Standard Chartered: China's SME confidence index maintains the second highest level since the outbreak

　　China News Service, Beijing, July 1 (Reporter Wang Enbo) Standard Chartered Bank released the June China SME Confidence Index, which was the same as May at 54.4, the second highest level since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia.

Standard Chartered said that the business activities of China's SMEs remained stable that month, and the recovery of various industries became more balanced.

　　The survey was conducted for more than 500 small and medium-sized enterprises in China.

In terms of sub-indices, in June, the SME "business status" index fell slightly from 55.3 in May to 54.9, but it was still higher than all monthly data from the outbreak (February last year) to the first quarter of this year.

In the same month, the "expectations for the next three months" index rose by 0.4 percentage points from May to 55.2. All sub-indices showed that SMEs' confidence in the prospects for new domestic orders has further improved.

　　The survey also showed that the growth and recovery of enterprises in various industries has become more balanced.

According to industry data, dragged down by the slowdown in labor-intensive manufacturing (export-related), manufacturing operations in June further slowed down.

At the same time, the operation of SMEs in the service industry has continued to recover steadily. The hotel and catering industry has gradually fallen back to normal levels after the “May 1st” small holiday. The recovery of the real estate industry, IT industry and business service industry has further accelerated.

　　In June, the financial condition index of SMEs remained unchanged at 53.0 compared with the previous month; the index of "access to bank credit" fell from 60.1 in May to 59.6, maintaining a relatively high level, indicating that banks still support SME lending activities.

That month, the proportion of SMEs surveyed who expect the RMB to appreciate against the U.S. dollar rose from 15.0% in May to 27.1%, the highest level since January 2019.

　　It is worth noting that in the context of the recent rise in international commodity prices, the survey results show that some small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises are concerned about the price trend of raw materials and worry about rising input prices or squeezing corporate profit margins.

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