The Hong Kong government’s Census and Statistics Department (CSD) recently released the latest data on the business situation of SMEs. In August, the current diffusion index (DI) on Hong Kong SME business receipts fell by 2.0 points to 43.8 points, marking a new low for the year after the pandemic-related closures, reflecting a weakening recovery. The DI index on employment decreased by 0.3 points to 49.3 points, while the outlook on business receipts dropped by 2.1 points to 47.4 points.
In all the seven selected sectors, the index on business receipts showed declines across the board for August.
The current business receipts and gains or losses by sector: the logistics sector business receipts decreased by 0.8 points to 40.3 points (employment decreased by 1.6 points, income outlook increased by 2.2 points); business services receipts fell by 0.8 points to 48.4 points (employment unchanged, income outlook down 3.8 points); import and export trades business receipts dropped by 1.8 points to 43.9 points (employment up 0.6 points, income outlook down 1.1 points); retail trade business receipts index decreased by 2.2 points to 42.3 points (employment index increased by 0.6 points, income outlook decreased by 3.9 points); wholesale trade business receipts index fell by 2.4 points to 41.0 points (employment down 1.3 points, income outlook unchanged); restaurant sector business receipts index dropped by 3.1 points to 44.9 points (employment down 3.9 points, income outlook down 0.5 points); and real estate sector business receipts index retreated by 3.5 points to 42.9 points (employment index down 3.6 points, income outlook down 4.3 points).
During interviews with the CSD, respondents were requested to exclude seasonal factors when giving their opinions. The current index reflects the current business situation compared to the previous month. In contrast, the outlook index reflects the expected business situation for the next month compared to the current one. An index above 50 indicates a generally favorable business situation, while below 50 indicates the opposite.
However, these values do not reflect the magnitude of the changes, as this statistical survey does not collect data on the extent of changes. SMEs covered refer to establishments with fewer than 50 employees. The results are based on a survey of some 600 businesses.
In addition, the SMEs reported that 3.8 percent currently had credit needs, an increase of 0.4 percentage points month-on-month. The percentage of those who believed it was easy to obtain loans was 0.3 percent, up 0.1 percentage point monthly; those who considered it acceptable were 0.7 percent, down 0.3 percentage points monthly; those who said it was difficult to obtain loans were 1.1 percent, an increase of 0.8 percentage points monthly; and those who indicated they had not applied for credit stood at 1.7 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points monthly.
