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Asia and Oceania
Macao |
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Region Name: The Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Last reviewed: 8 December 2006 |
Country information
Area: 28.2 square kilometres
Population: 488,100 (2005)
People: Chinese 95%, 5% Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Chinese ancestry), Portuguese and other
Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), Portuguese. English is also widely spoken.
Religion: Buddhist (majority), Christianity and Taoism
Currency: Pataca
Major Political Parties: There are no formal political parties in Macao. 18 social groups contested the elections to the Legislature in September 2005.
Government: Macao SAR has an 'executive-led' system of government led by the Chief Executive
Head of State: (President of People's Republic of China) Hu Jintao
Chief Executive: Edmund Ho Hau Wah
Secretary for Administration and Justice: Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan
Economic and Financial Secretary: Francis Tam Pak Yuen
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US $ 10 bn (2004) $11.56bn (2005) +11.7%
GDP per head: US $ 22,620 (2004), +28% 24,274 (2005), +7.2%
Annual Growth: 15.6% (2003) and 28% (2004) 8.4% (2005)
Inflation: -1.56% (2003) and 0.98% (2004) 4.4% (2005)
Major Industries: Tourism (including gaming), Manufacturing (including textile and garment) and Finance & Insurance.
HISTORY
The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China covers an area of just 28.2 square kilometres on China's South East coast, to the west of the Pearl River Delta. Bordering Guangdong Province, it is 60km from Hong Kong and 145km from the mainland city of Guangzhou. Macao has been growing as a result of land reclamation: in the 19th century it covered only 10.28 square kilometres. The territory is made up of the peninsula of Macao, and the two islands of Taipa and Coloane, linked by a 2.2 kilometre long strip of reclaimed land known as Cotai.
Portuguese fishermen are believed to have first settled Macao in the 16th Century, making Macao the oldest permanent European settlement in East Asia. For nearly 300 years the Portuguese paid China an annual tribute for use of the Peninsula, but in 1846, Portugal stopped making rent payments and in 1849 they proclaimed Macao to be a free port. They secured control of Taipa and Coloane islands in 1851 and 1864 respectively.
British links with Macao go back a long way. The first recorded British Trade Mission to Macao took place in 1583. Jardine and Matheson, two British businessmen who in the 1830s founded the famous Hong Kong company that bears their name traded with Macao before venturing into Hong Kong.
In the late 1970s, Portugal let it be known that it was willing to negotiate Macao's return to China. Both governments declared that Macao was a Chinese territory under Portuguese administration and agreed that the issue should be settled through friendly consultation.
Following the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 on the future of Hong Kong, China and Portugal embarked on several rounds of negotiations to agree Macao's future.
This led in 1987 to the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao and, ultimately, to China resuming administration of Macao on 20 December 1999.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The UK's Relations with Macao
We enjoy close and constructive co-operation with the Macao authorities in areas of mutual interest. For example, the UK and Macao signed an air services agreement in 2004. We also helped the SAR Government to develop export control legislation for the territory.
The British Consulate General (BCG) in Hong Kong is responsible for all of the UK's bilateral dealings with the Macao SAR Government. The BCG is also responsible for providing consular assistance to British Nationals in Macao and in 2004 appointed Mr Glenn McCartney as Honorary British Consul.
Many UK citizens make regular visits to Macao from around the region, particularly Hong Kong. Relatively few Macao residents make the journey to the UK, though now that the UK has granted visa free access for Macao SAR passport holders we hope to see more visitors.
Macao's External and Bilateral Relations
Macao is a member of a number of international bodies including the World Trade Organisation, World Customs Union and Interpol. It also has close links with the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
The EU's Relation with Macao
A trade and co-operation agreement, signed in 1992, forms the basis for the European Union's co-operation with Macao. Under the terms of the agreement, Macao and the EU have agreed to co-operate in the fields of industry, investment, science and technology. They hold annual bilateral meetings to review progress. Macao has an Economic and Trade Representative Office in Brussels, and there is a range of institutions in Macao that help promote EU-Macao relations.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Macao has a small open economy that faces stiff competition from Hong Kong's highly developed services economy and from the low wages and abundant land across the border in mainland China. It is highly dependent on gambling and related tourism industries. Together, they accounted for over half of Macao's annual GDP in 2004.
As the only place in China where gambling is legal, the SAR has imposed a 35 per cent rate of tax on the gaming industry. Taxes on gambling generate nearly 70 per cent of total government revenue.
Three consortia - Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Wynn Resorts (Macao) Limited and Galaxy Casino Company Limited, two of which have links to Las Vegas, have pledged to invest around USD 2.2 billion in the territory over the next ten years in a bid to attract high rollers from all over Asia. Macao currently has 20 casinos, with 10 more currently under construction. Gaming revenue in 2005 will exceed that of Las Vegas, at approximately USD 5.7 billion.
Macao's main export markets are the United States and the European Union, which purchase about one-half and one-quarter, respectively, of total exports. The EU is the third biggest investor in Macao SAR after China and Hong Kong. UK exports to Macao SAR in 2003 were £42.3 million.
