Hong Kong Luxury Sales Rise in January

RAPAPORT... Retail sales of jewelry and other luxury items increased inHong Kong in January, boosted by the earlier timing of the Lunar New Year and highertourism. Revenue from jewelry, watch, clocks and other valuable giftsimproved by 4.7% year on year to HKD 8.47 billion ($1.08 billion), themunicipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Tuesday. Sales in allretail categories were up 7.1% to HKD 48.1 billion ($6.13 billion). Sales figures for luxury goods tend to be more unstableduring the first two months of the year due to the timing of the Lunar New Year,as consumers tend to shop prior to the festival, a government spokesperson said.This year, the holiday fell on February 5, as opposed to February 16 last year.Increased tourism also contributed to growth, according to the government. "The outlook for [the] retail sales business is stillsubject to uncertainty," the spokesperson added. "While the full employmentsituation in the local labor market and the sustained expansion in inboundtourism should provide support, consumption sentiment will be affected by theunsteady external environment." In January, 6.8 million tourists visited Hong Kong, a 27%year-on-year jump, the Hong Kong Tourism Board reported. Of those, 5.5 millioncame from mainland China. Image: Tsim Sha Tsui Street shopping district, Hong Kong. (Shutterstock)