Japanese big makers’ business confidence unchanged

Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturer in September was unchanged from three months earlier, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday. The central bank's quarterly survey showed the business sentiment index among big manufacturers, such as automakers and electronics makers held steady at plus 13 points, flat from the previous June survey. While demand for semiconductors and IT-related products recovered, there were concerns that overseas demand would slow down due to factors such as the recession of the Chinese economy, according to the survey. Confidence among large retailers, banks, real estate companies and other non-manufacturers improved 1 point to plus 34, the first improvement in two quarters, thanks to increased sales of air conditioners and summer clothing in the wake of heatwave, as well as strong inbound tourism. The headline index represents the percentage of companies which are positive about their business minus the percentage of those who gave negative replies, thus a positive number mea ns optimists outnumber pessimists. The "tankan," which means short-term economic outlook, is the most closely watched index of business confidence for the world's third-largest economy. Looking ahead, large manufacturers expect their business sentiment index to improve by 1 point to plus 14 in the next survey in December, while major non-manufacturers predict a 6-point drop to plus 27. The latest poll was conducted between August 27 and September 30, covering 9,038 companies, of which 99.2 percent responded. Source: Kuwait News Agency