HK\'s Q4 optimistic business expectations lower

Seventeen percent of respondents surveyed expect their business situation in Hong Kong to worsen in the fourth quarter compared with the last quarter, rising from 7 percent in the third quarter. These were the findings of Hong Kong\'s Census & Statistics Department\'s latest Quarterly Business Tendency Survey released Friday. The proportion of respondents expecting their Q4 business situation to improve was 19 percent, down from 25 percent in Q3. The prevalence of optimistic business expectations among respondents is lower in the Q4 when compared with the last quarter, the department said. According to the survey, which covers ten major sectors in Hong Kong, in the import/export trade and wholesale sector, less respondents expect their business situation to be better, as compared to those expecting it to be worse. In the retail, accommodation and food services, information & communications and real estate sectors, more respondents expect their business situation to be better, as compared to those expecting it to be worse, in Q4 over Q3. The survey, conducted from September 6 to October 11, gathers views on short-term business performance from the senior management of about 550 prominent establishments in various sectors in Hong Kong.