Restaurants, retailers saw poor business in January

The proportion of interviewed restaurants and retailers showing year-on- year growth in revenue in January 2018 fell considerably compared to the year- on-year growth seen in the previous month, according to new information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). This was attributed to the fact that the Chinese Lunar New Year fell in January in 2017 and in February this year.

According to DSEC, among the interviewed restaurants, 31 percent registered a year- on-year rise in revenue in January, which is down by 13 percentage points from those who noted a rise in December 2017. Moreover, the corresponding proportion among Chinese restaurants plunged by 50 percentage points to just 9 percent.

Worse still, the share of restaurants recording a year-on-
year decline in revenue for January grew by 24 percentage points over the previous month to 56 percent.

The proportion of interviewed retail traders reporting a year-on-year sales increase in January fell by 13 percentage points from December to 48 percent.

Some 37 percent of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, up by 14 percentage points from December 2017.

In January, establishments in the restaurant sector were more optimistic about their business prospects for the following month, February. Some 24 percent anticipated a year-on-year rise in revenue, up by 9 percentage points from January.

Meanwhile, 24 percent of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales decline, down by 4 percentage points from January.

The assessment is derived from a business climate survey that samples both the restaurant and retail sectors, with participants’ revenue accounting for 53 percent and 70 percent of their respective industries.