Biz sentiment improves for March on eased uncertainties: poll

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's business sentiment improved for March on decreased economic uncertainty, with more companies expecting a recovery down the road, a poll showed Wednesday.

The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 109.2 for next month, up 19.1 points from February, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement.

"The business index got a boost from expectations that the rollout of new coronavirus vaccines and recovery in global demand will ease economic uncertainties," the statement said.

The business index exceeded 100 for the first time in 34 months after it marked over 100 in May 2018, the statement said.

A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a figure below the benchmark means the opposite.

The performance BSI for February stood at 98, up 1.9 points from the previous month, said KERI, the research arm of the country's major business lobby Federation of Korean Industries.

KERI said 393 out of the 600 companies responded to the survey, which was taken from Feb. 15-19.

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