Business confidence among Japan's big manufacturers improves

Jul 1, 2009, 3:30 GMT

   Tokyo - Business confidence among large Japanese manufacturers improved for the first time in more than two years, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed Wednesday.

   Although the index remained in negative territory for four consecutive quarters, it rose 10 points to minus 48 during the April-June quarter, compared to the previous quarter, the bank said.

   Business confidence among large manufacturers hit a record low in the January-March period.

   The central bank expected the index to improve to minus 30 during the next three months to September.

   The sentiment among major non-manufacturers also rose 2 points to minus 29 during the reported quarter, the first improvement in more than two years.

   Meanwhile, the sentiment among small businesses continued to worsen to 49 points, down 2 points from the previous three months.

   The index for small non-manufacturers hit the worst level since September 1998, down 2 points from the January-March period to minus 44 during April-June.

   The sentiment among small non-manufacturers was expected to worsen by 1 point during the next three months.

The index for small manufacturers was unchanged at minus 57, which was expected to improve to minus 53, according to Tankan survey.

   Large companies in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors plan to reduce capital spending by an average 9.4 per cent during the current fiscal year that began in April.

   The index shows the percentage of companies reporting favorable business conditions minus that of firms describing an unfavorable environment.