The business outlook of top South Korean companies leapt to its highest in nearly 5 years, buoyed by robust exports, rising corporate investment and booming stock markets, a private survey showed on Sunday.
The business survey index for August rose to 113.4 from a revised 108.2 for July and 107.0 in the preceding month, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country's top business lobby group, said in a statement. The reading was the strongest since 114.6 in September 2002 and marked its fifth monthly advance in a row.
"Expectations for economic revival have been spreading with brisk exports, rising investment and recovering domestic spending as well as strong stock markets," the statement added.
"Along with a series of orders for shipbuilding and overseas plant construction, the bright prospects for semiconductor, automobile and service industries for the second half are providing a big boost to the optimistic view." The index was based on a survey of South Korea's 600 big companies by annual sales.
It comes after the South Korean economy grew at a faster-than-expected 1.7 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter on strong exports, and ratings agency Moody's Investors Service upgraded the country's credit ratings.