In October, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong expressed continued pessimism regarding business receipts, as reported by the city's Census and Statistics Department (C&SD). The SME business receipts index climbed to 42.3 in October from 41.6 in September; however, this figure remains significantly below the crucial benchmark of 50 that distinguishes favorable from unfavorable business conditions. The restaurant sector emerged as the most pessimistic, registering an index of 37.4 for October, while business services reported a neutral status with a score of exactly 50.0, marking the most optimistic sector of the month. As for the overall outlook, the SMEs index indicated a slight increase to 47.3 in October compared to 47.0 in the previous month.
Within these findings, business services again stood out as the most optimistic sector, also aligning at a score of 50.0, whereas wholesale trade exhibited the least optimism with an index of just 41.3 for the month. The index measuring new orders for SMEs engaged in the import and export trades saw a minor rise to 44.7 from 44.5 in September.
In a prepared statement, the C&SD highlighted that Hong Kong enterprises are expected to see benefits in the near future stemming from “gradually easing financial conditions and the Central Government's latest policy measures for supporting the mainland economy.” However, the C&SD cautioned that rising global economic uncertainties, along with ongoing trade conflicts, could negatively affect businesses in Hong Kong..