Hong Kong Dec retail sales up 7.8pc as tourism recovers

Hong Kong's retail sales rose for the 13th consecutive month in December as tourism continued to improve, official data showed on Thursday.

Sales increased 7.8 percent year-on-year to HK$36.3 billion (US$4.64 billion) in December, the Hong Kong government said. That compared with a 15.9 percent jump in November, a 5.8 percent rise in October, 13 percent growth in September and a 13.7 percent increase in August.

"Visitor arrivals should increase further alongside the continued recovery of handling capacity," a government spokesman said.

Rising household income and the government's efforts to promote mega events should provide support to retail businesses, the spokesman said.

In terms of volume, retail sales increased 4.8 percent in December, compared with 12.4 percent growth in November, a 2.9 percent rise in October, a 10 percent rise in September and 11 percent growth in August.

For the whole of 2023, the value of retail sales rose 16.2 percent year-on-year, while volume grew 13.8 percent.

Hong Kong's economy expanded 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, more than the previous three quarters but missing economists' median forecast of 4.7 percent. GDP grew 3.2 percent in 2023.

Visitor arrivals for December were 3.93 million, bringing the year's total to 34 million, according to Hong Kong Tourism Board data.

That compared with 2022's 160,578 and 2021's 604,564 respectively, when China was still in the grip of Covid restrictions.

The number of mainland Chinese visitors increased to 2.9 million in December from 2.4 million in November, the data showed. That compared with 67,244 in December 2022.

Sales of jewellery, watches, clocks and valuable gifts, which before the pandemic were mostly bought by mainland tourists, rose 50.1 percent year-on-year in December after a 60.8 percent jump in November, data showed.

Sales of clothing, footwear and accessories grew 18.3 percent on the year in December after a 49.1 percent increase in November.

(US$1 = 7.8175 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reuters)