Macau: In July, the turnover of surveyed catering merchants increased by 7.4% compared to June.

On September 19, data from the Statistics and Census Service of Macao showed that the operating income of interviewed catering merchants in July increased by 7.4% compared to June; the operating income of various types of interviewed catering merchants all recorded an increase, with the operating income of tea restaurants and congee shops as well as Chinese restaurants increasing by 7.8% and 7.3% respectively. On the other hand, the operating income of interviewed retail merchants in July increased by 5.4% compared to the previous month; cars, adult clothing, cosmetics and hygiene products recorded increases of 38.4%, 19.0%, and 18.4% respectively. Comparing with July 2023, the operating income of interviewed catering merchants in July decreased by 13.3%; the operating income of various types of interviewed catering merchants all showed a yearly decline, with Chinese restaurants, Japanese and Korean restaurants, and Western restaurants experiencing declines of 18.3%, 17.0%, and 14.2% respectively. In the retail sector, the operating income of interviewed merchants in July decreased by 26.4% compared to the previous year; the decline in watches and jewelry (-39.1%) and leather goods (-32.1%) was more pronounced, while cars saw a significant increase of 80.8%. In terms of expectations for operating income, 31% of interviewed catering merchants expected the operating income in August to increase compared to July, with Chinese restaurants and Western restaurants having corresponding proportions of 46% and 40%; approximately 17% of catering merchants believed that the operating income in August would decrease compared to July. In the retail sector, 35% of interviewed merchants expected the operating income in August to increase compared to the previous month; the corresponding proportions for cosmetics and hygiene product retailers (60%), leather goods retailers (57%), and department stores (50%) were all over 50%; approximately 15% of interviewed merchants believed that the operating income in August would decline compared to the previous month. In terms of the Business Outlook Index reflecting the direction of expected monthly changes in operating income for interviewed merchants, the index for the catering industry (56.9) and the retail industry (60.0) were both higher than 50, indicating that interviewed merchants in both industries expected better business performance in August compared to July. The surveyed participants in the "Catering and Retail Industry Business Climate Survey" included 229 catering industry and 161 retail industry samples, accounting for approximately 53.5% and 70.6% of the relevant industry revenue in 2019 respectively. The survey results were not extrapolated as a whole. The Business Outlook Index value ranges from 0 to 100; when the index value is higher than 50, it indicates that the industry's business outlook for the next month is better than the current month, while a value below 50 indicates a weaker outlook.