FOUNDER & PUBLISHER Kowie Geldenhuys EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paulo Coutinho www.macaudailytimes.com.mo

T. 12º/ 18º Air Quality Good WEDNESDAY “ THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ ” MOP 8.00

N.º 3688 06 Jan 2021 HKD 10.00

THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STUDIO CITY ’S GGR SURGED UK PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON PINNED HAS LAUNCHED A SERIES OF ACTIVITIES TO HIS HOPES FOR A NATIONAL RECOVERY PROMOTE THE CITY’S HANDOVER ANNIVERSARY BY 146% FROM OCT TO NOV PLAN TO DELIVER 2 MILLION COVID-19 NAMELY IN THE MACANESE DIASPORA 2020 COMPARED TO Q3 VACCINATIONS A WEEK TO END LOCKDOWN P5 P2 P8

China The former head of state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Co.

Ltd. was sentenced to KROON ALWIN death yesterday for bribe taking in one of the harshest punishments for economic crimes in recent years. Lai Xiaomin, 58, was also found guilty by the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin of lesser charges including corruption and bigamy.

AP PHOTO ANOTHER

South Korea Armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops stormed a South Korean tanker and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran, the vessel’s owner TheWAY upcoming Amsterdam-Tokyo HOME and Tokyo-Macau route is said yesterday, the latest maritime seizure by Tehran amid heightened tensions expected to bring home stranded local residents in Europe with the West over its nuclear P3 program. It appeared the Islamic Republic sought to increase its leverage over Seoul ahead of negotiations over billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks amid a U.S. pressure campaign targeting Iran. AP PHOTO

India Representatives of the government and protesting farmers failed again this week to reach agreement on the farmers’ demand that new agricultural reform laws be repealed. With the government refusing to revoke the legislation, the farmers pledged to continue blockading key highways linking the capital with the country’s north. The two sides agreed to meet for more talks on Friday.

Afghan negotiators are to resume talks with the Taliban aimed at finding an end to decades of relentless conflict even as hopes wane and frustration and fear 30,747 TOURISTS grow over a spike in violence across Afghanistan that has combatants on both sides City ends blaming the other. Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan government advisor, said year with the government and the Taliban are “two warring record-high minorities,” with the Afghan people caught in between. arrivals More on backpage P2 page 2 www.macaudailytimes.com.mo MACAU 澳門 06.01.2021 wed

MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

ther peak season for mainland ho- lidaymakers, the occupancy figures Visitor arrivals hit record registered during the New Year ho- liday still maintained a lead of 7.6%. In the wake of the reinstatement high on New Year’s Eve of travel permit issuance for all main- land residents from September 23 HONEY TSANG 23.3% and 27.4% from December, last year, the city’s tourism has gra- November and October last year, res- dually picked up. HE year of 2020, which was pectively. Considering that global trave- Tmarked by narratives of illness, The latest occupancy figure is lers have become more risk-averse unemployment and grief, had finally another testament to the city’s reco- during the pandemic, the Macao Go- turned the tide and culminated with vering tourist numbers, which have vernment Tourism Office (MGTO) a record daily number of 30,747 visi- been rising. has been pushing a new line, pro- tor arrivals to Macau on December By further breaking down the ove- moting Macau as a “safe and quali- 31 over the course of the last 11 mon- rall occupancy figure, the occupancy ty destination” to regain consumer ths, according to the official figures rates of 3-star, 4-star and 5-star hotels confidence. released yesterday. were 73%, 69.9% and 67.6% respecti- Earlier, the government also The high was registered on New vely. vowed to pursue the “Tourism+MI- Year’s Eve, which proceeded the CE+Sports” approach this year. second highest number of 28,247 This is set to merge the tourism; visitors on November 20 during Macau drew an meetings, incentives, conferen- the Macau Grand Prix race prac- average daily ces, and exhibitions (MICE); and tice day; and the third highest of sports sectors to broaden the ci- 27,755 on Christmas Day, Decem- volume of 21,242 ty’s tourism appeal. ber 25. Since wellness has been at Macau drew an average daily visitor arrivals the top of the agenda since the volume of 21,242 visitor arrivals during the New outbreak, Chief Executive Ho Iat during the New Year holiday from Seng emphasized last year that December 31, 2020 to January 3, Year holiday sports tourism has great poten- 2021, representing a 13.1% impro- tial. The government is now col- vement from October. laborating with six gaming ope- Regarding the average daily arri- There was also increased buoyan- rators to mount 12 sports events in vals, 19,629 were mainland visitors. cy in the hotel market. This was bor- 2021 — one event per month. , Taiwan and internatio- ne out by the city’s higher average Since the pandemic, the MGTO nal markets contributed 1,368, 242 room rate at MOP1,128 during the has stepped up promotional efforts and 3 visitors, respectively. holiday period, showing a hike of to win over mainland travelers, in- Meanwhile, the occupancy rate 21.7% from December. cluding launching special offers, so- of hotels stood at 67.2% during the When compared to October, whi- cial media advertising, and promo- 4-day New Year holiday, up 15.1%, ch marked the Golden Week, ano- tional videos.

GAMING Studio City’s GGR up 146% in Oct-Nov, pursues senior notes HONEY TSANG or restrictions, visa restric- – which will be due in Fe- tions and quarantine and bruary 2024. HE aggregate gross ga- social distancing require- The money will be used Tming revenue (GGR) of BLOOMBERG ments.” to partially fund “remaining Studio City’s casino from That same day, the Stu- projects for Studio City” and October to November 2020 dio City Finance Limited, a for “general corporate pur- surged by 146% when com- wholly owned subsidiary of poses,” the filing stated. pared to the third quarter of SCIHL, published another This latest offering of last year, according to a re- filing to propose conduc- senior notes comes after port released by Studio City ting an international offe- the SCIHL received $500 International Holdings Ltd ring of senior notes to fund million through a series of (SCIHL) on January 4. the Phase 2 development of private offers of its shares in The property’s gaming Studio City. August 2020. This ramped receipt is gradually turning According to the filing, up the stake of its largest the corner during the health the interest rate and other shareholder Melco Resorts crisis, as the group affirmed terms of the senior notes and Entertainment Ltd in in the filing that it expects to will be determined at the the SCIHL from 54.1% to “achieve break-even” in ad- time of pricing for the notes 54.7%. justed earnings before inte- offering. In 2020, Melco disclosed rest, taxation, depreciation tributes the promising fo- a cost reduction scheme In addition, the memo It also launched a condi- that the construction pro- and amortization (EBITDA) recast to the “mitigating to minimize cash outflow stated that Covid-19 is ex- tional cash tender offer for ject of Phase 2 of Studio City, by reaching around 30-35% measures” it implemented of non-essential items and pected to continue to nega- “any and all” of its outstan- hindered by the pandemic, of its historical GGR run-ra- to weather the economic rationalizing the capital ex- tively affect Macau’s GGR, ding 7.250% senior notes — would be unlikely to meet te. impact of the pandemic. penditure program with de- when taking into account which musters a principal its previously scheduled The conglomerate at- These measures included ferrals and reductions. “the significant travel bans amount of USD600 million deadline of May 31, 2022.

