(Macau, 12 August 2011) – Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. ("SJM") awarded scholarships to 41 children of staff today, including new scholarships for 10 recipients of Year 2011 and renewal of scholarships for 31 recipients of past years.  SJM Directors and management celebrated this happy occasion with the award-winning students and families at the SJM Scholarship presentation ceremony held in Kam Pek Community Centre today.
 
The SJM Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded annually to outstanding children of staff to further their university studies.  After assessing the applicants' academic results and interviews by the SJM Scholarship Selection Committee, 10 outstanding students were selected for Year 2011.  They were Chau Tin Ching, Ng Sao Keng, Wong Wang Wai, Ip Hoi Lam, Lam Hio Si, Leong Ka Seng, Wong Im I, Long Hou Lam, Cheang Kai Chong and Cheong Lai Chi, each awarded MOP20,000 per year until completion of their university studies.  In addition, 3 scholarship applicants whose performance had also received commendation from the Selection Committee were each awarded MOP3,000 as a token of encouragement.  These awards were presented to the students at the ceremony by Dr. Ambrose So, Chief Executive Officer of SJM Holdings Limited and Chairman of the SJM Scholarship Selection Committee.

The ceremony also witnessed the renewal and presentation of SJM Scholarships to 31 recipients of past years, each awarded MOP20,000.  Among all these recipients, Chu Ka Pou, Tsui Kit Leng and Chang Chi Ngai were named the best performing students for the academic year 2010-2011, who were each given an extra award of MOP3,000.  Ms. Angela Leong, Managing Director of SJM and Vice-chairman of the SJM Scholarship Selection Committee, and Mr. Louis Ng, Director and Chief Operating Officer of SJM presented the awards to the students at the ceremony.

In his speech, Dr. Ambrose So reiterated that SJM continued to carry out the mission of Dr. Stanley Ho in nurturing future talent by supporting various kinds of educational activities, including offering scholarships to children of staff and sponsoring the full school fees for staff who further their studies at Macau Millennium College.  Over the past years, he was delighted to see that SJM continued to progress along with its staff and their children.  Dr. So said when a child was young, his parents were like his whole "world", and upon growing up, the parents had to learn to get into the world of the child and move ahead with the child – the bigger the child's world became, the bigger the world of the parent would be.  Dr. So gave four valuable guidance to the students present at the ceremony: to think critically, to make a clear distinction between right and wrong, to act with righteousness and with modesty.  Once again, he reminded the students of their obligations to society and as the future pillars of society, the bigger their world was, the bigger the world of Macau and China would become.

Wong Wang Wai, on behalf of the recipients, thanked SJM for the scholarships.  He said, according to Dr. So, graduation from secondary school was only a small semi-colon in life.  He and the other scholarship recipients pledged to carry forward the traditional core values of the Chinese nation and continued to study hard and work hard to repay society.

Celebrating its 7th year of establishment, the SJM Scholarship programme has awarded scholarships to 69 students, of whom 28 have graduated, including Wong Im Na who graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Macau in 2011.  Sharing her experience with the students at the ceremony, she said that university studies had enabled her to face and manage issues with more depth and breadth.  She greatly appreciated the great support of SJM over the past 4 years, which had not only helped lessen her family's financial burden but had also motivated her to learn more and to achieve more.

For children of staff, the SJM Scholarship programme awards 10 scholarships each year, to students who are each awarded MOP20,000 per year until they finish their undergraduate studies (up to five years).  Applicants for the scholarship must be children of staff of SJM or STDM's direct subsidiaries who are first-year students.  The renewal of scholarship is based on the assessment of the recipients' academic results by the SJM Scholarship Selection Committee on a yearly basis.