Strong growth in the gaming and tourism sectors continues to drive Macao's economy. The signing in 2003 of a 'Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement' (CEPA) between Macao and Mainland China has also helped by exempt most categories of Macao products from mainland import tariffs and allowing local firms and professionals to be granted preferential access to the mainland market in a wide range of sectors.
One of the most significant elements of this arrangement has been the Individual Visitor Scheme, which allowed tourists from a wide range of mainland cities to visit Macao on an individual basis. Visitor numbers have risen significantly from 11.8 million in 2003 to 18.7 million in 2005. Visitor numbers in 2006 are expected to reach 20 million. In 2005 about 55% (10.4 million) came from mainland China, 2003 figures.
Like Hong Kong, Macao is a gateway to mainland China. It sees itself as a business matching service between local and mainland companies, Portuguese speaking territories and other foreign companies.
Businessmen consider Hong Kong of greater interest, mainly because of its greater financial trade links with the mainland. However, the overheads in Macao are much lower than in Hong Kong. Communications are also relatively good (and far better than they used to be). The Macao Government has also recently enacted favourable legislation on offshore finance.
- Macao SAR is the UK's 133rd largest export market and 116th largest source of imports.
- In 2005 UK exports to Macao were worth £17m, up 13% on 2004
- Imports from Macao in 2005 were worth £24m, down 40.5% on 2004.
- Exports between Jan-Sep 2006 were £15.3m, up 24% on the same period in 2005.
- Imports between Jan-Sep 2006 were £18.3m, up 44.2% on the same period in 2005.
There are niche opportunities for UK companies in the gambling, construction, education, leisure and tourism, giftware products and services, creative industries, telecommunications and infrastructure sectors.
There is growing British investment in Macao. Among the more well known organisations are HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Cable & Wireless, Menzies, FPD Savills who all maintain a presence.
A British Business Association of Macao was established in May 2006 and is affiliated to the British Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and the Mainland.
There are now regular trade missions to Hong Kong that also include Macao to take advantage of the opportunities available, particularly in the areas of construction, environment, education and training, healthcare, ICT, leisure and tourism, mass transport, retail and water.
UK Trade and Investment Country Profile: Macao
POLITICS
The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) operates under the same 'one country, two systems' principle as Hong Kong. It enjoys a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs which are the responsibility of the PRC.
The Joint Declaration and Basic Law of the Macao SAR (Basic Law) provide that Macao's capitalist system and way of life will remain unchanged for 50 years. The Basic Law serves as a mini-constitution for Macao and was promulgated in March 1993 by the National People's Congress of the PRC. It confers independent executive legislative, judicial and economic powers on the Macao SAR and guarantees the rights and freedoms of its residents.
The Executive
The Head of the Macao SAR Government is the Chief Executive. The current incumbent is Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah. The Chief Executive can serve for up to two five-year terms and is elected by a 300 member Election Committee whose members are nominated by corporate and social bodies.
A 10-member Executive Council (ExCo), Macao's cabinet, assists the Chief Executive with decision making, and is made up of a mixture of legislators, civil servants and business leaders.
The Chief Executive has the power to promulgate laws, introduce draft legislation to the Legislative Assembly and nominate ExCo candidates.
The Legislature
The Legislative Assembly, Macao's legislature, has 29 members. Geographical constituencies through direct elections return 12 members, 10 are returned by functional constituencies representing different sectors of the community, and 7 are directly appointed by the Chief Executive.
The Legislative Assembly's main function is to introduce, revise and approve draft legislation as well as to examine, debate and approve budgets introduced by the Government.
The Basic Law allows for the rules relating to the composition of the Legislative assembly to be altered in 2009 provided that any alterations are 'made with the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Council and the consent of the Chief Executive, and they shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record.'
The Judiciary
Macao's legal system is based on the Portuguese civil law tradition. The Joint Declaration and Basic Law provide for Macao having independent judicial power, including the power of final adjudication.
Recent Political Developments
Edmund Ho Hau Wah was re-elected on 29 August 2004 for a second term as Chief Executive. The election was uncontested, with Ho receiving 296 of the 299 votes cast by the 300 strong Election Committee in a secret ballot.
Ho pledged to use his second 5-year term to focus on economic development and raising the quality of life for residents. He said that he would stick closely to the principles of 'one country two systems', a 'high degree of autonomy for Macao' and 'Macao people running Macao'.
Elections
The third elections to the Legislative Assembly were held on 25 September 2005. There was record turn out of 128,829 registered votes, which accounted for 58.39% of the eligible population. 125 candidates ran for the 12 seats in the direct elections. The ten candidates for the ten functional constituency seats were returned unopposed.
Country information
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Contacts
Macao, British Honorary Consulate
Address:
PO Box No 1148
Macao SAR
Telephone:
(853) 6850886
Fax:
(853) 810222
Email: honbcmo@yahoo.co.uk
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