www.macaudailytimes.com.mo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (DIRECTOR)_Paulo Coutinho [email protected] A MACAU TIMES PUBLICATIONS LTD PUBLICATION ASSISTANT EDITOR_Lynzy Valles SENIOR WRITER_Honey Tsang CONTRIBUTING EDITORS_Leanda Lee, Severo Portela, Sheyla Zandonai ADMINISTRATOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Kowie Geldenhuys [email protected] NEWSROOM AND CONTRIBUTORS_Albano Martins, Annabel Jackson, Anthony Lam, Daniel Beitler, Emilie Tran, OFFICE MANAGER Juliana Cheang [email protected] REACHING OUT! Irene Sam, Ivo Carneiro de Sousa, Jacky I.F. Cheong, Jenny Lao-Phillips, João Palla Martins, Joseph Cheung, Julie ADDRESS Av. da Praia Grande, 599, Edif. Comercial Rodrigues, 12 Floor C, Zhu, Juliet Risdon, Linda Kennedy, Paulo Cordeiro de Sousa, Renato Marques, Richard Whitfield, Viviana Seguí MACAU SAR Telephones: +853 287 160 81/2 Fax: +853 287 160 84 DESIGNERS_Eva Bucho, Miguel Bandeira | ASSOCIATE CONTRIBUTORS_JML Property, MdME Lawyers, Advertisement [email protected] +20,000 PokerStars, Ruan Du Toit Bester | NEWS AGENCIES_ Associated Press, Bloomberg, MacauHub, MacauNews, Xinhua For subscription and general issues: [email protected] | Printed at Welfare Printing Ltd Like us on facebook.com/mdtimes SECRETARY_Yang Dongxiao [email protected] send newsworthy information and press releases to: [email protected] website: www.macaudailytimes.com.mo www.macaudailytimes.com.mo page 3 wed 06.01.2021 澳門 MACAU

MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER Amsterdam-Tokyo flight opens way for SAR residents in Europe to return LYNZY VALLES Lisbon to the Netherlands’ capi- tal. flight to Macau from On Monday, health authori-

Tokyo via Air Macau KROON ALWIN ties said that the 37 requests the is set to transpire on GGCT has currently received do January 21, making it not suffice to negotiate with nei- possibleA to accommodate stran- ghboring regions to open corri- ded residents in Europe who dors to accommodate them. wish to return to the SAR as a The suspension of transit fli- commercial flight is set to depart ghts in Taiwan have made it dif- from Amsterdam to Tokyo on Ja- ficult for passengers who wish to nuary 20. come back to Macau as it redu- Therefore, the Tourism Crisis ces their already-limited options Management Office (GGCT) will to return to the city. be contacting stranded local re- The latest changes to Taiwan’s sidents in Europe to recommend travel restrictions bode badly for the upcoming flights. Macau, as the city experiences a The estimated landing time of further reduction in connectivi- the Dutch carrier KLM in Tokyo ty with other parts of the world, is at 9:45 a.m. on January 21, ac- in particular Europe, as Taiwan cording to a report by TDM. serves as an integral transit hub The flight will occur when at for long-haul flights between least 80 passengers have confir- Macau and more distant coun- med bookings. by the Japanese civil aviation seats are already occupied. To- other European countries to tries. The Tokyo-Macau route, authorities as the jurisdiction day, four tickets were issued and Amsterdam themselves before The new strain of Covid-19 meanwhile, will depart the Japa- allows stopovers as long as the 16 reservations have been made. January 20. hailing from the U.K., which is nese capital at 3:30 p.m. and will next flight is within 24 hours GGCT confirmed to the Times This means that residents said to be 70% more contagious land in the SAR before 9 p.m. upon arrival. last night that those who wish who are stranded, for example than the original strain, was the The flight complies with the Meanwhile, Air Macau has to board the Tokyo-Macau rou- in Portugal, are being advised main reason Taiwan closed its transit passengers rule imposed confirmed that 60% of the 155 te should arrange a flight from to immediately seek flights from airport to transit passengers.

SIMPLE PAY Mainland routes will increase to AMCM to launch integrated platform accommodate CNY travelers to boost convenience JULIE ZHU New Year holiday, speci- fically between January of payments ACAU International 18 and February 6, the MAirport (MIA) has MIA predicted they would HE Monetary Authori- expand their client bases, sti- scheduled more flights to welcome 716,000 arriving Tty of Macao (AMCM) is mulate spending and boost and from and departing passengers, collaborating with financial revenue,” the AMCM empha- to accommodate passen- with daily average passen- institutions to launch an in- sized. gers traveling during the ger numbers of 35,000, tegrated online payment pla- Any merchants that have upcoming Chinese New representing an increase tform, dubbed “Simply Pay,” their terminals upgraded will Year holiday. of 5.9% compared to the to boost local businesses, ac- be given by a “Simply Pay” Yesterday, the MIA is- same period in 2019. A to- cording to the official annou- logo, which they can attach sued a statement annou- tal of 102 flights were sche- ncement released yesterday. at their storefront to inform ncing an old route was duled to be added as well. The initial stage of the customers. being restarted. From Fe- However, due to the scheme will be centered on As of now, local financial bruary 2, prior to Chinese outbreak of Covid-19, the merging the city’s e-pay- institutions are reaching out New Year, MIA plans to airport recorded smaller ment platforms into one. The to merchants to work out the resume the route between passenger arrivals during AMCM launched a seminar agreements regarding the Hefei and Macau. included, with a one-way also plans to operate fli- the Chinese New Year yesterday to walk local mer- software upgrade, AMCM This means that He- trip costing 700 patacas. ghts to 10 other mainland holiday (January 24 to Ja- chants through the benefits said yesterday. fei Xinqiao International Air Macau has also lau- cities, including Nanning, nuary 28, 2020), and the of the scheme and expound At the end of November Airport, the airport of the nched a new Yiwu-Macau Guiyang, Qingdao, Tian- number dropped by 25% on the execution. last year, Lau Hang Kun, a capital city of Anhui pro- route which is set to begin jin, Taiyuan, Wenzhou, year on year, compared to The scheme will require member of the Board of Di- vince, will receive its first operations on January 19, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, the 2019 holiday period. local retailers to upgrade the rectors of the AMCM, first regional flight since the with a total of three flights Jieyangchaoshan, and This year, the Lunar software of their existing pay- disclosed a plan to roll out an start of the pandemic. per week. Changzhou. New Year holiday period ment terminals. This single, integrated payment platform The Hefei-Macau route Currently, Air Macau In December, Air Ma- will be between February upgraded device will allow in response to the city’s rapi- was suspended last Fe- is running daily flights to cau’s route plan and re- 12 and 18. them to accept all QR-code dly surging mobile payment bruary due to Covid-19. Beijing, Shanghai, Hang- venue management de- The Times contacted payments from customers, transactions. After resuming, the rou- zhou, Najing, Chengdu, partment said that in the the Macau International such as Mpay, Alipay, Luso- The tally of mobile pay- te will now operate every Xiamen and Ningbo. The- fourth quarter of 2020, the Airport Co. Ltd to enquire Pay, in addition to several ment transactions exceeded Tuesday, Thursday and Sa- se flights are scheduled to outlook for the recovery of about flight arrangements others. MOP4.7 billion in the first turday via Air Macau. remain at their current fre- passenger numbers from and passenger number fo- The increased convenien- 10 months last year — whi- Currently, a round trip quency for all of February. mainland China was opti- recasts for 2021, however ce of transactions brought ch was already 3.8 times the between Hefei and Macau In addition to these rou- mistic overall. no reply was received by about by the scheme is ex- annual total in 2019 and 52.5 costs 1,350 patacas, tax tes, the local airline carrier During the last Chinese press time. pected to “help merchants times that of 2018. HT page 4 www.macaudailytimes.com.mo MACAU 澳門 06.01.2021 wed

MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER LAWMAKERS’ AGENDA Local issues and Covid-19 MONITORING OF PUBLIC ASSETS: Lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng piqued interest: survey has written an interpellation ANTHONY LAM Lighthouse, a World Heritage to the government asking site. about department coordina- TATISTICS show that apart Commentators have called

tion for the monitoring of VALLES LYNZY Sfrom Covid-19, news readers for the government to recon- public assets. in Macau have a significant fo- sider the project and stressed In March, the Commis- cus on their homeland as well, that a clear line of sight to the li- sion of Audit (CA) issued a Chinese newspaper Cheng Pou ghthouse should be preserved. report that followed up on reports. As of today, no work has audit work in recent years. As the calendar year en- commenced on the land plot. The department pointed out ded, the local paper conduc- The last piece of non-Covid that some government de- ted a survey on “online data,” news that gathered most public partments had not attached the sample for which was not attention was about the Master importance to the results. identified. They determined Urban Plan, which categorized In her interpellation, that in 2020, apart from the a land plot at the foot of the Co- Wong says that she has Covid-19 pandemic, news rea- loane Hill as residential area. always urged local govern- ders were most concerned with In 2012, a development plan ment to set up a follow-up the government budget and was called off due to objection mechanism in regard to spending, world heritage site from the public. An organiza- problems revealed by the conservation, and guarding tion managed to collect nearly CA and the Commission Coloane against further urba- 7,000 signatures from indivi- Against Corruption. nization. vel have brought Macau to a The second news topic whi- duals opposing the develop- “How can all departments It was early last year when standstill. The Chief Executive, ch interested local readers the ment. effectively coordinate in Covid-19 gradually spread, Ho Iat Seng, has thus instructed most was regarding the high- Non-industrial buildings as terms of monitoring over which prompted the World all government bodies to cut at -rise building project proposed tall as 100 meters were allowed public asset works since the Health Organization to declare least 10% of their annual bud- for the ZAPE District, in the nei- to be built. The hill, meanwhile, government already estab- a pandemic. The last pandemic get, and pledged that govern- ghborhood of the Oriental Arch is only 172 meters at its sum- lished a public asset office was in 2009 when the world was ment spending will not increa- installation. mit. back in 2019 to watch over hit by the H1N1 virus, albeit less se in 2021. If built, the building will be With the Master Urban Plan the matter?” Wong asked. severely when compared with However, the government 90 meters tall. The proposed categorizing the land plot as “When will the government the current pandemic. head said exemptions may building has stirred up public residential area, residents are finish the amendment of the Closed borders and the ter- exist in the infrastructure concern, especially as it is wi- worried about prospective regime concerning the lea- mination of international tra- sector. thin the buffer zone of the Guia damage to the hill once again. ders’ responsibilities?”

MONETARY DEPOSITS FOR RECYCLING PLASTIC CONTAINERS: A lawmaker representing the labor sector, Lei Chan U, has recently called for Pereira Coutinho calls for public works contracts the city to adopt a mone- tary deposit mechanism for to be given to local engineering companies plastic, glass or metal drink containers. RENATO MARQUES re Development Office case of unfair competi- dent workers by using this is “suppressing the Citing examples from (GDI) has directly awar- tion practice which adds them to perform cons- development of local European countries such AWMAKER José Pe- ded the contract for the to many of the others that truction at a cheaper pri- companies in these sec- as Germany, Denmark and Lreira Coutinho wants design and construction have occurred in the past ce as these companies tors.” Norway, the lawmaker fore- the government to give of the “Elderlies Residen- few years, as demons- “have no limits for the The lawmaker urges sees the deposit mechanism more public construction ce” apartment building trated by the expansion hiring on non-residents.” the government to end as advantageous for further contracts to local engi- to China Construction works of the six gaming Due to this, local com- what he calls a “market developing Macau’s resour- neering companies ins- Engineering (Macau) Co., concessionaires and panies have difficulties monopoly” by state-ow- ce recycling capacity. tead of mainland-based Ltd. in a decision that other small to medium- competing with big sta- ned companies, calling He pointed out that in the- ones, he said in a written left the local engineering -sized works. te-owned companies. on authorities to survey se three countries the ma- inquiry to the govern- companies unhappy, sin- The lawmaker claims This also occurs in sectors the market for this phe- jority of prepacked drinks ment sent through the ce they claim to have the that state-owned com- such as interior design, nomenon and find so- sold bear a recycle mark. Legislative Assembly (AL). capacity to perform the panies submit proposals conventions, exhibitions, lutions that allow local When purchased, these In the inquiry, Pereira work. with a very low cost or and cleaning and securi- small and medium-sized drinks carry a deposit pro- Coutinho notes that re- Pereira Coutinho even at a loss, then take ty, according to Pereira enterprises to compete portionate to their volume. cently, the Infrastructu- claims that this is another advantage of non-resi- Coutinho. He noted that on equal terms. After finishing the drinks, users can either dispose of the containers directly without getting the deposit back, or insert the contai- Domestic loans to ners into depository kiosks, Finances show internal stability in the private sector also where they will get the reported a drop of deposits back in the form November 2020, external loans drop 0.7% month-on-month of cash coupons. They can to MOP538.4 billion, then use the coupons to CCORDING to supply indicator (M2) HKD, RMB and USD in gistered a similar trend while external loans make further purchases. Astatistics released rebounded 1.4% to M2 were 33.9%, 48.0%, and rose by 1.0% to dropped even further As a result, the lawmaker yesterday by the Mone- MOP695.3 billion when 4.6% and 11.6% respec- MOP325.7 billion. by 4.1% to MOP657.5 asked if the government tary Authority of Macao compared with the pre- tively. The deposits of re- billion. As a result, total will refer to foreign expe- (AMCM), broad mo- vious month. Meanwhile, resi- sidents and non-re- loans to the private sec- rience on the monetary ney supply rebounded Annually, the narrow dent deposits increa- sidents contrast with tor went down by 2.6% deposit mechanism and im- in November last year money supply indica- sed from October 2020 those from the public to a total of MOP1,196.0 plement a similar practice with a stable share of tor (M1) dropped 5.3% by 1.1% to MOP674.5 sector, which dropped billion in November in Macau. patacas. whereas M2 grew 3.3%. billion, while non-resi- 1.2% to MOP259.1 last year when compa- The broad money The shares of MOP, dent deposits also re- billion. red to October. RM www.macaudailytimes.com.mo page 5 wed 06.01.2021 澳門 MACAU

MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER IIM promotes Macau’s anniversary to diaspora with new documentary film RENATO MARQUES Both versions of the documen- tary can be accessed on IIM digital HE International Institu- platforms. te of Macau (IIM) has lau- The newly launched extended nched a series of activities version in English is presented aiming to promote Ma- and narrated by well-known local Tcau’s 20th handover anniversary artist Giulio Acconci. It is presen- worldwide, namely in the Macane- ted as a series of short, themed se diaspora. These activities have videos which are about three mi- been launched through its digital nutes each. platforms over the past year. The themes range from herita- The latest activities were laun- ge to science, education to creative ched on Monday evening through industries, and the environment IIM’s Facebook and comprise of a and links to Portuguese-speaking new and extended version of the countries. These themed videos documentary film “Macau - A suc- were specifically prepared by the cess story,” both versions of which IIM to celebrate the 20th anniver- were recently broadcast on a Cab- sary of the MSAR and have been le TV network in Canada in both uploaded to several social media and English. platforms, including YouTube. According to information pro- An exhibition of around 100 vided to the Times by the IIM, the photographs displayed in several first version of the film, which is broadcast on the January 3. a clear picture of the state of pro- and travel. countries with the support of the shorter in Cantonese, debuted The documentary focuses on gress and development of Macau The initiative was implemen- Houses of Macao (Casas de Ma- on Canadian TV on November the cultural, touristic, economic, to residents living abroad, aspects ted through a collaboration with cau) abroad was also curated as 15. The extended English version social, and architectural featu- which they may not have had the the “Club Amigu di Macau” in To- part of the IIM’s broader initiative. which includes additional inter- res of Macau, among others, that chance to see in loco, especially ronto, Canada, and was supported The photo exhibition can now vir- views with Florita Alves, Miguel de emerged in the first 20 years after over the last year as the Covid-19 by the sponsorship of the Macau tually visited or revisited through Senna Fernandes, and Joe Liu was the handover. It aims to present pandemic has disrupted tourism Foundation. the IIM website (iimacau.org.mo)

