Luxury Sales Soar in China and Hong Kong

RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items rose in GreaterChina in the first quarter amid improved consumer sentiment and increasedtourism to Hong Kong, according to government sources.In China, retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry increased8% year on year to $11.74 billion (CNY 74.7 billion) during theJanuary-to-March period, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reportedrecently. March sales jumped 20% to $3.71 billion (CNY 23.6 billion).Meanwhile, Hong Kong recorded a 22% jump in sales ofjewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts to $2.93 billion (HKD 22.96 billion)for the quarter, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department.For March, sales in the municipality climbed 23% to $871.6 million (HKD 6.84billion)."Hong Kong's retail sales sustained a double-digit year-on-yearincrease in March, [driven] by upbeat local consumer sentiment under generallyfavorable economic conditions, and the continued appreciable increase in visitorarrivals," a Hong Kong government spokesperson said.Total retail sales in all sectors for China increased 10% to$1.42 trillion (CNY 9.03 trillion) in the first quarter. In Hong Kong, combinedsales grew 14% to $16.55 billion (HKD 129.92 billion) for the period.The retail outlook for Hong Kong remains optimistic given the improved rateof employment and earnings and the rise in tourism levels, the spokespersonadded.In the first quarter, the total number of tourists arrivingin Hong Kong rose 10% year on year to 15.6 million, according to the Hong KongTourism Board. Of those visitors, 12.2 million came from mainland China.