In Focus

Property sales down 27.4% in April 2011

The Land Registry received 10,386 sale and purchase agreements for all building units.

In Focus

Property sales down 27.4% in April 2011

The Land Registry received 10,386 sale and purchase agreements for all building units.

In Focus

Retail sales up 26% in March 2011

Total retail sales was estimated at $31.2 billion, said the Census & Statistics Department.

In Focus

Hong Kong’s mortgage drawdowns up 67.5%

7% of the approved new mortgage loans were priced with reference to best lending rates.

In Focus

Minimum wage rate of $28 enforced

Wages should not be below $28 starting 1 May 2011 as the Minimum Wage Ordinance took effect yesterday.

In Focus

Value of Hong Kong total exports up 21.5% in March

Re-exports value grew 21.7% to $275.1bn while the value of domestic exports up 11.6% to $6.4bn.

In Focus

Office and retail sectors remain highlighted in Hong Kong’s property market

The two sectors are eyed as market focus, with prospective rental growth of 25% in 2011 for the Office Sector and 20% for Retail Sector.

In Focus

Hong Kong businessmen optimistic on second quarter

Yet the prevalence of optimistic business expectations among respondents remained unchanged as the proportion of respondents with a favourable business outlook rose up 26%.

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Inflation rose to 4.6% in March 2011

The year-on-year rate of increase in the underlying inflation rate in March was 4.4 per cent.

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Unemployment rate fell to 3.4% in 1Q 2011

The labour force expanded by 3,100 from Dec-Feb period to the Jan-Mar period, and the job market absorbed more than half of the increase, with total employment up 1,800.

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MPF recorded 5.5% return

The annualised rate of return recorded by the MPF system outperformed the 0.7% average annual inflation rate and the 1% one-month Hong Kong dollar deposit rate over the same period.

In Focus

Monetary Authority warns public to manage interest-rate risks properly

HKMA predicts Interest rates to go up as Hong Kong is seen to follow several Asia economies raising of interest rates to combat inflation.

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Tobacco duty to increase by 41.5%

The Government tabled the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2011 at the Legislative Council.

In Focus

Hong Kong and China join forces to boost IT collaboration

Under the National 12th Five-Year Plan will also explore further collaboration between the laboratories of Mainland and Hong Kong approved under the Partner State Key Laboratory Programme.

In Focus