Business boosted by CNY festivities

The business of restaurants & similar establishments as well as retail trade was boosted in February by this year’s Lunar New Year festivities. According to a business climate survey on restaurants, conducted by the Statistics and Census Service, 49 of the interviewed business owners registered a year-on-year rise in receipts in February, up by 18 percentage points from January. The share of interviewed establishments recording a year-on-year decline in receipts decreased by 21 percentage points from January to 36 percent.

In regard to retail trade, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on- year sales increase in February reached 84 percent, the highest number since the survey was first conducted, up markedly by 36 percentage points from January. Only 8 percent of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, down by 30 percentage points from January.

According to the survey, retailers were more optimistic about their business prospects in March, with 79 percent predicting a year- on-year sales increase or a steady business performance, up by 4 percentage points from February.

The survey interviewed representatives from 167 restaurants & similar establishments and 135 retailers. According to DSEC, “the results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.”