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HONG KONG: Macao will reopen public services and entertainment facilities, and allow dining-in at restaurants from Tuesday (Aug 2), authorities said, as the world's biggest gambling hub seeks a return to normalcy after finding no COVID-19 cases for nine straight days.
Beauty salons, fitness centres, and bars too will be allowed to resume operations, the government said in a statement on Monday. The announcement came as authorities also reported on Monday that July monthly casino revenues dropped 95 per cent year on year to 0.4 billion patacas (US$49.5 million), the lowest on record.
Casinos were closed for 12 days in July, reopening on Jul 23 as authorities began unwinding stringent measures which required most businesses and premises to shut.
The former Portuguese colony has reported around 1,800 infections since mid-June when it was hit with its worst coronavirus outbreak that forced the closure of casinos and locked down most of the city.
Despite reopening, there is likely to be no business for at least a few weeks, analysts said, due to strict restrictions still in place.
Health authorities will require residents to wear masks when they go out and must show a negative coronavirus test within three days to enter most venues.
"There have been no community infection cases in Macao for nine consecutive days ... and the risk of the spread of the coronavirus has been greatly reduced," it said.
This is the first time Macao has had to grapple with the fast spreading Omicron variant.
More than 90 per cent of Macao's residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but authorities have closely followed China's zero-COVID mandate which seeks to curb all outbreaks at almost any cost, contrary to the rest of the world which is already living with the virus.
The city only has one public hospital which was already overburdened even before the pandemic.
Sands China, Wynn Macau, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment, SJM Holdings and Melco Resorts are the current six casino licence holders in Macao. Their licences will expire by the end of the year.
They are soaking up losses as they prepare to bid for new licences in a business that generated US$36 billion in revenue in 2019, the last year before COVID-19 curbs slammed the sector.
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Firms CNA spoke to also said that pickings for talent are slim, noting that fewer architecture students move on to do their master's degree, which is typically needed to practice architecture in Singapore.
“They also realise that they’ve got so many years of studying, and then when they come out, they feel that in terms of job satisfaction, pay and hours, it’s just not worth the effort,” said Mr Siew.
“I think a lot of them are making early exit decisions, so it’s quite worrying and quite sad.”
In a survey last August by the Singapore Institute of Architects, only 7 per cent of young graduates said they were likely to stay in the profession in the long run.
Student intake for the Architecture and Sustainable Design programme at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has “remained stable”, said the university’s spokesperson.
“We have not experienced a significant decline in numbers. Our ASD (Architecture and Sustainable Design) undergraduates and Master of Architecture graduates still choose the architecture profession predominantly,” the spokesperson said.
“A small number has ventured into affiliated design industries such as experience design, exhibition design and digital solutions providers in the built environment sector.”
The programme has a “stringent selection process” and “close-knit study environment”, and students are coached and mentored to “keep on course” for graduation, the SUTD spokesperson said.
Intake for architecture students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has similarly “remained fairly stable over the years”, said a spokesperson for its College of Design and Engineering.
The curriculum trains students in skills that are relevant to a “broad variety” of careers. Students in NUS’ most recent batch of architecture students had an employment rate of 97.7 per cent, with “competitive” median starting salaries at S$4,000, the spokesperson said.
“Whilst not all of our graduates go on to work as architects, our curriculum’s focus on design excellence ensures that those who do choose to explore other fields find success in related careers,” said the NUS spokesperson.
Architecture graduate Chua Sheng Chuan told CNA that of the 150 students in his batch, only about 20 of them are architects now, five years after graduation.
Mr Chua, who set up his own timber construction firm Calvary Carpentry, said he decided not to take his master's degree despite interning at several architecture firms.
“If you ask me – do I want to reach the stage where I become an architect? Yeah, I think every one of us still has that little dream within them. But it’s just that the process to get there is so hard,” the 31-year-old said.
“I think every single architecture student ... wants to see their ideas become a reality without all the trouble in between.”
Architecture firms should be part of a larger group pushing for “more positive changes” in the professional sector, said Mr Seah.
“There's still a lot we can do to make it a lot more attractive in terms of prospects, opportunities. Remuneration for architects, not just young but especially for our talents,” he added.
“The subject of talent retention is very critical, because the draining part is not obvious when it starts. And it’ll be very evident (after that) but by then it’s already too late.
“It’s timely not just from a firm’s perspective but from an entire profession and sector, we look at this issue deeply ... and really induce some positive change.”
In 2014, a year into his papacy, Pope Francis told reporters that if his health got in the way of his functions as pope, he would consider stepping down.
In May, as reported in the Italian media, Pope Francis joked about his knee during a closed-door meeting with bishops, saying: "Rather than operate, I'll resign."
"The door is open, it's one of the normal options, but up until now I haven't knocked on this door," he said Saturday.
"But that doesn't mean the day after tomorrow I don't start thinking, right? But right now I honestly don't.
"Also this trip was a little bit the test. It is true that you cannot make trips in this state, you have to maybe change the style a little bit, decrease, pay off the debts of the trips you still have to make, rearrange.
"But the Lord will tell. The door is open, that is true."
The comments come after intense speculation about Pope Francis's future, after he was forced to cancel a string of events due to his knee pain including a trip to Africa planned for earlier this month.
Talk was also fuelled by his decision to call an extraordinary consistory for Aug 27, a slow summer month at the Vatican, to create 21 new cardinals - 16 of whom will be under the age of 80, thereby eligible to elect his successor in a future conclave.
