Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (November 29) closely monitoring an additional plague case affecting a herder in Inner Mongolia.
 
     According to the Health Commission of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the patient was diagnosed to have bubonic plague on November 27 and had been to a place where plague was known to occur. The patient has been admitted to hospital for treatment under isolation and is in stable condition. Four close contacts have remained asymptomatic so far, and are under medical surveillance.
 
     So far, four cases of plague have been confirmed in the Mainland since November 2019. The other three cases include two cases of pneumonic plague in Beijing, involving a couple from Inner Mongolia; and a case of bubonic plague, involving a man in Inner Mongolia. The CHP issued press releases on these cases on November 14 and 18 respectively to urge the community to heighten their vigilance against plague. According to the latest information from the National Health Commission, all close contacts of the three patients have remained asymptomatic and were released from medical surveillance. As of yesterday (November 28), apart from the above four plague cases, no additional cases have been reported in the Mainland thereafter.
 
     A spokesman for the CHP said, “Regarding the recent plague cases that occurred in the Mainland, the CHP has communicated with the National Health Commission to understand the latest situation for risk assessment.”

     The spokesman said, “Plague is transmitted from an infected animal (mainly rodents) to humans through the bite of its fleas. Plague can also be contracted when cuts or other breaks in the skin come into contact with the body fluid or tissue of infected animals.”
     
     The spokesman reminded travellers to avoid visiting plague-endemic areas. They should also heighten vigilance on rodents and prevent flea bites. Insect repellents against mosquitoes may equally prevent bites from fleas and other blood-sucking insects. Formulations in lotions or sprays should contain DEET, IR3535 or icaridin (also known as picaridin) as active ingredients. The public should refer to the CHP’s tips for using insect repellents.

     “Travellers returning from affected areas with a sudden onset of fever, chills, body pains or chest discomfort should seek medical advice as soon as possible and reveal their travel history for prompt investigation and management. Plague is a statutorily notifiable disease and doctors should report suspected or confirmed cases to the CHP for investigations and control,” the spokesman added.

     Travellers should take heed of the health advice below during travel:
 

• Prevent flea bites by wearing long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and applying insect repellent/insecticide. DEET-containing insect repellent can be applied to exposed skin and clothing, while insecticide containing permethrin can be applied to clothing, not the skin;
• Avoid going to rural areas, camping or hunting;
• Never touch rodents, dead animals and their tissues or contaminated materials;
• Avoid close contact with patients, especially those with cough or chest infection;
• Avoid going to crowded areas;
• Seek medical care immediately in case of a sudden onset of fever, chills, painful lymph nodes, difficulty in breathing with coughing and/or blood-tainted sputum; and
• Consult a doctor immediately after contact or exposure to pneumonic plague patients or high-risk exposures, such as bites from fleas or direct contact with body fluids or tissues of potentially infected animals, for prompt assessment of the need for preventive medication.

     Travellers may visit the CHP’s plague page, Travel Health News and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s advice on rodent control for details. read more

     The Transport Department today (November 29) reminded members of the public that since the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) has reopened and traffic has generally returned to normal, the two routes of special free ferry services… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:        The Hospital Authority today (November 29) published the latest issue of the biannual Medication Safety Bulletin (MSB). This issue highlights the safe a… read more

     According to the results of the 2018 Annual Survey of Economic Activities – Import/Export, Wholesale and Retail Trades, and Accommodation and Food Services Sectors released today (November 29) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), total receipts (i.e. sales and other receipts) of the import/export, wholesale and retail trades, and accommodation and food services sectors amounted to $5,394.5 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 7.0% compared with 2017; on a per establishment basis, total receipts increased by 6.6% compared with 2017 to $35.3 million in 2018.

     Operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees of the above sectors altogether amounted to $4,985.1 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 6.9% compared with 2017; on a per establishment basis, they altogether increased by 6.6% compared with 2017 to $32.6 million in 2018.

     Gross surplus of the sectors, which is equal to total receipts less operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees, increased by 8.2% compared with 2017 to $409.5 billion in 2018; on a per establishment basis, gross surplus was $2.7 million in 2018, which increased by 7.8% compared with 2017. For all these sectors taken together, gross surplus accounted for 7.6% of total receipts in 2018, which was similar to that in 2017.

     Value added of the sectors, which is a measure of their total contribution to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product, amounted to $683.1 billion in 2018, which increased by 5.8% compared with 2017; on a per establishment basis, value added was $4.5 million in 2018, which increased by 5.4% compared with 2017. 

     According to the survey results, it was estimated that the aforementioned sectors comprised some 153 000 establishments and engaged about 1 095 600 persons, or an average of 7.2 persons per establishment, in 2018.

     In the import/export trade, total receipts amounted to $4,261.1 billion while operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees totalled $3,930.1 billion in 2018. Gross surplus increased from $305.9 billion in 2017 to $330.9 billion in 2018, accounting for 7.8% of total receipts in 2018. Value added increased by 4.5% compared with 2017 to $478.3 billion.

     In the wholesale trade, total receipts amounted to $324.2 billion while operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees totalled $315.3 billion in 2018. Gross surplus increased from $8.1 billion in 2017 to $8.9 billion in 2018, accounting for 2.7% of total receipts in 2018. Value added increased by 7.6% compared with 2017 to $23.6 billion.

     In the retail trade, total receipts amounted to $600.8 billion while operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees totalled $559.2 billion in 2018. Gross surplus increased from $39.2 billion in 2017 to $41.6 billion in 2018, accounting for 6.9% of total receipts in 2018. Value added increased by 7.0% compared with 2017 to $89.9 billion.

