The restaurants and hotels sector and the manufacturing sector have the most pessimistic outlook for the fourth quarter among the 10 major industries studied in a survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department.

According to the results of the survey released Friday, the restaurants and hotels sector is worst hit by the financial turmoil with 42 percent of the companies in the sector believing business in the fourth quarter will drop, compared with only 10 percent expecting an increase. Some 33 percent of the companies in the manufacturing sector expected that business in the fourth quarter to get worse, comparing with only 14 percent expecting a better business situation. Some 15 percent of the manufacturers expected a drop in selling price and service charge, while nearly 80 percent of them expected the price to remain stable.

But the majority of respondents in most sectors expected the number of staff employed in the fourth quarter to remain stable.

(HK Edition 10/25/2008 page1)