Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for October 2022
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The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 43.0 in September 2022 in the contractionary zone to 45.5 in October 2022, whereas the one-month's ahead (i.e. November 2022) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.4. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts, despite below the 50-mark, rose in October 2022 as compared with previous month for many surveyed sectors, particularly for the retail trade (from 40.4 to 45.1), wholesale trade (from 40.9 to 43.8) and restaurants (from 44.9 to 47.6).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades increased from 44.4 in September 2022 to 47.2 in October 2022, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month's time (i.e. November 2022) was 46.3.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that overall business sentiment among SMEs saw some improvement in October, with the current diffusion indices for most surveyed sectors recording increases. The overall employment situation was broadly stable. However, the expected business situation in one month's time turned more cautious.
Looking forward, the spokesman added that relaxed social distancing measures alongside the generally stable local epidemic situation and the Consumption Voucher Scheme should continue to support consumption-related businesses, but the worsening global economic outlook and tightened financial conditions will dampen business sentiment. It remains vital for the community to work together with the Government to keep the epidemic under control.
Further information
The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to establishments with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent establishments in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own establishments rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:30
Issued at HKT 16:30
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