Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the proportion of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reporting a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in January 2021 (25%) remained at the same level as in December 2020. The corresponding proportion of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops rose by 12 percentage points over December 2020, while the share of Japanese & Korean Restaurants went down by 9 percentage points. Meanwhile, there were 32% of the interviewed retailers recording a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in January, a decrease of 3 percentage points over the preceding month. The corresponding proportions of Motor Vehicle Retailers and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers decreased by 17 percentage points and 12 percentage points respectively. In terms of the Business Performance Index (BPI) that reflects the trend of year-on-year changes in receipts of a business, the indices for restaurants & similar establishments (21.2) and retail trade (29.6) were both below 50, which implied that the business performance of these two industries in January was less satisfactory compared to the same month last year.

There were 67% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to increase month-to-month or remain stable in February, a notable growth of 18 percentage points from January. The corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants (84%) and Japanese & Korean Restaurants (77%) were relatively high. Moreover, 61% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a month-to-month sales rise or steady performance in February, with the corresponding shares of Supermarkets and Leather Goods Retailers standing at 89% and 80% respectively. With respect to the Business Outlook Index (BOI) that reflects the trend of month-to-month changes in receipts of the interviewed establishments, the index for restaurants & similar establishments (50.7) was higher than 50, indicating that the interviewed establishments anticipated a better business outlook for February as compared to January. On the other hand, the index for retail trade (41.0) was lower than 50, showing that the interviewed retailers foresaw a less favourable business outlook in February than in January.

The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade comprises 229 restaurants & similar establishments and 159 retailers that accounted for 53.5% and 70.6% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2019. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.

The Business Performance Index (BPI) and the Business Outlook Index (BOI) are compiled based on the results of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade. The BPI measuresthe business performance of an industry by comparing receipts of the interviewed establishments in the reference month with their receipts in the same month of the previous year; meanwhile, the BOI evaluates the outlook of business based on the change in receipts in the coming month anticipated by the interviewed establishments as against their receipts in the reference month. Bothindices range from 0 to 100; an index 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 below 50 indicates the opposite.