Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 46% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reporting a year-on-year rise in receipts in September 2021, a growth of 14 percentage points from August; the corresponding proportions of Western Restaurants (58%) and Chinese Restaurants (63%) rose by 39 percentage points and 23 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, the proportion of interviewed retailers recording a year-on-year sales rise in September increased by about 1 percentage point over the preceding month to 67%; the corresponding proportions of Department Stores (58%) and Adults’ Clothing Retailers (72%) grew by 8 percentage points and 7 percentage points from August respectively, while the shares of Supermarkets (44%) and Motor Vehicle Retailers (36%) fell by 11 percentage points and 9 percentage points. For the Business Performance Index (BPI) that reflects the trend of year-on-year changes in business receipts, the values for restaurants & similar establishments (56.3) and retail trade (71.2) were both higher than 50, implying that the business of these two industries in September fared better compared to the same month last year.
As regards the business expectations for October, the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers were less optimistic about the business outlook as affected by the import-related cases of coronavirus infection reported at the end of September. There were 66% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting a month-on-month decrease in their receipts in October, up by 51 percentage points from September. The shares of Chinese Restaurants (68%) and Western Restaurants (65%) both expanded by 54 percentage points and that of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (61%) grew by 51 percentage points. Meanwhile, 52% of the interviewed retailers forecasted a month-on-month sales decrease in October, a growth of 42 percentage points from the preceding month. The corresponding proportions of Department Stores (75%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (70%) and Leather Goods Retailers (60%) surged by 67 percentage points, 65 percentage points and 60 percentage points respectively. The Business Outlook Index (BOI) that reflects the trend of month-on-month changes in receipts anticipated by the interviewed establishments was lower than 50 for both restaurants & similar establishments (17.9) and retail trade (33.6), indicating that the respondents from both industries predicted a less favourable business outlook in October than in September.
The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade comprises 229 restaurants & similar establishments and 161 retailers, which accounted for 53.5% and 70.6% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2019. The values of the BPI and the BOI range between 0 and 100; an index value above 50 implies that the industry has better business performance in the reference month or higher business expectations for the coming month as against the month of comparison, whereas an index value below 50 indicates the opposite. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.