Hong Kong's Value of the total retail sales in February has risen 16.5 percent over the same month in 2004, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department said on Friday.

The retail sales value was provisionally estimated at HK$16.7 billion (US$2.1 billion). After netting out the effect of price changes, the overall volume of retail sales rose 16 percent in February over a year earlier.

The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales in January, at HK$19 billion (US$2.4 billion), rose 4.1 percent in value, or 3.1 percent volume over January 2004.

For the first two months of 2005, total retail sales rose 9.6 percent in value, or 8.8 percent in volume over a year earlier.

The department said the growth in retail sales remained broad-based in the first two months, reflecting sustained upbeat consumer sentiment.

(Xinhua)