Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the business of restaurants & similar establishments and retail trade improved in February 2021, largely on account of the Lunar New Year effect and the relatively low base of comparison in the same month last year. Among the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments, 93% registered a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in February, up markedly by 68 percentage points from January; meanwhile, the corresponding proportions of Japanese & Korean Restaurants as well as Chinese Restaurants stood at 100% and 98% respectively. There were 88% of the interviewed retailers recording a year-on-year sales rise or stable performance in February, an increase of 56 percentage points over the preceding month. All of the interviewed retailers of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles, Watches, Clocks & Jewellery and Leather Goods reported a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance. The Business Performance Index (BPI) that reflects the trend of year-on-year changes in receipts of a business was higher than 50 for both restaurants & similar establishments (90.0) and retail trade (85.4), implying that the business of these two industries in February fared better compared to the same month last year.

As regards the business expectations for March, about 56% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected their receipts to increase month-to-month or remain stable, down by 12 percentage points from February. The corresponding share of Chinese Restaurants (30%) fell by 53 percentage points, while that of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (76%) rose by 40 percentage points. Moreover, 82% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a month-to-month sales rise or steady performance in March, a growth of 21 percentage points from the preceding month. The corresponding proportions of Motor Vehicle Retailers (73%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (91%) grew by 33 percentage points and 28 percentage points respectively. The Business Outlook Index (BOI) that reflects the trend of month-to-month changes in receipts anticipated by the interviewed establishments was lower than 50 for restaurants & similar establishments (42.0), indicating that the interviewed establishments predicted a less favourable business outlook for March as compared to February. On the other hand, the index value for retail trade (57.9) was higher than 50, showing that the interviewed retailers foresaw better business prospects in March than in the previous month.

The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade comprises 229 restaurants & similar establishments and 159 retailers, which accounted for 53.5% and 70.6% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2019. The values of the Business Performance Index (BPI) and the Business Outlook Index (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.