An index of the operational health of China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rose sharply in the first quarter, on the back of a package of stimulus policy measures.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index (SMEDI), which was calculated based on a survey of 3,000 SMEs, edged up 1.3 points to 89.3 in the first quarter, marking the highest increase since the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the results released by the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CASME) on Sunday.
The gauges of the eight industries included in the survey climbed in the first quarter, with the accommodation and catering sector, transportation, and computer software logging the biggest improvement. Meanwhile, eight sub-indexes also jumped, including business efficiency, market, and operations, said the CASME.
Xie Ji, secretary-general of the CASME said the improvement in the first quarter was due to the gradual resumption of production and stronger policy support.
“Fifty-six percent of companies were operating at over 75 percent capacity in the first quarter, up 25 percentage points to a one-year high,” Xie said.
The survey by the CASME also shows that since the second half of last year, the country has increased investment in key projects, which has brought new development opportunities to SMEs in the industrial chain and enhanced their confidence.
“In the first quarter, the production and operation of enterprises, economic benefits, and market conditions have been improved. Especially, the enterprise confidence index has risen sharply, which has laid a good foundation for future development,” said Xie, noting that it is expected that the second quarter will maintain a positive economic growth rate.