MGM clarifies it did Hengqin opens law service not engage in suspected center for foreign legal affairs third-party copyright JULIE ZHU infringement HE Hengqin govern- Tment has opened a law ANTHONY LAM service center specifically for legal affairs involving SIA Star TV held the non-mainlanders, accor- Aworldwide final of the ding to a statement relea- Miss Asia Pageant 2020 at sed by China (Guangdong) the MGM Cotai theater on Pilot Free Trade Zone. January 3. Recently, the Zhuhai- However, it has come to -Hong Kong-Macau (fo- light that certain copyright reign affairs) public legal infringements may have service center officially been incurred by the event, opened in Hengqin. as a declaration was pu- In particular, the center blished by was created to handle legal Hong Kong in the city’s Chi- issues in a “one-stop ser- It is believed that the the center. nese newspaper Macao Dai- vice mode,” and matters Legal Affairs Bureau of Opening the law service ly News. involving non-mainland Macau, Macau Lawyers’ center is one of the Zhuhai Usually known as the ATV, parties. Association and the China government’s strategies to the Asia Television Hong for openly breaching the law online news outlet Allin Me- The center focuses on Law Affairs Office will also build a premium public Kong was the oldest conven- and damaging the rights of dia noted that an incident the needs of Hong Kong open offices inside the law service system in the tional television broadcas- AT V. involving beauty contests and Macau companies, center. Greater Bay Area. ter in Hong Kong before its In response to an inquiry with the same name – both Hong Kong and Macau “We hope to create an In November 2020, the termination in 2016. It then by the Times on the recent held in the name of Miss residents, and foreign na- important hub and pla- Zhuhai government is- moved online and continues beauty pageant copyright Asia – was recorded last year tionals. tform for legal service sued a measure to build a to offer streamed programs. infringement matter, the in mainland China. Hen- As of today, Zhuhai In- communication within premium public law servi- In the declaration, ATV venue owner, MGM China ce, ATV has filed a lawsuit ternational Arbitration the radius of the Guang- ce system for the Greater emphasized that it is the Holdings Ltd., said it has “no against the alleged violator. College, Hengqin New dong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area. sole owner of the intellectual comment on any dispute An interim injunction order District Civil Affairs Arbi- Area,” said Li Weihui, De- Zhuhai said that it ho- property of the brand Miss between third parties not has also been issued to sus- tration Center, Hengqin puty Secretary of the Par- pes to create “a business Asia in both Chinese and linked to MGM.” pend further events held in Notary Office, Macau and ty Committee of Hengqin environment that has the English, as well as its logo in The integrated resort the same name. Hong Kong SMEs’ Legal New District. highest quality in terms Hong Kong and in mainland operator stressed that the ATV also remarked that Service Center, and the The Hengqin district of rule of law and in terms China. matter “was solely a venue it will revoke the titles of the Belt and Road Legal Servi- government and Zhuhai of internal level in Guang- The broadcaster con- rental by the organizer.” worldwide contest winners ce Base are located inside Justice Bureau are respon- dong-Hong Kong-Macau demned the alleged violator Meanwhile, a report by in the years 2016 to 2018. the center. sible for the operation of Greater Bay Area.” page 6 www.macaudailytimes.com.mo CHINA 中國 06.01.2021 wed

MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

JOE MCDONALD, BEIJING market debut can go ahead. The central bank said Dec. 28 it HINA’S best-known entre- AP PHOTO told Ant to focus on its online pay- Cpreneur, e-commerce billio- Where is ments business. That suggested naire Jack Ma, made his fortune the company might be required by taking big risks. to scale back its ambitions and The former English teacher Jack Ma, new initiatives, which would hurt founded Alibaba Group in 1999, its appeal to investors. when China had few internet Ma and Alibaba aren’t regula- users. Online payments service China’s tors’ only tech industry targets. Alipay launched five years later, The ruling party has declared before regulators said such bu- anti-monopoly enforcement, es- sinesses would be allowed. Both e-commerce pecially in online industries, a long shots grew to dominate their priority. industries. Executives of Alibaba and five Ma’s latest gambit backfired pioneer? other tech giants including Ten- after he called regulators too con- cent, operator of the WeChat servative in an Oct. 24 speech and messaging service, and online urged them to be more innovative. retailer JD.com were warned by They halted the impending stock regulators last month not to try to market debut of Ant Group, an keep new competitors out of their online finance platform that grew markets, according to the govern- out of Alipay. Alibaba’s share price ment. sank, possibly costing Ma his sta- Stock traders in Hong Kong talk tus as China’s richest tycoon. about Ma’s disappearance from Since then, the normally volu- social media but doubt Alibaba ble Ma has stayed out of the pu- or Ant will be affected, said Kenny blic eye, canceled a TV appearan- Wen of securities firm Everbright ce and avoided social media. That Sun Hung Kai. has prompted a flurry of specula- “The key point that will affect tion about what might happen to how these companies develop is Ma, China’s biggest global busi- the latest anti-trust regulations,” ness celebrity and a symbol of its sultant in Shanghai who said he Qishan also was in the audience. prompted fears about a possible said Wen. “Jack Ma has already tech boom. meets Alibaba managers and peo- Ma complained regulators had financial crisis and led interna- stepped down from manage- “The Jack Ma Era is ended,” ple who know Ma, said none of an antique “pawnshop mentali- tional rating agencies to cut Bei- ment, and this does not affect the wrote a blogger under the name them reports the billionaire is in ty” and were hampering innova- jing’s credit rating for government operation of the company.” Yueyue Talks Technology. “It’s too legal trouble. tion, according to Chinese media. borrowing. At the same event in The anti-monopoly investi- late to say goodbye.” “They spanked him. He’s lear- He appealed to Shanghai, Wang gation of Alibaba announced in Spokespeople for Alibaba and ned his lesson, and that’s why he’s them to support warned new te- December targets its policy that Ant didn’t respond to questions been quiet for the past two mon- unconventional chnologies im- prohibits vendors and other bu- about why Ma hasn’t appeared in ths,” said Rein, founder of China approaches to ”The Jack prove efficiency siness partners from dealing with public. Market Research Group. “Some of make it easier for but “amplified its competitors. Some see Ma’s travails as a war- his friends told me they can’t be- entrepreneurs Ma Era is financial risks,” Foreign investors were rattled, ning from the ruling Communist lieve how stupid he was.” and young peo- ended. It’s according to the but Chinese businesspeople are Party that even a wildly successful Ma, 56, stepped down as Ali- ple to borrow. business maga- “quite happy” with the crack- entrepreneur can’t publicly defy baba’s chairman in 2019 but is “The race too late to say zine Caixin. down, said Rein. regulators. But finance experts part of the Alibaba Partnership, tomorrow will On Nov. 3, “A lot of people saw Alibaba said President Xi Jinping’s gover- a 36-member group with the ri- be a race of in- goodbye. regulators sus- and Tencent as monopolies and nment already was uneasy about ght to nominate a majority of its novation, not CHINESE BLOGGER pended Ant’s stifling competition,” he said. Alibaba’s dominance in retailing. board of directors. He is one of the regulatory ca- market debut. Ma’s high profile is unusual in a As for Ant, regulators worried it biggest shareholders. pabilities,” Ma It would have society where folk wisdom warns, might add to financial risks seen Ma irked regulators with the said, according to the Hong Kong been 2020’s biggest, raising some “a man fears getting famous like a by the ruling party as one of the speech at a business conference newspaper Apple Daily. $37 billion. pig fears getting fat.” Others such biggest threats to China’s econo- in Shanghai attended by some of That clashed with the ruling Alibaba’s CEO later praised re- as Tencent founder Ma Huateng, mic growth. the regulators he was criticizing. party’s marathon campaign to gulators in a possible attempt to who is no relation to Jack Ma, are Shaun Rein, a business con- Chinese Vice President Wang reduce surging debt that has repair relations. But Ma said no- known for avoiding reporters and thing. The last posting on his Sina public appearances. Weibo social media account is da- Jack Ma dresses up in a leather ted Oct. 17. jacket, sunglasses and wig to per- Xinhua urges end to long work Alibaba Group shares traded in form rock songs at Alibaba’s an- hours in tech Hong Kong have fallen 19% sin- nual employee festival in a Han- ce October. Ma’s fortune, which gzhou. HINA’S official Xinhua News Agency is calling details have been released, other than that the wo- peaked earlier above $60 billion, Ma, who jokes that his oversize Cfor shorter work hours in the country’s tech sec- man apparently suffered stomach pains before fell by more than $10 billion. head and angular features make tor following the sudden death last week of a young collapsing, but internet users have seized on the Alibaba, headquartered in Ma’s him look like the title character in employee at a leading e-commerce platform. case as an example of the health impacts of long hometown of Hangzhou, sou- “E.T. the Extraterrestrial,” has ac- Last month’s tragedy refocused attention on “the working days. thwest of Shanghai, was founded ted as an informal business envoy pain of an abnormal culture of overtime,” Xinhua Grueling hours have long been a hallmark of to connect Chinese exporters with abroad. He met President Donald said in a brief editorial posted yesterday on its Twi- China’s tech industry, heralded by business lumina- Western retailers. The company Trump in January 2017 and pro- tter-like Weibo account. ries such Jack Ma. Ma drew controversy in 2019 by has expanded into online consu- mised to create U.S. jobs. Dreams should be pursued through striving, but endorsing the “996” week, entailing working from 9 mer retailing, entertainment and Ma’s success has earned him workers’ legitimate rights and interests should not a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. other areas. a reputation as being politically be sacrificed and employers may be breaking the The ruling Communist Party’s flagship Peo- Its finance arm, Yu’ebao, lau- well-connected. But this isn’t the law in encouraging health-sapping overwork, Xi- ple’s Daily newspaper even weighed in at the time, nched in 2013, attracted millions first time Alibaba has been hurt nhua said. saying it was unfair of dictatorial managers to de- of customers in a market domi- by its outspokenness. “Strengthening the protection of legal rights and mand excessive overtime. nated by state-owned banks that In 2015, then-deputy chair- interests for workers, letting those chasing their Worldwide, the tech sector is known for deman- focus on serving government man Joe Tsai criticized a gover- dreams run along in a healthy manner and intro- ding long hours spent designing, coding and pro- industries. By 2017, Yu’ebao was nment report that said Alibaba ducing more warmth into the development of en- cessing customer requests. While Chinese labor the world’s biggest money market failed to keep counterfeits off its terprises — that’s the form striving should take,” the law limits the work week to five days and no more fund with 1.2 trillion yuan ($170 sales platforms. The government news agency said. than 44 hours, increasing numbers of people work billion) in assets, competing with responded by attacking Alibaba The editorial follows the Dec. 29 death of a outside the state sector or in the informal economy state banks for deposits. in state media and publicizing 22-year-old employee of Pinduoduo as she was where such regulations tend not to be adhered to as Ant Group has been ordered complaints about fake and shod- walking home with a colleague at 1:30 a.m. Few closely. MDT/AP to overhaul its business before its dy goods. MDT/AP www.macaudailytimes.com.mo page 7 wed 06.01.2021 中國 CHINA

