The financing sector, excluding banking, saw business receipts rise 47.9% last year over 2005, the Census & Statistics Department says, adding the increase was attributable to the buoyant local stock market.

Other service industries that recorded larger increases in business receipts included insurance (21.3%), banking (19.6%), business services (19.5%), hotels (13.8%), transport (10.6%), import and export trade (10.1%) and storage services (10.1%).

Analysed by service domain, business receipts of the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain increased 13%, while those of the computer and information services domain rose 9.8%.

Comparing the fourth quarter with a year earlier, business receipts of all surveyed service industries increased.

Larger increases were observed in the financing (except banking) (58.3%), banking (24.2%), business services (17.9%), insurance (15.9%), storage (15.1%), hotels (11.6%), restaurants (11.1%) and import and export trade (10.7%).