HK Releases Business Prospects for 2nd Half of 2000Manufacturers of Hong Kong on the whole expect some increases in the volume of orders in the second half of 2000 compared with the same period in 1999, according to the results of a recent Half-yearly Business Prospects Survey.Releasing the survey Tuesday, the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong said manufacturers in the printing, and electronic and electrical products and electrical machinery industries are more upbeat about their business performance in the second half of 2000. They generally expect some increases in the volume of orders in the second half of 2000 compared with the same period in 1999. On the other hand, most of the manufacturers in the wearing apparel and fabricated metal products industries expect little change in the volume of orders, while manufacturers in the textiles industry generally anticipate little change or some decreases in the volume of orders. In general, manufacturers anticipate capacity utilization to remain stable in the second half of the year, and profit margins are however forecast to be slightly lower meanwhile. On export performance, exporters are generally more optimistic about their business in the second half of 2000 than they were at the beginning of the year. Bankers are also optimistic about the trade outlook. They generally expect some increases in the value of total exports in the second half of the year. As for construction firms, they generally anticipate some increases in the volume of construction output in the second half of 2000 compared with the same period in 1999. The survey is conducted on a half-yearly basis, covering about 300 firms in the major manufacturing industries, the import/export trades, the banking industry and the construction sector. It collects views of firms on the short-term prospects of the various major business sectors covered and aims at providing a quick reference, with a minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term future economic performance of Hong Kong. |
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