Terms	Definition
A real estate development project	A real estate development project is concerned with the development of land and/or redevelopment of existing premises into a new form of property for sale or lease. A development project is not regarded as active if the works that have been initiated relate only to pre-construction preparation.
Compensation of employees	Compensation of employees = Wages and salaries (including share-based payments) + Payments in kind and employer's social security expenditure (including contributions to Mandatory Provident Fund schemes, messing, medical expenses and premiums for employees' compensation insurance)
Compensation of employees and payments to labour-only sub-contractors	Compensation of employees and payments to labour-only sub-contractors = Remuneration to direct employees (comprising wages and salaries to operatives and other employees; payments in kind and employer's social security expenditure as well as any share-based payments) + Payments to labour-only sub-contractors
Completed	"A building is said to be completed upon the issuance of an Occupation Permit by the Buildings Department in the case of a Housing Society building, Private Sector Participation Scheme building or a private building."
Construction site	"A construction site refers to a demarcated locality (of an appreciable area at the least) where one or more major stages or processes of building/construction works, such as site formation, piling, caissons and superstructure erection, are being carried on. It differs from fitting, decoration and other construction works done on erected buildings and structures in that the entire building/structure in the construction site in question, being unfinished, is not issued with a Certificate of Completion/Occupation Permit and is as yet not ready for use according to its intended purposes."
Establishment	"An establishment is ideally an economic unit which engages, under a single ownership or control, in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single physical location. In the context of construction, the requirement of a single physical location is relaxed for practical purposes. Where separate figures relating to different activities or different locations under the same management are not available, a combined return is accepted and in this case, the reporting unit is treated as an establishment."
Gross additions to fixed assets	Gross additions to fixed assets = Acquisitions of fixed assets - Proceeds from disposal of fixed assets
Gross floor area of a building	"The gross floor area of a building is defined as the area contained within the external walls of the building measured at each floor level, including balconies and thickness of the external walls."
Gross margin of real estate development projects	Gross margin of real estate development projects = Value accrued to project – Total project expenses + Interest payments to finance real estate development projects
Gross surplus	"(i) For the Industry Group of Architectural, Surveying and Engineering Services : Gross surplus = Total receipts – Consumption of sundry supplies; fuels, electricity and water, and maintenance services – Architectural, surveying and engineering design and consultancy fees – Miscellaneous operating expenses – Compensation of employees (ii) For the Industry Section of Construction : Gross surplus = Total receipts – Payment for sub-contract works rendered by fee sub-contractors – Consumption of materials and supplies; fuels, electricity and water, and maintenance services – Miscellaneous operating expenses – Compensation of employees and payments to labour-only sub-contractors (iii) For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Gross surplus = Total receipts – Consumption of sundry supplies; fuels, electricity and water, and maintenance services – Miscellaneous operating expenses – Interest payments to finance real estate development projects – Compensation of employees"
Gross value of construction works performed	Gross value of construction works performed = Construction works performed as main contractor at (i) construction sites; (ii) other minor new construction works locations; and (iii) erected buildings and structures + Construction works performed as sub-contractor at (i) construction sites; (ii) other minor new construction works locations; and (iii) erected buildings and structures
Locations other than sites	Works at locations other than construction sites includes minor new construction activities and renovation works at erected buildings and structures; and electrical and mechanical fitting works at locations other than construction sites.
Main contractor	"A main contractor is one who enters into a contract directly with a property developer or the client party of a project, and assumes full responsibility for the satisfactory completion of the construction works. A sub-contractor is one who accepts orders from the main contractor or another sub-contractor for specific tasks forming part of a main contract."
