Profitability of Chinese enterprises improves in second quarter

The LIU JIN AFP BEIJING - Profitability of Chinese enterprises improved in the second quarter of the year, according to a central bank survey.

Some 31.6 percent said they believe they earned more profits or pared losses in the April-June period, while 39.3 percent said their profits or losses remained unchanged from the first quarter.

The profitability index was at 51.2 percent in the second quarter, up 2 percentage points from the previous quarter, staying above the 50-mark separating expansion from contraction, according to the People's Bank of China.

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Some 31.6 percent of the surveyed enterprises believe they earned more profits or pared losses in the April-June period, while 39.3 percent said profits or losses of their firms remained unchanged from the first quarter.

The business climate index fell to 48.7 percent from 53.4 percent in the previous quarter. Over 60 percent of the entrepreneurs said conditions were moderate, while 17 percent said business operations were good, according to the survey.

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Over 5,000 industrial enterprises are surveyed across the country except for the autonomous region of Tibet in the quarterly assessment conducted by the central bank. It contains questions about the production, cost-effectiveness and investment of enterprises.