Total receipts of Hong Kong's insurance industry in 2008 decreased significantly by 40 percent year-on-year, mainly due to the decline in life insurance business, statistical authorities said on Monday.
The latest surveys of Hong Kong special administrativie region's Census and Statistic Department (CSD) found total receipts of the storage, communications, financing, business services, insurance and banking industries fell to HK$975.6 billion ($125.88 billion) in 2008, down 12 percent on 2007.
The banking and financing industries recorded a decrease in total receipts by 8 percent and 6 percent respectively.
On the other hand, the communications sector's total receipts rose 9 percent, those of storage grew 7 percent, while those of business services industries increased by 2 percent.
The gross surplus of the storage, communications, financing and business services industries taken together amounted to HK$242 billion in 2008, down 7 percent on 2007.
Value added of these four industries taken together fell 19 percent on 2007, to HK$178.7 billion. Within this total, value added of the financing sector dipped 35 percent, whereas that of the communications and business services industries dropped slightly by 2 percent and 1 percent respectively. The storage industry's value added rose by 21 percent.
