SEOUL: Confidence among South Korean businesses rose to the highest in a year, keeping an upward trend for three straight months, central bank data showed Wednesday.Business survey index (BSI) for manufacturers stood at 80 in April, up 3 points from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was the highest since April 2014 when the index posted 82.
The index, which gauges expectations for business conditions, means that pessimists outnumber optimists when it stays below 100.The upbeat figure came after the BOK’s rate cut to a record low of 1.75 percent and the fiscal stimulus package. Low oil prices also bolstered the business sentiment.
The BSI for large corporations climbed 5 points from a month earlier to 86 in April, with the figure for domestic demand- enterprises advancing 5 points to 80.The BSI for small companies was unchanged at 73 in April, and the number for exporters slid from 81 in March to 80 in April on the back of the local currency’s ascent to the U.S. dollar.
The prospective BSI for manufacturers was 82 in May, up 2 points from a month earlier.Local manufacturers picked weak domestic demand as the largest obstacle to doing business, as well as economic uncertainties and fierce competition.
The April BSI for non-manufacturers increased 6 points from a month earlier to 76. The prospective BSI for May gained 4 points to 78.Non-manufacturers also cited fragile domestic demand as their main difficulty in doing business. They also picked economic uncertainties and fierce completion as difficulties.
