***********************************************************
According to the results of the 2005 Annual Survey of Wholesale, Retail and Import and Export Trades, Restaurants and Hotels released today (December 1) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), total receipts (i.e. sales and other receipts) of hotels and boarding houses, import and export trade, wholesale trade, retail trade and restaurants increased by 19.8%, 13.0%, 9.3%, 8.0% and 5.7% respectively in 2005 as compared with 2004. For all the above sectors taken together, total receipts increased by 12.2% in 2005.
In the hotels and boarding houses industry, total receipts amounted to $20 billion in 2005. Gross surplus, which equals total receipts less total operating expenditure, accounted for 28.8% of total receipts in 2005, virtually unchanged from that in 2004. Value added of the hotels and boarding houses industry, which is a measure of its contribution to Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product, increased by 23.4% over 2004 to $13 billion.
In the import and export trade, total receipts amounted to $2,629 billion in 2005. Gross surplus accounted for 7.8% of total receipts in 2005, or 0.8 of a percentage point higher than that of 6.9% in 2004. Value added increased by 16.9% over 2004 to $306 billion.
In the wholesale trade, total receipts amounted to $168 billion in 2005. Gross surplus accounted for 3.1% of total receipts in 2005, or 0.2 of a percentage point lower than that of 3.3% in 2004. Value added decreased by 1.5% compared with that in 2004 to $13 billion.
In the retail trade, total receipts amounted to $234 billion in 2005. Gross surplus accounted for 7.2% of total receipts in 2005, or 0.3 of a percentage point lower than that of 7.5% in 2004. Value added increased by 5.7% over that in 2004 to $36 billion.
In the restaurants trade, total receipts amounted to $64 billion in 2005. Gross surplus accounted for 5.2% of total receipts in 2005, or 1.3 percentage points higher than that of 4.0% in 2004. Value added increased by 4.7% over that in 2004 to $22 billion.
The attached table compares selected principal statistics by major industry group between 2004 and 2005.
The survey was conducted from February to October 2006. More detailed survey results will be given in the "Report on 2005 Annual Survey of Wholesale, Retail and Import and Export Trades, Restaurants and Hotels". Users can download this survey report (in PDF format) free of charge at the "Statistical Bookstore, Hong Kong" (www.statisticalbookstore.gov.hk) of C&SD as from early January 2007. Details on the release of the survey report will be announced later.
For enquiries about the survey results, please contact the Distribution Services Statistics Section of the C&SD at telephone 2802 1264 or email asw@censtatd.gov.hk.
Ends/Friday, December 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:15
NNNN