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ZEN SOO, HONG KONG HONG KONG ONG Kong’s ou- tgoing top judge said yesterday that calls for reform of Top judge cautious on calls Hthe city’s judiciary cannot be based on dissatisfaction with court rulings, as pro-Beijing fi- gures and state-owned media for judicial reform step up criticism of the city’s legal system. — including implementing citing a retired judge who has “The judiciary’s position a sweeping national security been highly critical of a court has all along been the same. If AP PHOTO law — following months of an- ruling that a ban on face masks there’s any room for improve- ti-government protests. during last year’s protests was ment, we will pursue it. We will Last month, the state-ow- unconstitutional. consider it,” Chief Justice Geo- ned newspaper People’s Dai- Ma also said the judiciary ffrey Ma said at a news confe- ly lashed out at a Hong Kong is not pressured by the Hong rence ahead of his retirement judge’s decision to grant bail Kong government or by Bei- on Sunday. to Jimmy Lai, an outspoken jing to decide cases in a cer- “But it’s not particularly sa- pro-democracy activist and tain way. tisfactory if there’s a call for media tycoon who founded “I would urge anybody who reforms simply on the basis of the Apple Daily newspaper. In writes about the work of the a result one doesn’t like,” he November, Zhang Xiaoming, judiciary to […] come to views said. “It is certainly not a good deputy director of the State objectively, based on objecti- starting point or acceptable to Council’s Hong Kong and Ma- ve facts,” Ma said, adding that say ‘I want reforms to ensure cao Affairs Office, called for people should look at the ru- that I will always get the result judicial reform in Hong Kong, lings issued by the judiciary which I want.’” because they show the reaso- In recent weeks, Chinese of- HK Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma ning employed to arrive at a ficials and state-owned media Ma said the result. have accused the semi-auto- under a “one country, two sys- ments public in efforts to be judiciary is not Ma was among a panel of nomous city’s courts of misin- tems” framework that allows transparent. In contrast, Chi- judges who last week revoked terpreting Hong Kong’s mini- it to have its own local gover- na’s opaque justice system has pressured by bail for Lai, who is facing -constitution, the Basic Law, nment, judiciary and laws that been criticized for being fre- the government charges related to national se- in rulings relating to last year’s are separate from those on the quently abusive. curity. The panel found it was pro-democracy protests. mainland. Hong Kong’s freedoms have or by Beijing to “reasonably arguable” that the Hong Kong, which was han- Hong Kong employs a com- come under pressure as Bei- decide cases in previous judge’s decision to ded back to mainland China mon law legal system, and its jing has asserted more control grant bail could have been er- by the British in 1997, operates judiciary often makes judg- over the city in the past year a certain way roneous. MDT/AP

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peak of the virus in April. By Jan. 4, there were al- this day in history

