S. Korea's May business sentiment hits 1-year high

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's business sentiment index reached a
one-year high in May on expectations that the economy may have bottomed out, an
industry survey showed Wednesday.

The monthly business survey index, an indicator of companies' outlook for the
coming month, was 103.8 in May, compared with 86.7 in April, the Federation of
Korean Industries said in a statement.
The figure marks the first time in 11 months that the index recorded a reading
above 100 and the highest level since May 2008, when it stood at 104.7.
"The May index came as corporate earnings were better than expected this month,"
the federation said in the statement.
A reading above 100 means companies expecting the economy to improve outnumber
those forecasting a decline.
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