BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Retail sales in Brunei continued to show an increase of 1.6 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020, despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, government data showed on Monday.
According to the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the value of retail sales in the quarter was estimated at 423.7 million Brunei dollars (311.5 million U.S. dollars), which was driven by the increase in domestic demand for certain goods following measures implemented due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, such as online learning and teaching, work-from-home arrangements and travel restrictions abroad.
The sales of Computer and Telecommunication Equipment increased by 59 percent, while department stores and supermarkets, which are the top two activities in retail trade, also recorded increases in their sales by 7.7 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.
As compared to the first quarter, retail sales recorded an increase of 4.4 percent in the second quarter. Enditem
