XN000022-1980-11-26 — Page 5

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1980

THE SITUATION IS QUITE DIFFERENT FOR THE NON-MANUFACTURING SECTORS.

IMPROVEMENTS IN BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN THE THIRD QUARTER WERE REPORTED BY RESPONDENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR AND SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS WERE PREDICTED FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER.

RESPONDENTS IN THE WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE ALSO REPORTED IMPROVED BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN THE THIRD QUARTER AND LOOKED FORWARD TO FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FOLLOWING QUARTER,

RESTAURANTS REPORTED A FAR BETTER PERFORMANCE THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED. INSTEAD OF A DECLINE IN BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OVER THAT IN THE SECOND QUARTER, THERE HAD BEEN A SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. THEY EXPECTED THAT BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR WOULD FURTHER

IMPROVE.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT WHICH CONDUCTED THE SURVEY, EXPLAINED THAT THE SURVEY DATA, OBTAINED WITH MINIMUM TIME LAG, WAS BASICALLY INTENDED TO PROVIDE ONE SOURCE OF REFERENCE FOR MAKING A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION IN HONG KONG.

APART FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS IN QUANTITATIVE TERMS, FIRMS WERE ASKED TO COMPARE THE QUARTER JUST PAST WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND SIMILARLY FOR THE FORTHCOMING ONE.

THE FIRMS ONLY HAD TO INDICATE WHETHER, IN THEIR OPINION, A CERTAIN VARIABLE WAS 'UP', 'SAME' OR 'DOWN', HE SAID,

OPINIONS OF RESPONDENTS WERE TABULATED AND ANALYSED AND WHERE APPROPRIATE THEY WERE INTERPRETED ALONG WITH RESULTS OBTAINED IN EARLIER SURVEYS.

THE SPOKESMAN CAUTIONED THAT IN A SURVEY OF THIS NATURE, CONSIDERABLE RESERVATIONS HAD TO BE MADE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 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 AND STATISTICAL TABLES ON VARIOUS ECONOMIC VARIABLES, HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO FIRMS TAKING PART IN THE SURVEY AND OTHER BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY OBTAIN COPIES FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE AT THE GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING IN CONNAUGHT PLACE AT $3 EACH.

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