MACAO, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Less than half of Macao's restaurants and retailers registered a year-on-year rise in revenues in January this year, as compared with that of December last year, the Special Administrative Region's statistics service said on Tuesday.

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that 31 percent of Macao's restaurants registered a year-on-year rise in revenues in January, down 13 percentage points as compared with that of December last year.

With regards to retail trade, 48 percent of interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales increase in January, down 13 percentage points from that of December 2017. On the other hand, 37 percent of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, up 14 percentage points as compared with that of December 2017.

The reports also said the restaurants and similar establishments were more optimistic about their business prospects in February 2018 during the Chinese Lunar New Year, with 24 percent of them anticipating a year-on-year rise in receipts, up 9 percentage points from January.

Retailers also expected an improvement in their business in February 2018, with 37 percent predicting a year-on-year sales increase, up 6 percentage points from January.