Benedict's decision to quit caused shockwaves through the Catholic Church. He was first pope to resign since the Middle Ages, but the precedent has now been set.
"In all honesty, it is not a catastrophe, it is possible to change pope, it is possible to change, no problem! But I think I have to limit myself a bit with these efforts," Pope Francis said on Saturday.
He mostly used a wheelchair during his trip to Canada, where he offered a historic apology for decades of abuse of Indigenous children at residential schools run by the Catholic Church.
But he did stand up in his "popemobile" to greet crowds.
In an incident on Tuesday, Mirror member Frankie Chan lost his footing and fell about a metre off the edge of the stage while giving a speech. He later posted on social media, saying: "Sorry for making everyone worry … Only some bruises. I'm a lucky man."
The night before, local media reported that band member Anson Kong nearly fell off a rising platform he was dancing on, adding that the structure and other stage features were shaking and wobbling under the weight of performers.
Fans also filmed other Mirror members appearing to miss dance steps while on dimly lit and fenceless structures, some suspended in mid-air.
An online petition urging concert organisers to better ensure safety was launched on Tuesday night, garnering more than 13,000 signatures since.
The Hong Kong government also contacted the organisers that same night to demand improvements, resulting in “dangerous moves” being cancelled and fences installed at the next performance on Wednesday, according to local media.
Thursday’s incident – where the audience can be heard screaming in horror in distressing footage being circulated online – was the final straw for the Hong Kong government, which has halted the Mirror concert series until the stage production can be proven safe.
Hong Kong film stalwart Louis Koo, who is president of the city’s performing artistes guild, on Friday morning called for people to stop reposting the accident clips.
The key thing is to review the safety issues to avoid repeating the same mistakes, he said on social media.
Fellow entertainer Aaron Kwok meanwhile spoke out against reports that Mirror performers had only rehearsed for two days before the start of the concert series on Monday.
Kwok said he needed at least three to four days to rehearse at venues, and before that, he would also practise in a different venue with a replica stage, according to Variety magazine.
With the Hong Kong Theatre Arts Practitioners Union and several city lawmakers calling for a probe, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee issued a statement early on Friday ordering a thorough investigation and review of safety requirements at similar events.
This was to ensure the safety of performers, crew and the public, said Mr Lee, adding: “I express sympathy to those who were injured and hope that they will recover soon.”
BEIJING — China's top leaders signaled Thursday that no big stimulus for economic growth was on the way, and downplayed the necessity of achieving the "around 5.5%" GDP target.
In the second half of the year, authorities said they would stabilize employment and prices, according to a state media readout of the leaders' meeting Thursday. Chinese President Xi Jinping headed the economic meeting, held regularly with China's leadership, known as the Politburo.
That high-level mention of stabilizing prices indicates there won't likely be any additional expansionary policies, Wang Jun, a director at the China Chief Economist Forum, said in a phone interview. He noted high inflation overseas, and expected China would face greater inflationary pressure in the coming months.
One of the largest stimulus announcements came in late May when China's State Council, the country's top executive body, announced 33 economic support measures ranging from tax refunds to infrastructure investment.
While Wang expected continued use of credit and local government bonds to support the economy, he said authorities would not likely "force" 5.5% growth. That's according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
China's gross domestic product grew by just 2.5% in the first half of the year from a year ago, after the economy slumped in the second quarter. The country's worst Covid-19 outbreak since 2020 locked down the metropolis of Shanghai in April and May, while related restrictions in other parts of China hit business activity.
However, on Thursday China's leaders did not signal any change in the country's "dynamic zero-Covid" policy.
"Regarding the relationship between pandemic control and the development of the economy and society [we must] ... take the long view, especially from a political point of view, calculate the political cost," the state media readout of the Politburo meeting said in Chinese, according to a CNBC translation.
The readout did emphasize how local governments should take a more localized approach, especially on economic policy and resolving problems in real estate.
"Provinces with the conditions to achieve the economic targets should strive to," the readout said.
Shanghai's GDP contracted by 5.7% in the first half of the year from a year ago, while Beijing city's grew by just 0.7%, according to data accessed through Wind Information. The provinces of Shanxi, Jiangxi and Fujian were among the fastest growing, by at least 4.6% in the first six months of 2022.
The leaders' meeting reflects "a more flexible and pragmatic attitude toward [the] GDP target," said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at JLL.
He estimated the year's urban unemployment rate of 5.5% can still be achieved if the economy rebounds by about 5% or more in the second half of the year.
On real estate, the Chinese leaders stuck with their mantra that "houses are for living in, not speculation,” while stating that local governments are responsible for delivering completed houses.
Developers in China typically sell apartments before finishing construction, generating an important source of cash flow. However, recent construction delays have prompted many homebuyers in the last month to suspend mortgage payments, putting developers' future sales at risk.
The meeting readout also noted how policy for resolving real estate problems shouldn't be the same across all cities, said Qin Gang, executive director of China real estate research institute ICR.
Instead, he said the readout encouraged local governments to take a localized approach in supporting people's purchases of a first home or an upgraded property.
On the internet tech crackdown that's hit companies from Alibaba to Didi, Chinese authorities again signaled they were reaching a turning point.
The Politburo meeting readout called for the continued "healthy" development of the "platform economy" and "completing" the businesses' adjustments. The leaders also said lists of allowable "greenlit" investment areas should be published.
The readout said policy must also support business confidence, so that, among other items, foreign businesses "dare to invest."