BLOOMBERG most 27,000 patients hos- pitalized with Covid-19 in lu outbreak stretches England, a 30% increase in 2000 F a week, which the govern- NHS resources ment blamed on a surge in infections from a new, fas- ter spreading strain of the virus. Johnson resisted pres- sure from scientists and opposition lawmakers to lockdown the whole coun- try in December. He cut back plans to allow families to mix over Christmas, but insisted he wanted to avoid nationwide curbs like tho- se seen in March, choosing to keep a regional tier sys- tem in place instead. Government chief me- dical officers for the four nations of the U.K. warned UK on Monday that the health service may not be able to cope without urgent action Hospitals around the UK are feeling the strain of now. They issued a state- the current flu outbreak even though it has not been ment saying the NHS is classed as an epidemic. PM bets 2 million “under immense pressure” In Scotland latest figures show that the number of already. people with a flu-like illness has doubled. A similar The British Medical increase is predicted in England and Wales. Association, the union In Liverpool hospitals have cancelled all non-e- vaccine shots a week for doctors, underlined mergency surgery to try and cope with a shortage the crisis facing the NHS. of beds. “Hospitals are stretched to Some patients have had to stay overnight on breaking point,” Dr Chaand trolleys while they wait for treatment. will end lockdown Nagpaul, chair of the BMA In London all the capital’s 275 intensive-care beds are full. EMILY ASHTON & businesses yesterday. The lockdown risks council, said.“Doctors are Health experts also say that the outbreak has been TIM ROSS Johnson warned of hard potentially devastating desperate, with some even made worse by the fact that vulnerable people such weeks ahead but announ- retail and hospitality bu- comparing their working as the elderly have not been vaccinated. ORIS Johnson pinned ced a target to give shots to sinesses and threatening environment to a war-zone The Public Health Laboratory Service said the up- his hopes for a natio- 13.9 million people at the to push the economy into as wards overflow.” B take was not what it should be in the high-risk groups. nal recovery on a plan to highest risk from the disea- recession again. The pou- Scotland also announ- The crisis offers an easy target for opposition poli- deliver 2 million corona- se by mid-February. Once ced a lockdown starting at nd fell. ticians seeking to explode Labour’s jubilant post-e- virus vaccinations a week, they have all been vacci- In a televised address to midnight on Monday. “We lection promises of radical NHS reform. as the U.K. went back into nated, the restrictions can the nation yesterday [Ma- are now in a race between Nineteen US states and several European coun- lockdown in an attempt begin to be eased, he said. cau time], Johnson said he the vaccine and the virus,” tries are currently stretching their medical capaci- to prevent hospitals being The emergency mea- had no option but to close First Minister Nicola Stur- ties to the limit as flu epidemics take hold. overwhelmed. sures, matching curbs in down all social activities, geon said. Royal College of Nursing general-secretary Chris- Amid dire warnings other parts of the U.K., education and non-essen- Johnson had made kee- tine Hancock told the BBC that the problem lay not that the National Health started yesterday [Macau tial travel in the face of a ping schools open for fa- in a shortage of actual beds, but in hospitals having Service could fail to cope time] and will last until at sudden and severe surge in ce-to-face learning a prio- too few nurses to accompany them. with soaring infection ra- least Feb. 15 as medics try infections. The swift roll- rity for his government. But Sir Alan Langlands, chief executive of the NHS, tes, the prime minister to get a grip on the pande- -out of vaccines will help But scientists warned last said he was confident people were getting the right shut England’s schools mic. Ministers are also in end the crisis, he said. month they would have to care. and ordered people talks over closing the U.K. “With every jab that goes close to stop the virus from He said: “Anyone who will benefit from intensive across the country to stay border to non-essential into our arms, we are til- spreading. While children care is getting that care from the health service.” at home. U.K. Chancellor international travel, Cabi- ting the odds against Covid rarely suffer badly from of Exchequer Rishi Sunak net minister Michael Gove and in favor of the British the disease, they can in- Courtesy BBC News will set out more help for said. people,” Johnson said in fect their families after ca- the broadcast. “The weeks tching it from their friends. ahead will be the hardest “If we succeed in vac- yet, but I really do believe cinating all those groups, Boris’ third Covid lockdown that we are entering the we will have removed last phase of the struggle.” huge numbers of people In context rules for England from the path of the virus,” • Everyone must stay at home unless they are medics or other key POLICE FINES Johnson said. “That will A few days later, Professor Liam Donaldson, the govern- workers who cannot work from home The police will have le- eventually enable us to lift ment’s chief medical officer, made controversial claims • People can only leave home to buy essential supplies or take gal powers to use fines and many of the restrictions we that the UK was experiencing its first flu epidemic for a exercise, ideally only once a day decade, despite the fact that statistics suggested the have endured for so long.” • All primary and secondary schools and colleges will close from dispersal orders to enforce outbreak was only halfway towards reaching epidemic Tuesday and move to online teaching; exams will not go ahead as the rules. Parliament will But there will be a “time status. normal this summer; nurseries stay open be recalled to debate the lag” between vaccinating The huge influx of patients coupled with staff sickness • University students should not return to campus but instead measures on Wednesday patients and the pressure left many hospitals struggling not only to tend the living, but even to store the dead. At some hospitals, refrigerat- study from home but the regulations are due on the NHS easing, John- ed lorries were used as temporary mortuaries as existing • Households cannot mix for purely social reasons, anywhere to become law earlier that son said, adding that he facilities were overwhelmed. • All restaurants, bars and non-essential shops will stay closed, ex- day, Johnson said. is “cautious about the ti- The knock-on effects were immense. Most trusts started cept where they sell takeaway food. Restaurant sales of takeaway The prime minister was metable ahead.” Vaccines to cancel routine planned surgery and thousands of pa- alcohol banned forced to act after data Minister Nadhim Zahawi tients were affected. • Essential retailers such as supermarkets and pharmacies will showed new infections was more forthright The government blamed the problem on what they said remain open was the worst flu outbreak for a decade. But the opposi- soaring past 80,000 on Dec. about the target, saying • Support and childcare bubbles - in which households link up tion said it was exaggerating the effects of the current flu on Twitter that “we will do to help each other - can continue 29 and more people in the outbreak to cover up the failings of its health policies. hospital than in the first this.” MDT/BLOOMBERG www.macaudailytimes.com.mo page 9 wed 06.01.2021 資訊／娛樂 INFOTAINMENT

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YOUR STARS The Born Loser by Chip Sansom

Aries Taurus

Mar. 21-Apr. 19 Apr. 20-May. 20 It’s much better to do less and A recent drama, while succeed often than it is to always frustrating, has made you a aim for the stars and continually lot closer with someone, and fall short. Climbing a smaller this fledgling relationship mountain is still climbing a could benefit from some more mountain. attention.

Gemini Cancer

May. 21-Jun. 21 Jun. 22-Jul. 22 If you’re afraid that you’ll be You are feeling and looking called a cheapskate by your extremely good today, and friends, you need to get over it your positive energy will only fast. But chances are they won’t. grow with every encounter you After all, they care about you and have. Talk it up and get your want you to meet your goals. flirt on. SUDOKU WEATHER Leo Virgo MIN MAX CONDITION Jul. 23-Aug. 22 Aug. 23-Sep. 22 Easy Easy+ CHINA You may have an honest desire Make the most of the Beijing -9 clear to maintain goodwill with one of possibilities all around you -12 them, but at a certain point your and try to get as much as Harbin -24 -17 snow shower attempts to placate them will stop you can out of them without working. Instead, it’s just best to overextending or exhausting Tianjin -9 -8 cloudy leave them alone. yourself. Urumqi -24 -18 foggy Xi’an 2 cloudy Libra Scorpio -6 Lhasa -2 13 cloudy Sep.23-Oct. 22 Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Chengdu 4 7 drizzle Sure, there might be a twinge You might have to put some Chongqing 7 9 overcast of fear mixed in there, but just upcoming plans on hold. enough to make you feel more Something is still up in the air, Kunming 7 20 clear alive. Share your good news with and you won’t be able to make Nanjing 6 cloudy someone close to you and let them any firm plans until it can be 0 help you celebrate! pinned down. Shanghai 3 7 overcast Wuhan 1 6 overcast Sagittarius Capricorn Medium Hard Hangzhou 1 7 overcast Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Taipei 14 16 drizzle There are reserves of unbeatable Putting physical energy into your Guangzhou 11 20 cloudy charm inside of you, so go in intimate surroundings will energize deep enough to utilize them you and fill you with a sense of Hong Kong 15 18 cloudy today. Once you do, you’re sure pride that can’t be achieved in any to come out on top in any kind of other way. And it doesn’t have to competition. be a solitary activity. WORLD Aquarius Pisces Moscow -4 -3 flurry Frankfurt 1 3 sleet Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Feb.19-Mar. 20 Paris 1 2 sleet You should try to start moving Your urge to travel and go on yourself away from your adventures could be waning London 2 4 drizzle emotions. It’s not that they right now, and you’re going to aren’t important, it’s just that start being much more tuned in New York 0 5 sleet they aren’t helping you make to the idea of sticking close to the decisions you need to make. home.

