South Korea's business sentiment for March improved sharply from a month earlier
on expectations of an economic recovery buoyed by government spending plans, a
poll showed Tuesday.
The monthly business survey index (BSI) for the
upcoming month came in at 106.1, compared with 91.0 tallied for February,
according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the lobbying group of
the country's large businesses.
The latest BSI number is the highest
since April 2011, and marks the first time that the indicator breeched the
break-even 100 mark after remaining in negative territory from November through
February.
A BSI reading above 100 means optimists outnumber
pessimists. The poll surveyed the country's 600 largest businesses in terms of
sales.
The FKI attributed the rise in sentiment to expectations that
Seoul's plans to frontload this year's budget can help bolster the
economy.
It added that the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United
States that goes into effect as of March 15 can help trade that is critical for
growth. The government claimed that the FTA with the world's largest economy
will push up growth by 0.1-0.3 percentage point.
Other factors cited
for improving business sentiment include such developments as lessening of euro
zone woes and general improvements in U.S. economic indicators.
By
sector, the latest BSI forecast improvements for both the manufacturing and
service sectors, with numbers standing at 110.3 and 100.4,
respectively.
The readings for domestic sales, exports, and investment
also improved over the previous month, the FKI said.
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