South Korean firms' June business outlook remains bleak

Major South Korean companies' business outlook for June stayed below par for the second straight month on concerns that the yen's slide is likely to hurt their earnings, a poll showed Tuesday. An index that gauges larger companies' outlook on business conditions came in at 97.2 for June, down from 99.8 recorded for May, according to the poll of the country's 600 companies in sales by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The sentiment index for March and April stood above the benchmark 100, but it fell below par for the second straight month, indicating that pessimists outnumber optimists. The lobby for the country's large businesses conducted the monthly survey from May 20-24. The FKI said that local companies' bleak outlook came as the yen's weakness is raising concerns about corporate profitability despite the government and the central bank's concerted efforts to stimulate the economy. The yen's slide gives Japanese exporters an upper hand in pricing in overseas markets, putting Korean exporters at a disadvantage. Exports account for about 50 percent of the Korean economy. The index measuring larger companies' assessment of current economic conditions reached 97.6 for May, up from 94.1 tallied for April, it added. The government forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 2.3 percent this year while the Bank of Korea expects the Korean economy to advance 2.6 percent in 2013.