Business receipts of almost all major service industries showed decreases in the first quarter, according to the provisional business receipts indices from the Census & Statistics Department.

The financing industry - except banking - recorded the largest decline, 46.9%, mainly due to the marked decline in stockmarket turnover.

Other significant decreases were recorded in the wholesale (-25.7%), import & export trade (-23.1%), transportation (-22.8%) and courier (-20.1%) industries.

Food services, on the other hand, recorded a  1.5% year-on-year increase.

Analysed by service domain, business receipts of the computer & information technology services domain recorded a 27% year-on-year decrease. The decline was mainly due to the fall in export of computer and related products.