Hong Kong's retail sales value up 4 pct in July

HONG KONG, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's value of total retail sales in July rose 4 percent year-on-year to 36 billion HK dollars (about 4.6 billion U.S. dollars), the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said here Tuesday.

A HKSAR government spokesman said the pick-up was underpinned by robust local consumption demand and further improvement in inbound tourism.

Looking ahead, the spokesman said local consumer sentiment will remain sanguine under favorable job and income conditions, adding the near-term performance of retail sales will depend on the recovery pace of inbound tourism.