Hongkong Post to issue "Road Safety" special stamps
Hongkong Post announced today (May 12) that a set of special stamps and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Road Safety" will be released for sale on May 28 (Thursday).
With the vision of "Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal", it is the responsibility of each and every citizen to maintain road safety. All road users, be they pedestrians, drivers, passengers or cyclists, must strictly observe traffic laws and regulations.
To further raise public awareness of road safety, Hongkong Post will issue a set of four stamps, a stamp sheetlet and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Road Safety", demonstrating the correct behaviours and proper attitudes of road users, with a view to improving road safety in Hong Kong through concerted efforts. For example, pedestrians must follow traffic signals when crossing roads; drivers should stay focused and must not drink and drive; passengers should wear seat belts, while children in private cars are required to use appropriate child restraining devices for safety; and cyclists should wear personal protective equipment, obey traffic rules and refrain from riding on pavements.
Official first day covers for "Road Safety" will be on sale at all post offices and on Hongkong Post's online shopping platform ShopThruPost (shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) from tomorrow (May 13). This set of special stamps and associated philatelic products will be on sale at all post offices and on ShopThruPost from May 28, while serviced first day covers affixed with the special stamps will be available at philatelic offices only.
A hand-back date-stamping service will be provided on May 28 at all post offices for official first day covers/souvenir covers/privately made covers bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address.
Information about this set of special stamps and associated philatelic products is available on the Hongkong Post Stamps website (stamps.hongkongpost.hk).
Hongkong Post will launch a special stamp issue and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Road Safety" on May 28 (Thursday). Images show the presentation pack. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hongkong Post will launch a special stamp issue and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Road Safety" on May 28 (Thursday). Images show the first day covers. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hongkong Post will launch a special stamp issue and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Road Safety" on May 28 (Thursday). Images show the mint stamps, the stamp sheetlet and the special postmark. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for April 2026
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (May 12) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for April 2026.
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs decreased from 44.3 in March 2026 in the contractionary zone to 44.0 in April 2026, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. May 2026) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.5. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for some surveyed sectors dropped in April 2026 as compared with previous month, particularly for the restaurants (from 40.6 to 38.1), import and export trades (from 46.3 to 45.4) and wholesale trade (from 42.2 to 41.3).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 46.8 in March 2026 to 46.1 in April 2026, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. May 2026) was 47.9.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that business sentiment amongst SMEs was still cautious in April amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, but the situation stabilised somewhat. While the current diffusion index on business receipts for SMEs fell slightly from the preceding month, the outlook diffusion index rose back. Meanwhile, the overall employment situation remained generally steady.
Looking ahead, the evolving Middle East conflict remains a key source of uncertainty for local business sentiment, but sustained growth of the Hong Kong economy will provide support. The Government has taken targeted measures to ease the impact from high fuel costs and assist SMEs in navigating the fast-changing market environment, and will continue to closely monitor the situation.
Further information
The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).
Source: AI-found images
