HONG KONG, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The value of total retail sales in January 2024, provisionally estimated at 36.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 4.66 billion U.S. dollars), increased 0.9 percent from the same month in 2023, the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said on Friday.
The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales in December 2023 increased by 7.8 percent compared with a year earlier. The revised estimate of the volume of total retail sales in December 2023 increased by 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the department said.
Analyzed by broad type of retail outlet in descending order of the provisional estimate of the value of sales and comparing January 2024 with January 2023, the value of sales of jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts increased by 25.2 percent; medicines and cosmetics went up 25.2 percent; motor vehicles and parts rose 23.7 percent; stationery and gifts increased 27.8 percent.
A spokesman for the HKSAR government said that looking ahead, continued increase in visitor arrivals alongside further recovery of handling capacity and organization of mega-events would bode well for retail businesses. (1 Hong Kong dollar equals 0.13 U.S. dollars) ■
