The business sentiment that had worsened last month improved again this month. Manufacturing performance was sluggish, but nonmanufacturing conditions improved, led by real estate and information and communications.
According to the "February Business Survey Results and Economic Sentiment Index (ESI)" that the Bank of Korea released on the 25th, this month's all-industry Corporate Business Survey Index (CBSI) rose 0.2 points (p) from the previous month to 94.2. The CBSI had risen for two straight months from Nov. last year (+1.5p, 92.6) before falling last month (-0.2p, 94), then rose again this month.
The CBSI is a sentiment indicator compiled from five key manufacturing and four key nonmanufacturing indicators within the Business Survey Index (BSI). The long-term average (January 2003–December 2025) is set as the reference value of 100; above 100 indicates more optimism than the long-term average, and below 100 indicates pessimism.
This increase was led by nonmanufacturing. The nonmanufacturing CBSI came in at 92.2, up 0.5p from the previous month. Profitability (-0.5p) deteriorated, but funding conditions (+1p) improved significantly, lifting the index. The nonmanufacturing CBSI also rebounded this month after a 2.1p drop last month.
The Bank of Korea said, "Nonmanufacturing performance improved, led by real estate and information and communications," noting, "Real estate reflects expectations of increased apartment presales volume, and information and communications reflects the impact of expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure."
By contrast, the manufacturing CBSI fell for the first time in four months, coming in at 97.1, down 0.4p from the previous month. Production (-0.4p), new orders (-0.4p) and funding conditions (-0.4p) led the decline.
The March CBSI outlook was found at 97.6, up 6.6p from the previous month. Outlooks improved for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing. The manufacturing outlook came in at 98.9, up 3.9p from the previous month, while nonmanufacturing was tallied at 96.8, up 8.4p.
Meanwhile, the February Economic Sentiment Index (ESI), which combines the Business Survey Index (BSI) and the Consumer Survey Index (CSI), rose 4.8p from the previous month to 98.8. The ESI cyclical component, which removes seasonal and irregular fluctuations, rose 0.8p from the previous month to 97.2.