SMEs-biz outlook
SME biz sentiment swings to upturn for March
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean smaller firms' business outlook gained for March for the first time in five months amid eased coronavirus curbs, a poll showed Monday.
The survey of 3,150 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed the small business health index (SBHI) standing at 83.1 for next month, up 5.5 points from February.
The index had been weakening on-month since November last year.
A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey was taken by the Korea Federation of SMEs from Feb. 14-21.
The increase came amid expectations that removal of the indoor mask mandate in late January could help boost consumer spending in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
According to the findings, the SBHI for the manufacturing sector came to 86.5 for March, up 5.4 points from February, with that for nonmanufacturing companies rising by the same margin to 81.5.
Some 61 percent of the respondents cited sluggish domestic demand as the biggest hurdle to their management, followed by high labor costs (55.2 percent), rising raw materials costs (41.4 percent) and cutthroat competition (34.3 percent).
The average capacity utilization rate of manufacturing SMEs amounted to 70.5 percent in January, down 1.5 percentage points from the prior month.
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