Miscellaneous operating expenses	"(i) For the Industry Group of Architectural, Surveying and Engineering Services : Miscellaneous operating expenses = Rent, rates and government rent for land and buildings + Rentals for machinery, equipment and vehicles + Interest payments + Transport and travelling expenses + Newspaper and magazines, and communications expenses + Postal and courier service expenses + Insurance premiums + Administration charges paid to related companies + Cleaning expenses + Advertisement and business promotion expenses + Accounting, audit and legal fees + Other professional and business services fees + Entertainment expenses + Expenses in maintaining representative offices outside Hong Kong + Payment for royalties for the use of patents, trademarks, copyrights and franchises owned by others + Staff training expenses + Other operating expenses Miscellaneous operating expenses do not include bad debts, donations to charities, fines, direct taxes, obsolete stocks, depreciation charges and insurance excesses. (ii) For the Industry Section of Construction : Miscellaneous operating expenses = Rent, rates and government rent for land and buildings + Rentals for machinery, equipment and vehicles + Interest payments + Transport and travelling expenses + Newspaper and magazines, and communications expenses + Postal and courier service expenses + Insurance premiums + Administration charges paid to related companies + Cleaning expenses + Advertisement and business promotion expenses + Accounting, audit and legal fees + Other professional and business services fees + Entertainment expenses + Charges paid to banks, deposit-taking companies and other financial institutions + Expenses in maintaining representative offices outside Hong Kong + Payment for royalties for the use of patents, trademarks, copyrights and franchises owned by others + Staff training expenses + Payment for disposal of construction waste + Architectural, surveying and engineering design and consultancy fees + Other operating expenses Miscellaneous operating expenses do not include bad debts, donations to charities, fines, direct taxes, obsolete stocks, depreciation charges and insurance excesses. (iii) For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Miscellaneous operating expenses = Rent, rates and government rent for land and buildings + rentals for machinery, equipment and vehicles + Interest payments apart from those for financing real estate development projects + Transport and travelling expenses + Estate management expenses + Newspaper and magazines, and communications expenses + Postal and courier service expenses + Insurance premiums + Administration charges paid to related companies + Cleaning expenses + Laundry and dry-cleaning services expenses + Advertisement and business promotion expenses + Accounting, audit and legal fees + Other professional and business services fees + Entertainment expenses + Charges paid to banks, deposit-taking companies and other financial institutions + Payment for royalties for the use of patents, trademarks, copyrights and franchises owned by others + Staff training expenses + Architectural, surveying and engineering design and consultancy fees + Other operating expenses" Miscellaneous operating expenses do not include bad debts, donations to charities, fines, direct taxes, obsolete stocks, depreciation charges and insurance excesses.
Non-residential buildings	"Non-residential buildings include industrial buildings, commercial buildings, hotels, educational buildings without dormitory, health buildings and other buildings not intended for residential use."
Number of persons directly engaged	"For the Industry Section of Construction : Number of persons directly engaged = Number of working proprietors, active partners and unpaid family workers + Number of direct employees, comprising operatives and other employees"
Number of persons engaged	"(i) For the Industry Group of Architectural, Surveying and Engineering Services : Number of persons engaged = Number of working proprietors and active business partners + Number of employees (ii) For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Number of persons engaged = Number of working proprietors, active business partners and unpaid family workers + Number of employees"
Other business receipts	"(i) For the Industry Group of Architectural, Surveying and Engineering Services : Other business receipts = Receipts from royalties for licensing others to make use of an establishment's patents, trademarks, copyrights and franchises + Interest income + Dividends + Rental income from letting overseas land and buildings + Gain/loss from trading of financial assets + Other income (ii) For the Industry Section of Construction : Other business receipts = Interest income + Dividends + Rental income from letting overseas land and buildings + Other income (iii) For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Other business receipts = Receipts from royalties for licensing others to make use of an establishment's patents, trademarks, copyrights and franchises + Interest income + Dividends + Rental income from letting overseas land and buildings + Gain/loss from trading of financial assets + Other income"
Total receipts	"(i) For the Industry Group of Architectural, Surveying and Engineering Services : Total receipts = Service income + Other business receipts (ii) For the Industry Section of Construction : Total receipts = Gross value of construction works performed + Other business receipts (iii) For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Total receipts = Gross margin of real estate development projects + Service and rental income + Other business receipts"
Total project expenses	"For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Total project expenses = Payments to contractors + Building materials and fittings supplied outside the contract price + Architectural design and technical consultancy fees + Interest payments to finance real estate development projects + Other project expenses"
Value accrued to project during reporting period	" For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Value accrued to project during reporting period = { [ (P1 - L1) + (P2 - L2) ] / 2 } x (C2 - C1), where P = market value of the property as if completed; L = market value of the underlying land lot; C = percentage of project completion; Subscript 1 = the beginning of reporting period; Subscript 2 = the end of the reporting period."
Value added	"(i) For the Industry Group of Architectural, Surveying and Engineering Services : Value added = Service income + Other income – Consumption of sundry supplies; fuels, electricity and water, and maintenance services – Architectural, surveying and engineering design and consultancy fees – Miscellaneous operating expenses + Interest payments (ii) For the Industry Section of Construction : Value added = Gross value of construction works performed + Other income – Payment for sub-contract works rendered by fee sub-contractors – Consumption of materials and supplies; fuels, electricity and water, and maintenance services – Miscellaneous operating expenses + Interest payments (iii) For the Industry Section of Real Estate Activities : Value added = Gross margin of real estate development projects + Service and rental income + Other income– Consumption of sundry supplies; fuels, electricity and water, and maintenance services – Miscellaneous operating expenses + Interest payments apart from those for financing real estate development projects"