Hong Kong Customs steps up enforcement actions against counterfeit goods activities with approach of National Day Golden Week of Mainland
Hong Kong Customs mounted special enforcement operations in Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok on September 3 and yesterday (September 8) to combat the sale of counterfeit goods, and seized about 3 100 items of suspected counterfeit goods with an estimated market value of about $1 million.
Customs earlier conducted patrols at popular visitors' spots and discovered some traders selling suspected counterfeit goods in Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok. After investigations, Customs officers took enforcement actions during the abovementioned dates and raided nine fixed-pitch hawker stalls on Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei and eight fixed-pitch hawker stalls on Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok. A batch of suspected counterfeit goods, including handbags, clothes, and toys, was seized.
During the operations, Customs arrested one man and six women, aged between 34 and 65. An investigation is ongoing.
With the National Day Golden Week of the Mainland approaching, Customs will continue to step up inspection and enforcement to vigorously combat different kinds of counterfeit goods activities in order to safeguard local consumers' and visitors' rights at full strength.
Customs appeals to local consumers and visitors to purchase goods at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt. Customs also reminds traders not to sell counterfeit goods and to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since selling counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected counterfeiting activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account(crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs mounted special enforcement operations in Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok on September 3 and yesterday (September 8) to combat the sale of counterfeit goods, and seized about 3 100 items of suspected counterfeit goods with an estimated market value of about $1 million. Photo shows some of the counterfeit goods seized. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for August 2026
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (September 9) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for August 2026.
The Census and Statistics Department, Photo source: reference image
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 43.8 in July 2026 in the contractionary zone to 44.1 in August 2026, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. September 2026) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.6. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts amongst SMEs for some surveyed sectors rose in August 2026 as compared with previous month, particularly for the restaurants (from 40.2 to 44.0) and real estate (from 45.2 to 48.5).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 45.0 in July 2026 to 44.8 in August 2026, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. September 2026) was 47.4.
Hong Kong, Photo source: reference image
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that business sentiment among SMEs improved in August. The current diffusion index on business receipts reached a three-month high, and the outlook index rose to a six-month high. While the real estate sector outlook index remained above the 50-point threshold in the expansionary zone, the restaurants and retail trade sectors recorded the largest improvements in business outlook among various sectors. Meanwhile, the overall employment situation was largely steady.
Looking ahead, solid growth in the Hong Kong economy will provide continued support to business confidence. However, external headwinds are still evolving. The Government will continue to closely monitor the situation.
Photo source: reference image
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.
Hong Kong, Photo source: reference image
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).