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have become increasingly attrac- tive since. Ladbrokes owner Entain Growth in the industry has led to a slew of deals including Las Vegas-based casino giant Caesars rejects MGM’s $11b takeover Entertainment Inc.’s takeover of the U.K.’s William Hill Plc. Flutter THOMAS SEAL Entertainment Plc, headquarte- & AMY THOMSON red in Dublin, is upping its stake in U.S. bookmaker FanDuel and last BLOOMBERG AMBLING company En- year completed a deal for the Stars Gtain Plc has dismissed an Group Inc. 8.1 billion-pound ($11.1 billion) MGM’s joint venture could takeover attempt from MGM Re- prove important if rival suitors sorts International saying the bid emerge. In a change of control, undervalues the U.K. company the casino operator has the right that’s benefiting from a surge in to buy out the partnership or sell online betting. its stake, a person familiar with Under the proposed terms, the structure said, asking not to be Entain investors would exchange identified because they aren’t au- stock for 0.6 of a share of MGM thorized to discuss it publicly. and would hold about 42% of Caesars threatened to termi- the combined business, the Lon- nate a similar partnership with don-listed company said in a William Hill if another bidder pre- statement Monday. That tops an vailed in their merger discussions, earlier all-cash bid made late last a tactic analysts described as a year, people familiar with the “poison-pill.” matter had said. A representative for MGM di- A merger would give MGM full dn’t immediately respond to a control of its U.S. joint venture request for comment on the hol- with Entain at a time when the in- firm Vixio Gambling Compliance. there’s no certainty one will be JOINT VENTURE ding. dustry is seeing dramatic growth MGM may also offer a “limited made. MGM, the largest casino opera- Entain said it has asked MGM for and would “expand and diversify partial cash alternative” to the The deal values Entain at 1,383 tor on the Las Vegas Strip, formed more details on the strategic ratio- the company’s operations, pro- British company’s shareholders, pence a share, a 22% premium as a joint venture in 2018 with Entain, nale for the combination and has re- duct offerings and earnings,” the which will be partially funded of Thursday’s closing prices. the same year the U.S. legalized quested shareholders to take no ac- casino operator said in a separate by its largest shareholder, Bar- Entain’s shares jumped 25% to sports betting. Formerly known tion. Entain shares gained 28% last statement. The U.S. sports bet- ry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp. close 1,420 pence in London, the as GVC Holdings Plc, Entain is year before MGM’s offer was made ting market alone is expected to U.K. takeover rules mean MGM biggest intraday gain since 2009. behind an array of online gam- public, giving it a market value of quintuple in size to $8.4 billion by has until the end of Feb. 1 to is- MGM shares fell 4.7% to $30.05 at bling sites and brands, including 6.6 billion pounds. MGM shares fell 2024, according to the consulting sue a formal bid, and MGM said 12:42 p.m. in New York. Ladbrokes Coral and Bwin, which 5.3% in 2020. BLOOMBERG UK freight shipping costs quadruple after Brexit and Covid-19 LIZZY BURDEN & -minute shipments across Transporeon. in transit over the holiday lack of chaos at Britain’s key poreon. But “the magnitu- DAVID GOODMAN the English Channel rea- The figures reflect the break. ports could mask the risk of de of the deviations we saw ched more than 6 euros moment of maximum Four days into the new logjams returning later this at the back end of 2020 was HE cost of moving frei- per kilometer for a full chaos at British ports, when year, the long lines of trucks month as both countries not normal.” Tght from France to the truckload in the final week the French government at the border have largely adapt to new trading arran- Sieber predicted that hi- U.K. surged to more than of 2020. That’s up from an shut the border to contain dissipated after France rela- gement after Britain’s exit gher spot rates for U.K. trans- four times the usual level average of 1.50 euros to 3 a new strain of Covid-19. xed its controls. The freight from the European Union. port from continental Euro- last week after Brexit and a euros, with some isolated Thousands of trucks piled rejection rate ticked down Driver shortages over the pe were likely to continue, virulent new strain of the cases of firms charging 10 up on both sides of the En- in the last week but remains holiday season are normal although it was hard to tell coronavirus complicated euros per kilometer, ac- glish Channel, and more 79% higher than the third- and usually lift spot rates, how long for. “It seems the supply chains. cording to data from the shippers rejected cargoes -quarter average. said Stephan Sieber, chief supply chains are resilient,” The spot rate for last- global logistics platform to avoid getting trapped Truckers say the current executive officer of Trans- he said. BLOOMBERG

CORPORATE BITS

WTT Macau 2020 among CCTV’s top sented by Galaxy Entertain- MGM wins 28 HR accolades in 2020 ten international sports news: GEG ment Group” was held at the son and Executive Director of Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion MGM China Holdings Limited, from November 25 to 29 last said, “It is of our utmost priority year. Created by the Interna- to fulfill corporate social -res tional Table Tennis Federation ponsibilities in grounding every (ITTF), WTT is to become the one of our HR policies.” “brand new commercial vehicle “Leveraging on our strong to drive success in the revolu- ties within MGM Resorts Inter- tion and professionalization of national and Diaoyutai MGM table tennis,” GEG stated. Hospitality, we are able to WTT is the ITTF’s new com- broaden the horizons for our mercial vehicle to drive table local talents as well as provide tennis forward in the modern additional training resources to era, and WTT Macau 2020 is our community,” she added. the first tournament held since MGM said in the statement its inception. MGM has won 28 interna- innovation with a “pragmatic that it became the only en- The competition was divided tional and regional HR accola- approach to build a team of terprise in Macau to attain The World Table Tennis in 2020 by China Central Ra- into two events - the men’s des solely in 2020, the gaming excellence that helps stren- some of the most prestigious (WTT) Macau 2020 was the dio and Television, Galaxy singles and the women’s sin- operator announced in a sta- gthening Macau’s position as awards, including the “Grand city’s only international sports Entertainment Group annou- gles, with only the world’s best tement. world center of tourism and Award in the Human Capital event to be ranked in the top nced in a statement. 16 male and female players In the future, MGM pledged leisure.” Development Category” at ten international sports news “WTT Macau 2020 – pre- featured. that it will continue to pursue Pansy Ho, Co-Chairper- the PATA Gold Awards 2020. www.macaudailytimes.com.mo page 11 wed 06.01.2021 體育 SPORTS

MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

won three of the last five Manches- FOOTBALL ter derbies — mostly through its ruthlessness on the counterattack. The last derby was on Dec. 12, a cagey league game that ended 0-0 with Guardiola again showing his Man United gaining respect caution. “That was a progression,” Solsk- jaer said yesterday, “staying more in the game. You never know what from rivals ahead of crucial week kind of system he (Guardiola) is VER the next seven going to come up with, but you days, Manchester Uni- know you have to defend really ted can reach a cup fi- AP PHOTO well against Man City. nal and climb to the top “There have been some fasci- Oof the Premier League — all at the nating games. I feel we have got expense of its two biggest rivals, closer and closer to them.” Manchester City and Liverpool. Solskjaer has said since joining It makes for a potentially trans- United in November 2018 that Li- formative week for United mana- verpool and City are the yardsticks ger Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who just to which United needs to judge a month ago was under real pres- itself. It has been an arduous jour- sure — not for the first time in his ney but his team is finally at the turbulent, two-year tenure — after stage where it can challenge En- a group-stage elimination in the gland’s top two teams. Champions League. The Norwegian coach said the- Now, Solskjaer is on the cusp of re have been no lingering effects what would be seen as something of the losses in the semifinals last of a breakthrough for United, En- season — in the League Cup, FA glish soccer’s grandest club which Cup and Europa League. has not won a trophy since 2017 avoid defeat to move above Liver- out of nowhere, referred to United’s plant a seed in the mind of refe- In fact, Solskjaer said, it has and was beaten in the semifinals of pool and into first place in the lea- penchant for winning penalties in rees, Klopp clearly has United in made United stronger. three competitions last season. gue after 17 games. Quite the mo- his post-match news conference his thoughts. “When you get to a semi, you First up is a meeting with Man tivation, considering United’s next after a 1-0 loss at Southampton. Then there’s Guardiola, who has have done a lot of good work to City in the League Cup semifinals, match is at Anfield on Jan. 17. “I hear now,” Klopp said, “that changed his approach to games get there,” he said. “Naturally a repeat of last season but this time United, it seems, is back in the Manchester United had more pe- this season by making his team you play against better and bet- being played over only one leg be- conversation when it comes to nalties in two years than I had in fi- more defensive-minded and less ter opposition. We have impro- cause of the condensed, coronavi- winning silverware. And that has ve-and-a-half years (at Liverpool). vulnerable to the counterattack. ved immensely in a year […] it’s rus-impacted season. got its rivals on edge. “I’ve no idea if that’s my fault, or Nowhere has this vulnerability easy to say have we learnt but it’s Then, next Tuesday, United will Perhaps that was the reason how that can happen.” been more apparent than in ma- not about learning, it’s about fine travel to Burnley needing only to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Whether or not it was a ploy to tches against United, which has margins.” AP ad Hong Kong detects cases of new Covid-19 the variant, mulls ban on UK flights BUZZ Hong Kong has detected four cases of the U.K. variant of Co- ces, not just Hong Kong, have suspended flights from the U.K. vid-19, health authorities said in a virtual press briefing yesterday. because of this worry,” said Lam. Among the cases was a 30-year-old female, a Hong Kong resi- “So if it was almost out of control in the U.K. and the recei- dent, who returned from Manila on December 22, as cited in a ving places like Hong Kong - which we do have a lot of returnees Philippine media outlet Rappler. from the U.K. accounting for about one third of arrivals at the Chief Executive Carrie Lam yesterday said it is necessary to ban Hong Kong International Airport - did nothing, you can imagine flights from the United Kingdom, where the new virus variant it would be putting our city at great risk,” the city’s top official OPINION was found, to avoid putting Hong Kong at risk. added. “The U.K. and South Africa are now two of the high-risk places The CE noted that the Immigration Department has received World Views because of this new variant in the virus. For a while, many pla- about 190 requests for return assistance. Shuli Ren, MDT/Bloomberg

