Japan's big manufacturers showed more optimism about economic conditions in the October-December quarter, a government survey showed.
The business survey index, or BSI, of sentiment among large manufacturers stood at plus 9.7, up from plus 9.4 in July-September, a joint survey by the Ministry of Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute showed Dec. 11.
Business sentiment at large non-manufacturing companies also improved to plus 4.5 in the Oct-Dec period from plus 2.9 in the prior three months.
Large manufacturing companies, as defined in the survey, are corporations with capital of ¥1 billion or more.
The optimistic mood coincided with the release of a report that Japan's GDP rose an annualized 2.5% in July-September for the seventh straight quarter of growth. Capital spending was a key driver to the growth.
The survey said big manufacturers plan to increase capital spending by 10.7% in the current half of the fiscal year ending in March, up from the previous projection of an 8.9% increase, Reuters reported.
The BSI measures the percentage of companies that expect business conditions to improve from the previous quarter minus the percentage that expect conditions to decline.
As of Dec. 08, US$1 was equivalent to ¥113.53.