     In the accommodation services sector which covers hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses and other establishments providing short term accommodation, total receipts amounted to $51.0 billion while operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees totalled $34.0 billion in 2018. Gross surplus increased from $14.7 billion in 2017 to $17.0 billion in 2018, accounting for 33.3% of total receipts in 2018. Value added increased by 13.1% compared with 2017 to $32.2 billion.

     In the food services sector which mainly covers restaurants, total receipts amounted to $157.5 billion while operating expenses, cost of goods sold and compensation of employees totalled $146.5 billion in 2018. Gross surplus increased from $10.5 billion in 2017 to $11.0 billion in 2018, accounting for 7.0% of total receipts in 2018. Value added increased by 10.0% compared with 2017 to $59.1 billion.

     Selected statistics for the import/export, wholesale and retail trades, and accommodation and food services sectors in 2017 and 2018 are shown in the attached table.

     More detailed survey results on the import/export, wholesale and retail trades, and accommodation and food services sectors will be given in the report “Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Import/Export, Wholesale and Retail Trades, and Accommodation and Food Services Sectors in 2018”. Users can download this report (in PDF format) free of charge at the website of C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp320.jsp?productCode=B1080014) as from end-December 2019.

     Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact the Distribution Services Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7399; email: asw@censtatd.gov.hk). read more

     According to the results of the 2018 Annual Survey of Economic Activities – Building, Construction and Real Estate Sectors released today (November 29) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the construction sector’s total receipts (comprising gross value of construction works performed and other business receipts) amounted to $421.7 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 0.8% over 2017; on a per establishment basis, total receipts was $16.0 million in 2018, decreased by 5.3% compared with 2017.

     Operating expenses and compensation of employees of the construction sector altogether amounted to $385.3 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 2.0% over 2017; on a per establishment basis, they were $14.6 million in 2018, decreased by 4.1% compared with 2017.

     Gross surplus of the construction sector, which is equal to total receipts less operating expenses and compensation of employees, decreased by 10.9% compared with 2017 to $36.4 billion in 2018; on a per establishment basis, gross surplus decreased by 16.2% compared with 2017, to $1.4 million in 2018. Gross surplus accounted for 8.6% of total receipts in 2018, down by 1.1 percentage points compared with 2017.

     Value added of the construction sector, which is a measure of its contribution to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product, decreased by 7.4% compared with 2017 to $123.0 billion in 2018; on a per establishment basis, the value added was $4.7 million in 2018, representing a decrease of 12.9% compared with 2017.

     In 2018, there were some 26 400 establishments in the construction sector, which directly engaged about 192 000 persons, or an average of 7.3 persons per establishment.

     The survey did not cover labour-only sub-contractors that mainly supplied labour to work on a job-to-job basis, owing to practical consideration in data collection. The employment figures above mainly covered direct employees of the construction establishments and did not reflect the labour input through the sub-contracting activities of labour-only sub-contractors.

     Apart from the construction sector, the survey also enumerated establishments engaged in real estate activities; and architectural, surveying and engineering services.

     Total receipts (comprising gross margin of real estate development projects, service and rental income and other business receipts) of establishments engaged in the real estate activities (including real estate development, real estate leasing, real estate brokerage and agency and real estate maintenance management) amounted to $217.6 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 7.8% over 2017. Operating expenses and compensation of employees altogether amounted to $88.5 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 7.9% over 2017. Gross surplus increased by 9.6% over 2017 to $122.3 billion in 2018. Gross surplus accounted for 56.2% of total receipts in 2018, up by 0.9 percentage point over 2017. Value added decreased by 4.7% compared with 2017 to $138.5 billion in 2018.

     In 2018, the real estate activities comprised 9 900 establishments and engaged about 116 500 persons, or an average of 11.8 persons per establishment.

     The total number of private real estate projects ever operated in 2018 was 320. As at end-2018, 283 projects, which were expected to provide a total 8.1 million square metres of gross floor area of buildings when completed, were still under construction. Among them, 15% were on Hong Kong Island, 23% in Kowloon and 61% in the New Territories and outlying islands.

     The survey excluded establishments which developed real estate projects for their own use as well as those which owned land but had not developed it during the reference year. Real estate leasing and other related activities undertaken by individuals or firms which engaged less than two persons (except for subsidiaries of real estate enterprises) were also not covered in the survey.

     Total receipts (comprising service income and other business receipts) of establishments engaged in the architectural, surveying and engineering services amounted to $23.1 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 4.8% over 2017. Operating expenses and compensation of employees altogether amounted to $21.0 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 5.1% over 2017. Gross surplus increased by 1.9% over 2017 to $2.1 billion in 2018. Gross surplus accounted for 9.1% of total receipts in 2018, slightly down by 0.3 percentage point compared with 2017. Value added increased by 2.9% over 2017 to $16.1 billion in 2018.

     In 2018, the architectural, surveying and engineering services comprised some 2 300 establishments and engaged about 27 800 persons, or an average of 12.3 persons per establishment.

     Selected statistics for the building, construction and real estate sectors, with breakdowns by industry grouping, are shown in the attached table.
 
     More detailed survey results on the building, construction and real estate sectors will be given in the report “Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Building, Construction and Real Estate Sectors in 2018”. Users can download this report free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp330.jsp?productCode=B1080011) as from end-December 2019.

     For enquiries about the key statistics on business performance and operating characteristics of the building, construction and real estate sectors, please contact the Construction and Miscellaneous Services Statistics Section of the C&SD at telephone 3903 6964 or email building@censtatd.gov.hk. read more