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FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1986
THE MAJOR PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY RESPONDENTS IN THE HOTELS BUSINESS WERE PRICE COMPETITION AND HIGH STAFF COSTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER AND THESE PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
ALL TRADES ACROSS THE OTHER SERVICES+ SECTOR CONSIDERED PRICE COMPETITION AS A PREDOMINANT PROBLEM IN THE FIRST QUARTER AND THE SECOND QUARTER. MOREOVER, THE PROBLEM OF INSUFFICIENT BUSINESS WAS ALSO ENCOUNTERED BY RESPONDENTS IN THE +TRANSPORT, STORAGE AND COMMUNICATION+ INDUSTRY WHILE FIRMS IN THE +REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED SERVICES+ SECTOR HAD THE PROBLEM OF HIGH STAFF TURNOVER IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT, THE SURVEY RESULTS OBTAINED WITH A MINIMUM TIME LAG PROVIDED ONE SOURCE OF REFERENCE FOR MAKING A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION OF HONG KONG.
IN THE SURVEY, PARTICIPATING FIRMS WERE ASKED TO INDICATE WHETHER, IN THEIR OPINION, THE GENERAL BUSINESS SITUATION AND LEVEL OF CAPACITY UTILISATION HAD IMPROVED, REMAINED THE SAME, OR DETERIORATED IN THE QUARTER JUST ENDED AS COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER.
FOR THE FORTHCOMING QUARTER, THEY WERE ALSO ASKED TO INDICATE WHETHER THE SITUATION WILL IMPROVE, REMAIN THE SAME, OR DETERIORATE. THE BALANCE OF OPINIONS OF RESPONDENTS WERE TABULATED AND ANALYSED.
THE SURVEY REPORT ALSO CONTAINED A SECTION ON BUSINESS PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED AND EXPECTED BY FIRMS IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SECTORS AND A BREAKDOWN OF VIEWS OF FIRMS BY SIZE GROUPS.
THE DEPARTMENT CAUTIONED THAT IN A SURVEY OF THIS NATURE, THE RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CARE AS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH PRECISELY THE EXTENT TO WHICH RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE ACCORDED WITH THE UNDERLYING TRENDS.
COPIES OF THE SURVEY REPORT, CONTAINING AN ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS AND STATISTICAL TABLES, HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO FIRMS TAKING PART IN THE SURVEY AND TO OTHER BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY OBTAIN COPIES FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, AT $3 PER COPY.
FURTHER DETAILS OF THE QUARTERLY BUSINESS SURVEY MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE NATIONAL INCOME BRANCH OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT AT 5-423401.
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