cuba in Hong Kong.

"We are preparing a similar Hong Kong event back home and we need to know about Hong Kong and Macao as well," said Olga Forero De Silva, consul general of Colombia in Hong Kong. Enditem

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Over 12.19 million people visited Macao in the first nine months, which has surpassed the total number of visitor arrivals recorded for the whole of last year.

Figures released by the Macao Statistics and Census Service suggested that the first nine months' counting was 45.3 percent upover the year-ago period. Visitors from China's mainland constituted 57.1 percent of the total.

The number of visitor arrivals in the first three quarters has far exceeded the total of 11.88 million recorded for the whole of last year.

There were 6.95 million mainland visitors in the first nine months, up 82.7 percent on the same period of last year. Of the total, some 2.48 million were individual travel passport holders.

Industry insiders forecast that the number of visitor arrivals will amount to 15 million by the year-end.

Besides the increase in the source market of the mainland, the number of tourists from southeastern Asian countries also surged by 78 percent over the same period of last year to 160,000 in the first three quarters. Enditem

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Macao will invite cultural heritage protection scholars and specialists from the Asian Pacific regions to a forum on the protection of world heritage, which will open on Oct. 25.

The one-day forum is co-organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, the Asian Academy for Heritage Management and the Macao Institute for Tourist Studies (IFT).

IFT communications staff surnamed Loi said that Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific will deliver a lecture at the forum, which will also invite keynote speakers from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.

Loi said that IFT will record the forum memoir and submit it to the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government to provide consultation for policy and law making.

Macao's world cultural heritage bidding has been designated as China's only nomination to apply for the UNESCO in 2005. The application work has been in full swing.

Macao's bidding under the name of the Macao Historical Architecture Clump for the World Cultural Heritage embraces 12 priceless cultural heritage sites, including China's oldest church,Christian cemetery, lighthouse and western theater. Enditem

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MACAO, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- American firms have been increasingly aware of Macao's enormous business opportunities in the gaming industry, project- and tourism-related trade, said a senior US commercial diplomat in Hong Kong and Macao.

Chief Commercial Consul of the American Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao Stewart J. Ballard said at the ongoing Macao International Trade and Investment fair here Friday that America is Macao's biggest export destination, and Macao's inbound foreign direct investment from America is on the rise, which mainly flew to the gaming, hospitality, transport and communications sectors.

Ballard affirmed that more US export growth to Macao is likely as more US companies discover Macao as a re-export gateway to China's mainland.

He attributed the affirmation to the facts that Macao has clinched a closer economic partnership arrangement known as CEPA with China's mainland, and Macao participated in the "9+2" Pan-Pearl River Delta economic cooperation in the South China region earlier this year.

Projects linking to the coordinated regional development, such as the Macao-Zhuhai Cross-Border Industrial Park and the proposed Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge would make Macao a billion-dollar market, Ballard said.

He said Macao is an increasingly important Asian tourist destination, which attracted 11.9 million visitors in 2003. He noticed that Macao has become a hot destination for business tourists.

Co-sponsored by the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macao) and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, the Macao International Trade and Investment Fair, which convened over 1,300 government officials and business people from over 30 countries and regions, will last to Sunday. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) opened here on Thursday, attracting over 1,300 government officials and business people from over 30 countries and regions.

The fair, co-sponsored by the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macao) and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (MTIPI), isa venue for some 40 forums and workshops, and offered 332 booths for 70 trade delegations to engage in business talks.

President of the MTIPI Lee Peng Hong said that the effect of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the establishment of regional cooperation framework in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region earlier this year have expanded Macao's business scope and enhanced the importance of MIF, which entered the ninth session this year.

The four-day event is the first major international trade activity held after the implementation of CEPA in Macao on Jan. 1 this year. As the most important annual economic activity in the city, MIF has become an important trade platform for enterprises from China's mainland, and European and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan, acting chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Wang Jinxiang, deputy director of the Central People's Government's Liaison Office in the Macao SAR, and Wan Yongxiang, commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in the Macao SAR, attended the opening ceremony. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Portuguese influence enjoys a renaissance
By JAMES BROOKE
New York Times

MACAU - On this history-soaked peninsula, where Portuguese culture mingles with the salt air of the South China Sea, a visitor from Brazil can start the day sipping cafe de manha, while scanning one of three local Portuguese daily newspapers or watching the news on one of two Portuguese language television stations.

On the street, a taxi driver will pull down his "livre," or "free" sign, and take a passenger past a tableau of coconut palms, baroque Catholic churches, whitewashed forts, hilltop lighthouses, blue tile street signs in Portuguese and Chinese, and bilingual banners advertising music festivals.

Five years ago, when Portugal surrendered this 10-square-mile enclave to China, most people predicted that its language would disappear here in a blink of an eye.

The Portuguese had done little to promote their language here since their merchants first stepped ashore in 1553. By the time they left, only about 2 percent of Macau's 450,000 people spoke the language of Lisbon, with the other 98 percent speaking Cantonese and other languages.

But in a surprising turnaround, enrollments for private Portuguese classes have tripled, to 1,000, since 2002.

Beijing is determined that Macau will serve as a platform for commercial and strategic interests in the Latin world.

"Macau can be a bridge between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries," China's vice commerce minister, An Min, said last October. China signed an agreement to increase trade, investment and economic cooperation with Portugal and six of its former colonies: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and East Timor.

[SeeMacau]

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Shareholders of privately held Air Macau are scheduled to meet next Wednesday to discuss whether to open the Macanese market to Australian budget carrier Virgin Blue, reports the South China Morning Post.

A spokesman for China National Aviation Corp, one of the shareholders in Air Macau, confirmed the meeting but declined to give further details.

On the table, said SCMP, will be the commercial terms of Virgin Blue's plan to launch a new China-focused airline flying between Macau and mainland cities by early next year. This will hinge on Air Macau's willingness to waive its 25-year exclusive concession on airline operations based in Macau, which it was granted in 1995.

Virgin Blue Commercial Chief David Huttner said "discussions are ongoing and that no agreement has been reached with CNAC or Air Macau."

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The conservation of the Tak Seng On Pawnshop in Macao was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2004 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards at a ceremony held at the sitehere on Monday.

With the prize, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the unique restoration of Tak Seng On Pawnshop, which was among 16 other sites awarded this year to represent the memory of the last millennium, said Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific.

Engelhardt said that this year's competition for the award was intense. The pawnshop was selected from a shortlist of some 40 entries by the selection committee to set an example for extendingthe understanding of heritages beyond the stereotype concepts of churches and temples.

He commented that with the award, UNESCO encouraged the coordinated effort of the private sector and the governments in restoring and conserving buildings of heritage value. Besides the value of the architecture, the pawnshop represents a living heritage.

The century-old pawnshop, which is a private asset revamped by the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) at a cost of 1.4 million patacas (175,000 US dollars), opened to public as a pawnshop museum and a cultural club in March last year.

The pawnshop not only led the fashion of a south China buildingtype in 1930s but also associated the memory of Macao's commercialand financial history.

Heidi Ho Lai Chun da Luz, president of the Macao Culture Institute said that the award was a recognition of the Macao SAR government's cultural preservation works, which is conducive to Macao's bidding for UNESCO's world cultural heritage next year.

Macao's bidding under the name of the Macao Historical Architecture Clump for the World Cultural Heritage has been designated as China's only nomination to apply for the title next year. The application work has been in full swing. The bidding package embraces 12 priceless cultural heritage sites, including China's oldest church, Christian cemetery, lighthouse and western theater. Enditem