NYSE just gave China Inc. one more reason to leave AP PHOTO AP PHOTO

What’s more shocking? Kicking out Chinese com- panies listed in the U.S., or a sudden U-turn from one of America’s biggest stock exchanges on its plan to do Qatar’s ruling emir arrived so? The final days of the Trump administration won’t in Saudi Arabia and was be boring. greeted with an embrace by The New York Stock Exchange said yesterday [Macau its crown prince yesterday, time] that it no longer intends to move forward with the following an announcement delisting of China’s three state-owned telecom opera- that the kingdom would end tors. The terse statement came just days after the bou- its yearslong embargo on rse announced it would start the procedure, citing an the tiny Gulf Arab state. The executive order issued in November preventing Ame- decision to open borders was ricans from investing in companies with Chinese mi- the first major step toward litary ties. ending the diplomatic crisis This sudden change of heart caught traders off-guard. that has deeply divided U.S. The universal first read at various equity-trading and defense partners, frayed sales desks in Hong Kong was shock and befuddle- societal ties and torn apart a ment. Investors nonetheless saw this as a bullish signal. traditionally clubby alliance of Shares of the three companies — China Mobile Ltd., Arab states. China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. — surged, while the offshore yuan, sensitive to ties Germany’s disease control between Washington and Beijing, pushed even higher. center yesterday reported Kicking out mainland companies from American 944 more COVID-19 deaths, exchanges has been a long endeavor of a White Hou- HEBEI fueling expectations that se seeking to limit Chinese access to U.S. investment Chancellor Angela Merkel dollars. The president and allies such as Republican and the country’s 16 state Senator Marco Rubio have harped on China Inc.’s sha- Beijing makes parts governors will extend the dy accounting practices and Beijing’s unwillingness to country’s lockdown until allow U.S. audits. the end of the month. But any focus on fraying investment ties misses the of province high Germany’s latest lockdown point: Direct listings in New York aren’t a good idea, took effect Dec. 16 after a whether or not the Public Company Accounting Over- partial shutdown starting sight Board is allowed to do its job. The key reason is danger zones in early November failed to reduce the number of daily that China is a nation with fast and furious credit cycles, HINA has designated city of Yantai. Parts of Shi- tested positive but not new coronavirus infections. and an ever-changing regulatory environment. Inves- parts of Hebei province jiazhuang were designated shown symptoms have ting there shouldn’t be this easy for someone sitting on C near Beijing as a coronavi- Park Avenue who has never bothered to walk the crow- high danger areas, mea- been counted separately rus high danger zone after ning they will undergo from its official COVID-19 ded streets of Beijing or Shanghai. Just consider the ac- AP PHOTO counting scandals that unfolded at Luckin Coffee Inc., 14 new cases of COVID-19 stricter testing and isola- tally. once an investor darling in New York that was shunned were found. tion measures, while parts Wary of another wave back home. Eleven of those cases of Yantai were registered of infections, China is ur- Greece’s new Cabinet is Now the NYSE fiasco gives even more reason for Chi- were in Shijiazhuang city, as medium risk areas. Me- ging tens of millions of mi- being sworn at three separate nese companies to return home, as liquidity and listing where some events for the dical investigators were grant workers to stay put ceremonies to comply conditions improve. Just as their New York counterpar- 2022 Winter Olympics will looking into whether a sin- during next month’s Lunar with national lockdown ts are groping in the dark on Beijing’s policies, Asian tra- be held. An additional 30 gle event such as a family New Year holiday, usually restrictions. Following a ders have no clue how U.S. politics work, either. But an people tested positive for Cabinet reshuffle this week ability to read the tea leaves is critical, even at this late gathering had been the the world’s largest annual the virus without showing by conservative Prime juncture in President Donald Trump’s term. All NYSE origin of many of the Hebei human migration. Classes Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said was that its reversal was “in light of further con- any symptoms, the provin- cases. are also being dismissed a ministers were sworn in in sultation with relevant regulatory authorities,” without cial health authority said China has recorded a week earlier than usual and groups of six, all wearing elaborating further, and markets went wild. yesterday. total of 87,183 cases of tourists are being told not masks, and after receiving A rational trader would ask why these telecom sto- The other three CO- COVID-19, with 4,634 to come to Beijing for holi- rapid tests for COVID-19. cks are moving at all. If Beijing suddenly puts out sig- VID-19 cases were in the deaths. People who have days. MDT/AP nals that it intends to make national champions out of Belgium Ten people dumb pipes, I’d get it. That could affect company finan- including the lone known cials and cash flows. But why should the NYSE influen- surviving suspect in the ce sentiments in Hong Kong? 2015 deadly Paris attacks Just like the offshore yuan, stocks with U.S. listings THE DECISIVE MOMENT AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky have been ordered to stand have become market playthings on U.S.-China rela- trial in connection with the tions. While it’s reasonable to expect that foreign ex- suicide bombings which change is loaded with bets on geopolitics, telecom sto- killed 32 people and injured cks traditionally are valued using concrete cash-flow hundreds in the Brussels analysis and mundane metrics, such as enterprise subway and airport nearly value to Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, de- five years ago. According preciation and amortization. They shouldn’t be driven to the federal prosecutor’s by blind speculation. office, the Brussels After all, NYSE could just have taken a precautionary Chamber of the Council stance since the executive order prohibited «transac- also decided yesterday tion in publicly traded securities» of «any Communist that charges against three others suspects should be Chinese military company.» How do you prevent tran- dismissed. sactions unless you delist, NYSE may have reasoned. But the order itself didn’t require it. This document Norway A small dog was only sowed confusion among exchanges and index found alive in the rubble of providers. In the end, NYSE›s reversal may not signal a the deadly landslide that subtle change in geopolitics at all. carried away homes in a Granted, I might be biased. Just like tens of thou- Norwegian village, raising sands of financial worker bees in Hong Kong, I don’t hopes for rescuers who feel like toiling away well into the night just because are still searching for three hot Chinese tech stocks are trading in New York. But missing people. Seven others we’ve got many reasons to ask domestic companies to have died. The dog was come home. Neither side of the Pacific should be flying found “in good condition” in Even Santa can’t escape it. An actor dressed as Santa Claus and wearing a face mask blind. If you want to invest in China, come here and an area where rescuers had work Asia hours. to protect against coronavirus infection speaks with a boy during the New Year celebration in a shopping mall in St.Petersburg, Russia, last Saturday. been working, said police spokesman Ivar Myrboe.