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1. Business receipts of many service industries increased in value terms in the third quarter of 2003 over a year earlier, according to the provisional figures released today (December 19) by the Census and Statistics Department. This reflected a revival in business activity after the severe setback in the second quarter of 2003 caused by the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
2. Comparing the third quarter of 2003 with the third quarter of 2002, business receipts of the financing (except banking), insurance and real estate industries increased markedly by 30.8%, 25.3% and 17.9% respectively.
3. The increase in business receipts of the financing (except banking) industry was mainly due to brisk trading of the local stock market.
4. The increase in business receipts of the insurance industry was mainly attributable to the continued expansion in life insurance business; and that for the real estate industry was the result of an upturn in the property market.
5. Other service industries showing increases in business receipts included film entertainment (+10.9%), import/export trade (+6.8%), banking (+5.8%), business services (+0.8%) and transport (+0.5%).
6. On the other hand, declines in business receipts were observed in the hotels (-9.4%), restaurants (-7.5%), storage (-3.7%), communications (-3.1%) and wholesale/retail trade (-1.5%) industries.
7. Analysed by service domain, business receipts of the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain decreased by 4.2% in the third quarter of 2003 compared with a year earlier. As for the computer and information services domain, an increase of 6.2% was recorded over the same period.
8. Comparing the third quarter of 2003 with the second quarter of 2003, and bearing in mind that this comparison might be affected by seasonal factors, business receipts of almost all service industries increased, attributable to the relatively low base of comparison in the second quarter of 2003 when the local economy was affected by SARS. Hotels showed the largest rebound (+127.4%), underpinned by the strong pick-up in inbound tourism. Other service industries with larger increases in business receipts included transport (+23.4%), financing (except banking) (+20.6%), film entertainment (+17.3%), restaurants (+17.3%), real estate (+16.5%) and import/export trade (+15.7%).
9. Table 1 (text version of table 1) presents provisional business receipts indices for service industries and service domains for the third quarter of 2003, with the quarterly average of business receipts indices in 1996 taken as 100. Also included are comparisons of the results of the third quarter of 2003 with those of the second quarter of 2003 and the third quarter of 2002.
10. Table 2 (text version of table 2) shows the time series of the 1996-based quarterly business receipts indices.
11. A major source of data used for compiling the business receipts indices is the Quarterly Survey of Service Industries conducted by the Census and Statistics Department.
12. Regarding the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain, part of the data are obtained from the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
13. A service domain differs from a service industry in that a domain comprises those economic activities straddling different industries but are somehow related to a common purpose. It may include all activities carried out by all establishments in a service industry that is closely related to the domain. For a service industry that is less closely related, however, only a portion of the establishments in the industry or even only part of the activities of the establishments is related to the domain. Tourism is a good example. It includes all activities of hotels and travel agents; and some (those involving visitors as customers) but not all of the activities of restaurants, retailers and transport operators.
14. Details on the compilation method of the business receipts indices are given in the report "Quarterly Business Receipts Indices for Service Industries, Third Quarter 2003".
15. The above publication is now available, in both hardcopy and softcopy (in PDF format), for sale at HK$9 per copy. It can be purchased online at the "Statistical Bookstore, Hong Kong" (http://www.statisticalbookstore.gov.hk). If the softcopy version is intended, please note that there is currently a special promotion under which the softcopy can be downloaded free of charge subject to some minor conditions. For details, visit the Statistical Bookstore. Otherwise, purchase through mail order can be made by returning a completed order form which can be downloaded from the C&SD's website (http://www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/eng/prod_serv/forms_index.html). Purchase in person can be made at the Publications Unit of the C&SD (Address: 19/F, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai; Tel.: 2582 3025).
16. Enquiries about the survey results may be directed to the Distribution and Services Statistics Section (2)A of the Census and Statistics Department at Tel. 2802 1269.
Ends/ Friday, December 19, 2003
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