The Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) released Thursday the results of a Half-yearly Business Prospects Survey conducted in July 2002.

The survey showed that manufacturers in all industries generally expect some increases in the volume of orders in the second half of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001 and that they are also more optimistic than at the beginning of 2002.

In general, manufacturers anticipate capacity utilization to improve somewhat in the second half of 2002 compared with the first half.

On merchandise export performance, both exporters and bankers are generally more optimistic about the export outlook for the second half of 2002 than they were at the beginning of the year.

Most of them anticipate an increase in the value of total exports of goods in the second half of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001.

As for construction firms, they generally anticipate some decreases in the volume of construction output in the second half of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001.

The survey is conducted on a half-yearly basis, covering about 250 firms in the major manufacturing industries, the import/export trades, the banking industry and the construction sector.

(People?s Daily August 9, 2002)