MACAO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The business performance of restaurants and retailers remained subdued in December 2019, the special administrative region's statistics department said here on Monday.

The latest report from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated there were 54 percent of the interviewed restaurants and similar establishments recording a year-on-year decline in revenue in December, an increase of 6 percentage points from November 2019.

Meanwhile, 24 percent of the interviewed establishments reported a year-on-year rise in revenue in December, representing a decrease of 6 percentage point from November.

The retail trade business in December 2019 also slackened, with the proportion of interviewed retailers registering a year-on-year sales increase dropping by 10 percentage points from November to 43 percent.

On the other hand, 42 percent of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales decrease in December, an increase of 10 percentage points from November.

As regards business prospects, since data were collected before the COVID-19 infections occurred, the interviewed restaurants and similar establishments at that time expected an improvement in their business in January 2020, whereas the interviewed retailers anticipated a stable performance.

(Photo: VCG)