Business receipts of most service industries rose in value in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, the Census & Statistics Department says.

Financing-industry business receipts grew 45%, largely attributable to the strong rebound in local stock market and fund raising activities, while those of the banking industries rose 35%, mainly due to the growth of non-interest income.

The real estate industry also recorded a noticeable increase in business receipts (+23.4%) in the fourth quarter, reflecting the strong rebound in the residential property market. This was followed by the courier (+18.4%), insurance (+17.2%) and retail (+12.8%) industries.

Notable drops in business receipts were recorded in the accommodation (-7.8%) and transportation (-4.3%) industries.

For 2009 as a whole, many of the major service industries recorded decreases in business receipts when compared with 2008. More notable drops were recorded in the transportation (-19.9%) and accommodation (-17.5%) industries.

A double-digit growth was recorded in the real estate industry (+10.8%), mainly due to the strong rebound in the residential property market in 2009.