Business sentiment up for May

South Korea’s business sentiment for May rose from a month ago on expectations about solid economic growth at home and abroad, a poll showed Wednesday.
The monthly Business Survey Index (BSI) for the upcoming month came in at 104.3, compared with 98.4 a month earlier, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country’s leading business lobby.
A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The poll was conducted on the country’s 600 largest businesses.
“Although the BSI improved for next month on the back of solid economic expansion, the fluctuation of BSI readings in the recent months still appear to reflect the growing uncertainties about future economic conditions caused by the recent crises in the Middle East and the quake in Japan,” said an official at the FKI.
The Korea International Trade Association earlier said the country could lose up to US$800 million in exports to Libya alone this year if the war in the North African nation continues until the end of the year.
The March 11 quake and tsunami in Japan are expected to create additional obstacles for South Korea with its exports to Japan, Seoul’s second-largest trading partner, expected to decrease by up to 2.81 percentage points this year, according to an earlier report by the Korea Economic Research Institute.
The business sentiment of manufacturers stayed positive as their BSI reading rose to 102.9 for May from 101.2 for this month.
The BSI reading for the service industry stood at 106.3 for May, sharply rising from 96.7 a month earlier, the federation said.
The companies here are also expressing concerns over rising costs with their BSI reading for profitability falling from 98.2 for this month to 97.5 in the upcoming month as the war in Libya and growing tensions in other oil-producing nations has already pushed up oil prices to a record high. (Yonhap News)