July 04, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 18, 1428

HONG KONG, July 3: Hong Kong’s retail sales soared in May, boosted by upbeat consumer sentiment arising from the favourable macroeconomic environment and the buoyant stock market, the government said on Tuesday.

A spokesman said the strong pick-up in inbound tourism also pushed retail sales higher by 10.2 per cent in May year on year to HK$20.5 billion, up sharply from a rise of 3.2 per cent in April.

For the first five months of 2007, total retail sales increased by 8.3 per cent.

Looking ahead, the spokesman said rising labour income and a better job market should continue to uphold consumer sentiment.

“This, together with the further expansion of inbound tourism, should provide solid support to the retail business going forward,” he added.—AFP