BIZCHINA> Center
HK's retail sales value up 9.5% in Feb
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-02 15:17

February saw the total retail sales value in Hong Kong surge to HK$22.8 billion ($2.9 billion), up 9.5 percent over a year earlier, official figures released Tuesday indicated.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the total retail sales volume rose 4.5 percent, said the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

The department said total retail sales rose 16.4 percent in value or 11.1 percent in volume over a year earlier when taking the first two months together.

Rising labor income, improved job market and sustained expansion of inbound tourism should support the retail business, though the effect of the global financial market turmoil on Hong Kong's retail business must be monitored, said the department.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the total retail sales volume grew 2.5 percent in the three months ending February compared with the preceding three-month period.


(For more biz stories, please visit Industries)