PBOC survey: China’s business profitability improves in Q2

This Dec 9, 2011 photo shows the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, China’s central bank, in Beijing. (LIU JIN / AFP)

BEIJING – Profitability of Chinese enterprises improved in the second quarter of the year, a central bank survey showed.

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

The profitability index stood 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.

ALSO READ: China's two policy banks to raise 300b yuan for major projects

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

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

ALSO READ: PBOC stresses importance of support for real economy

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