MACAO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- About 48 percent of the interviewed restaurants and similar establishments in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) reported a year-on-year rise in receipts in April, down by 12 percent from March, the SAR's statistics service said on Thursday.

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that about 59 percent of Chinese restaurants report increase of receipts in April, down by 23 percentage points year-on-year.

As regards retail trade, 67 percent of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales increase in April, down by three percent from March. On the other hand, 17 percent of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, up by two percent from March.

The interviewed restaurants and similar establishments were slightly more optimistic about their business prospects in May, with 80 percent anticipating a year-on-year rise in receipts or a steady performance, up by 6 percentage points from April.

Meanwhile, retailers anticipated a steady business performance in May, with 79 percent expecting their sales to increase or to remain stable year-on-year, the same proportion as in April.