XN000022-1986-04-24 — Page 12

THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1986

BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE 1984-85 HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY (HES) WHICH INVOLVED ALMOST 5 000 HOUSEHOLDS, THE DEPARTMENT WILL CONTINUE PUBLISHING TWO CPI SERIES.

THE NEW CPI(A) COVERS ABOUT 50 PER CENT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN HONG KONG AND THEIR MONTHLY EXPENDITURE IN THE PERIOD OCTOBER 1984 TO SEPTEMBER 1985 WAS BETWEEN $2 000 AND $6 499.

THE NEW CPI(B) COVERS THE NEXT 30 PER CENT OF HOUSEHOLDS, WITH AN AVERAGE MONTHLY EXPENDITURE OF BETWEEN $6 500 AND $9 999 IN THE SAME PERIOD.

COMPARING THE WEIGHTING PATTERNS OF THE NEW CPI'S WITH THOSE OF 1979-80, SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN THE EXPENDITURE SHARE OF +MEALS BOUGHT AWAY FROM HOME+, INDICATING AN INCREASING TENDENCY FOR HOUSEHOLDS TO EAT OUT.

THE COMPARISON ALSO REVEALED A MARKED INCREASE IN THE EXPENDITURE ON HOUSING IN CPI(B), REFLECTING A GENERAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF MIDDLE-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.

ANOTHER INTERESTING POINT WAS THAT THE SHARE OF EXPENDITURE ON TRANSPORT INCREASED IN BOTH THE NEW CPI(A) AND CPI(B) BECAUSE OF THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY AND KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY.

HOWEVER, THE PERCENTAGE SHARE OF EXPENDITURE ON DURABLE GOODS DECREASED, PROBABLY DUE TO THE IR SLOWER PRICE INCREASES COMPARED WITH OTHER COMMODITY-SERVICE SECTIONS.

THE HANG SENG BANK HAD PARTICIPATED IN THE 1984-85 HES AND ACCORDING TO ITS MANAGER, MR T.P. CHENG, THERE WERE ALSO NOTABLE CHANGES IN THE WEIGHTING SYSTEM OF THE HANG SENG CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (HSCPI).

MR CHENG SAID, THE HSCPI APPLIES TO HONG KONG'S HIGHER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS WHOSE MONTHLY EXPENDITURE IS NOW DEFINED AS BETWEEN $10 000 AND $24 999 IN 1984-85, WHICH COVERS ABOUT 10 PER CENT OF HOUSEHOLDS.+

REGARDING CHANGES IN THE HSCPI WEIGHTING SYSTEM, SIGNIFICANT INCREASE WAS AGAIN RECORDED IN THE EXPENDITURE WE IGHT FOR +MEALS BOUGHT AWAY FROM HOME+ WHEREAS THAT FOR +TRANSPORT AND VEHICLES+ HAS DROPPED AS EXPENDITURE ON PRIVATE VEHICLES IS OVERTAKEN BY GREATER USE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT.

THE NEW CPI SERIES STARTING FROM OCTOBER 1985 ARE GIVEN IN THE CPI MONTHLY REPORT FOR MARCH 1986 WHICH IS NOW ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE. THE OLD SERIES WILL CONTINUE TO BE COMPILED AND PUBLISHED IN THE MONTHLY REPORT TILL MARCH 1987. NEVERTHELESS, MOVEMENTS OF THE NEW AND THE OLD SERIES OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS ARE BROADLY SIMILAR.

+A DETAILED REPORT ON THE 1984-85 HES AND AN INTRODUCTORY PAMPHLET ON THE NEW CPI'S ARE BEING PREPARED AND WILL BE AVAILABLE AROUND JULY THIS YEAR, DR BUTLER CONCLUDED.

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