General Information

Geographical Location

The Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is a part of China’s territory. It is located on the Southeast coast of China to the west of the Pearl River Delta. Bordering on Guangdong Province, it lies 64 km from Hong Kong and 144 km from the city of Guangzhou. Local time is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

Area

Macau has an area of 29.2 sq. km. It is comprised of the Macau Peninsula, the islands of Taipa and Coloane and the reclaimed area COTAI, and is linked by three modern bridges and a causeway. Besides the Border Gate (Portas do Cerco), the visitor can access Mainland China through the COTAI Frontier Post. Immigration and Customs is located in the reclaimed area between the islands of Taipa and Coloane.

Population

Macau's local population numbered 542,400 inhabitants as at the first quarter of 2010. About 94% are ethnic Chinese from different provinces, while the remaining 6% includes Portuguese and other regions.

There is also an impressive flow of people in and out of the territory. In 2009, the total number of visitor arrivals reached 24,986,661, with an average daily arrival of 3,157 visitors by sea, 64,760 visitors by land and 539 visitors by air.

Language

The official languages are Chinese and Portuguese, while English is widely spoken. Cantonese is the dialect most commonly used in everyday dealings but Mandarin is also widely spoken.

Climate

Macau's climate is warm and humid with a fairly wide variation in temperature over the year. From June to September, the temperature can rise to over 30 degrees Celsius while it can drop to below 10 degrees Celsius from November to February. Macau's weather is also influenced by tropical cyclones from the South Pacific Ocean from May to November.

Greeting

The western business etiquette of handshaking is the accepted form of greeting, which is always followed by the exchange of business cards. Cards should be given and received with both hands, holding the card at the corners. It is demeaning to put someone's card directly right into your pocket without looking at it first, it is also considered impolite to write on someone's card. Take a few moments to study the card upon its receipt.

Tipping

In most restaurants and similar establishments, a 10% service charge is usually charged to the bill but it is a common practice to leave a small tip.

Attire

Dress code is rather informal, however, standard business attire is desirable at more formal occasions.

Electricity

Electricity in Macau is at 220V, 50Hz . The power plugs used in Macau are of three-pin, square-shaped type.

Entry Regulations

Passport

All visitors must hold a passport or a valid travel document. The validity of these documents must not be less than 30 days since the entry into Macau.

Visas

If travel arrangements are made through an agent, the visa processing is handled by Macau tour operators.

Visas are required by all visitors except:

a)	Nationals of Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Croatia, Czech, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mali, Malta, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania and the United Kingdom (6 months) for a stay up to 90 days;
b)	Nationals of Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Monaco, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United States of America and Uruguay for a stay up to 30 days;
c)	Holders of “Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card” or “Hong Kong SAR Re-entry Permit”; Valid “Hong Kong Identity Card” holders are required to bring their valid passport or travel documents when they enter Macau.
d)	Nationals of China with valid Macau entry / depart documents;
e)	Holders of Consulate / Diplomatic documents issued by the Macau SAR or Hong Kong SAR;
f)	Holders of Diplomatic Passport;
g)	Holders of “Laissez Passer” issued by the United Nations; in the course of duty;
h)	Holders of travel documents issued by the Portuguese authorities for the foreign citizens.

Visas can be obtained from:

a)	The Immigration Services through Embassies/Consulates of the PRC and should be used within the validity.
b)	Visas are also available on arrival in Macau at the Immigration Services for a period of 30 days;

There are three types of visas:

Individual -	MOP$100, children under 12 years of age pay MOP$50.
Family -	MOP$200
Group -	MOP$50 per person for bona fide groups of 10 or more and children aged 12 or under.

Getting to Macau

Entry Points

Macau International Airport
Macau International Airport is linked by direct and connecting flight to major cities in Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Southeast Asia and Australia, Europe or America.

Macau Ferry Terminal / Taipa Ferry Terminal
From Hong Kong or Shenzhen by helicopter or fast ferry. Fleets of Turbojet have at least four sailings an hour (60-70 minutes) throughout the day and at regular intervals through the night. Whenever the weather permits, the helicopter service is available from 9:00 am to 10:59 pm.

Cross Boundary Passenger Ferry Terminal
The “Cross Boundary Passenger Ferry Terminal” provides ferry service linking Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and Pearl River Delta Region. The “TurboJET Sea Express” runs the routes between HKIA, Shenzhen and Macau SAR. Passengers can transit into or out of the Pearl River Delta region via HKIA without the need to go through HK Customs and Immigration formalities and also without the hassle of carrying their luggage to the ferry terminal.

