XN000022-1992-02-13 — Page 6

5

1

IN ADDITION TO THESE

PROBLEMS,

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1992

RESTAURANTS

ALSO FACED

INSUFFICIENT BUSINESS.

TRADES,

FOR

IMPORT/EXPORT FIRMS IN THE WHOLESALE, RETAIL AND HIGH RENTALS AND EXCHANGE RATE FLUCTUATIONS WERE ALSO QUOTED AS MAJOR PROBLEMS.

THE OTHER SERVICES

ALL

ABOVE PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST IN THE QUARTER OF 1992.

FIRMS IN

THE

FIRST

SECTOR

EXPERIENCED

SIMILAR

PROBLEMS.

MOREOVER, SOME BANKS REPORTED THAT THEY WERE SQUEEZED RELATIVELY TIGHT CREDIT SITUATION OVER THE PAST TWO QUARTERS. PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1992.

THE ON

OTHER HAND, THE PROBLEM OF HIGH STAFF ENCOUNTERED BY THE BANKS HAD IMPROVED CONSIDERABLY IN THE QUARTERS.

BY THE THESE

TURNOVER

PAST

TWO

OF

ARE

A

KONG

QUICK FROM A

ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, RESULTS THE QUARTERLY BUSINESS SURVEY, OBTAINED WITH A MINIMUM TIME LAG, INTENDED

A TO PROVIDE

OF SOURCE

REFERENCE FOR MAKING ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION OF HONG SHORT-TERM PERSPECTIVE.

IN

THE

TO

INDICATE

AND

THE OR

ASKED PARTICIPATING FIRMS WERE SURVEY, WHETHER, IN THEIR OPINION, THE GENERAL BUSINESS SITUATION LEVEL OF CAPACITY UTILISATION HAD "IMPROVED", "REMAINED THE SAME"

COMPARED WITH THE "DETERIORATED" IN

FOURTH QUARTER OF 1991 AS PRECEDING QUARTER.

THEY WERE

THE

THE

SITUATION

IS

ASKED TO INDICATE WHETHER ALSO EXPECTED TO "IMPROVE", "REMAIN THE SAME" OR "DETERIORATE" IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1992.

SUMMARY

THE OPINIONS OF RESPONDENTS WERE THEN ANALYSED AND THE FINDINGS PUBLISHED IN THE "REPORT ON QUARTERLY BUSINESS SURVEY, FOURTH QUARTER 1991".

EXPERIENCED

MOREOVER, THE SURVEY REPORT CONTAINS A SECTION ON THE BUSINESS ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

AND EXPECTED BY FIRMS IN DIFFERENT

BY EMPLOYMENT SIZE A BREAKDOWN OF THE VIEWS OF FIRMS SECTORS, AND GROUP.

THE DEPARTMENT CAUTIONED THAT, IN A SURVEY OF THIS NATURE,

IS DIFFICULT RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION AS IT ESTABLISH PRECISELY THE EXTENT TO WHICH RESPONDENTS' RECOLLECTION THE PAST AND PERCEPTION OF THE FUTURE ACCORDS WITH TRENDS.

THE

то

OF

THE UNDERLYING

/MEMBERS OF