Macau-China Border
The Barrier Gate and the COTAI Frontier Post are the gateways to Mainland China. The Barrier Gate operates from 7:00 am to midnight while the COTAI Frontier Post at the Taipa-Coloane Reclaimed Area operates from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Customs

On arrival
Visitors are usually subject only to routine inspection. The importation of firearms without special permission is not allowed as well as other illegal and dangerous items. Drug trafficking is punished by law. Other items are not restricted nor subject to the importation duties, providing they are carried in reasonable quantities and contents.

On departure
There are no export duties in Macau. Antiques, gold, jewelry, radios and cameras among other items are duty free articles.

Departure Taxes

Airport Charges
Airport charges include Passenger Fee and Airport Fee. The Passenger Fee is MOP$90 and the Airport Fee is MOP$20 for passenger over 2 years of age (regardless of destination). For transfer passengers or those who continue their journey in less than 48 hours after they have arrived at the airport (regardless of whether entry formalities are proceeded or not), the Passenger Fee is MOP$40 and the Airport Fee is MOP$10. These fees are collected from each departing passenger through the airlines at the moment of issuing the ticket.

Embarkation Fee
The embarkation fee for ferries is MOP$19, which is normally included in the ferry ticket price.

List of Macau Public Holidays

Business Hours

Government offices work five days a week from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, some of them may extend the working hours up to 7:00 pm. Lunch break is between 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. Most private companies work from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm, take an hour or an hour and a half lunch break, and occasionally work Saturday mornings.

Banking

There are 27 banks, out of which 11 are locally incorporated (including the postal savings office) and 15 are branches of overseas banks. With the exception of three off-shore banks, all the banks in Macau are retail banks with full banking license. There is a total of 161 bank branches and around 530 ATMs. In addition, there is a finance company, with restrictive banking activities.

Banking Hours

Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm

Currency & Exchange Rates

The Pataca (MOP$) is Macau’s official currency. There are banknotes and coins in the following denominations:

Coins: 10, 20, 50 avos;
1, 2 & 5 patacas.

Banknotes:
10, 20, 50, 100, 500 & 1,000 patacas.

The Macau pataca is linked to the Hong Kong dollar (HK$) which is accepted as currency in Macau – at the rate of MOP$103.20 = HK$100.00, with a permissible variation of up to 10%.

Roughly MOP$10 is equivalent to 1 EURO and MfOP$8 is equivalent to 1 US dollar. MOP$100 is equivalent to approximately 85 RMB.

Changing Money

Foreign currency or travellers’ cheques can be exchanged at banks, authorized exchange dealers and hotels. There are no restrictions on the amount of currency which can be brought in or taken out of the territory.

Ground Transport

Taxis
There are two kinds of taxis: the black with cream roof ones and the yellow ones. The flagfall charge is MOP$13.00 for the first 1,600 meters. MOP$1.50 will be added for every 230 meters afterwards. There is also radio-taxi-service – tel: (853)2893 9939 or (853) 2851 9519.

There is a MOP$3.00 surcharge for each piece of luggage carried in the boot. MOP$5.00 surcharge for boarding taxi at the Macau Airport or journeys from Macau to Coloane; no surcharge from Macau to Taipa or from the island to Macau, but between Taipa and Coloane, a MOP$2.00 surcharge applies.

Buses
Public buses and minibuses run from 6:15 am to midnight. On all routes within the city, the fare is MOP$3.20 per journey. There are buses (Route 3, 3A, 10, 12, 23, 28C & 32) that provide regular service between the city and the Macau Ferry Terminal.

There are buses from Macau to the islands with regular departures throughout the day, from 6:45 am to midnight. The fares are Taipa – MOP$4.20, Coloane Village – MOP$5.00 and Hac Sah Beach – MOP$6.40.

Special bus service (marked AP1, MT1, MT2, N2, 21 & 26) costs MOP$4.20 for those who wish to go from Macau to the Airport or back and stop at the major hotels.

Macau Useful Websites:

Government Department

	Macau SAR Government Portal
	Finance Services Bureau
	Macao Economic Services
	Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute
	Macao Monetary Authority
	Statistics and Census Bureau
	Consumer Council
	Cultural Affairs Bureau
	Printing Bureau
	Macau Government Tourist Office
	Meteorological and Geophysics Bureau
	Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center
	International Lusophone Markets Business Association
	Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-Speaking Countries
	Macao Industrial Parks Development
	Macau International Airport

Business Associations