Research Group of Economic Daily – PSBC Small and Micro-sized Enterprise Operating Index

The Economic Daily – PSBC Small and Micro-sized Enterprise Operating Index (SMEOI) (See Fig. 1) reported 44.1 in December 2020, up 0.1 point from the previous month.

Fig. 1 Economic Daily – PSBC SMEOI

Among the eight component indices (see Fig. 2), three indices went up, two remained unchanged, and three went down. Specifically, the market index was 39.5, the same as last month; the purchasing index stood at 42.1, down 0.2 point; the performance index registered 44.2, on a par with that in the previous month; the expansion index rose 0.1 point to 42.8; the confidence index posted 41.1, down 0.2 point; the financing index recorded 52.8, up 0.5 point; the risk index went up by 0.3 point to 48.8; and the cost index closed at 62.5 after a drop of 0.1 point.

Fig. 2 Component Indices of Economic Daily – PSBC SMEOI

Among the six regional indices (See Fig. 3), three indices went up, two remained unchanged, and one went down. Specifically, the North China index stood at 42.0, up 0.1 point; Northeast China index at 41.1, down 0.1 point; East China index at 45.0, on a par with last month; Central & Southern China index at 46.4, up 0.3 point; Southwest China index at 43.6, the same as last month; and Northwest China index at 41.3, up 0.3 point.

Fig. 3 Regional Index

Six out of the seven industry indices went up and the other one went down.

Among the industry indices (See Fig. 4), the indices of all industries other than manufacturing increased to varying extents.

Fig. 4 Comparison of Industry Indices

The index of the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry & fishery reported 43.5 in December, up 0.1 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index, the purchasing index and the performance index rose by 0.1 point, 0.5 point and 0.1 point, to 39.5, 41.4 and 43.7, respectively. Survey shows that micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the industry witnessed an increase of 0.5 point, 0.5 point, and 0.4 point in income from principal business, raw material purchase volume, and raw material inventory, thus driving up the profits and the gross profit margin by 0.2 point and 0.1 point, respectively.

The index of the manufacturing industry reported 45.2 in December, down 0.1 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index, the purchasing index and the performance index fell by 0.3 point, 0.3 point and 0.3 point, to 38.8, 39.3 and 48.1, respectively. Survey shows that MSEs in the industry saw a decrease of 0.3 point, 0.2 point and 0.1 point in order volume, raw material purchase volume and raw material inventory respectively, thus dragging down the profits by 0.5 point.

The index of the construction industry reported 40.7 in December, up 0.1 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index and the purchasing index went up by 0.1 point and 0.4 point to 37.3 and 38.5 respectively, while the performance index fell by 0.2 point to 41.3. Survey shows that MSEs in the industry witnessed a rise of 0.2 point in income from settlement of projects, an increase of 0.5 point in raw material inventory, and a drop of 0.3 point in profits.

The index of the transportation industry reported 43.2 in December, up 0.2 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index went up by 0.4 point to 41.1, the purchasing index fell by 0.4 point to 37.0, and the performance index registered 43.4, the same as the previous month. Survey shows that MSEs in the industry witnessed an increase of 0.5 point and 0.3 point in transportation volume and business order volume, while they lost 0.2 point and 0.4 point in raw material purchase volume and raw material inventory. As a result, their profits went up by 0.2 point, and gross profit margin down by 0.2 point.  

The index of the wholesale & retail industry stood at 45.2 in December, up 0.2 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index rose by 0.3 point to 41.9, the purchasing index fell by 0.5 point to 48.6, and the performance index went up by 0.3 point to 42.2. The trend was evidenced by an increase of 0.3 point and 0.2 point in sales order volume and sales amount, a decrease of 0.7 point in amount of purchase, and a rise of 0.3 point and 0.4 point in profits and gross profit margin.

The index of the accommodation & catering industry reported 39.9 in December, up 0.6 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index, the purchasing index and the performance index rose by 1.0 point, 0.6 point and 1.1 point, to 38.6, 39.0 and 40.1, respectively. MSEs in the industry witnessed an increase of 1.0 point, 0.6 point and 0.5 point in business volume, raw material purchase volume and raw material inventory, respectively, driving up the profits and the gross profit margin by 1.1 point and 0.5 point, respectively.

The index of the service industry reported 41.1 in December, up 0.4 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index, the purchasing index and the performance index rose by 0.5 point, 0.3 point and 0.6 point, to 36.7, 40.8 and 39.2, respectively. MSEs in the industry witnessed an increase of 0.5 point, 0.4 point, 0.1 point and 0.4 point in business volume, business order volume, raw material purchase volume and raw material inventory, respectively, driving up the profits and the gross profit margin by 0.2 point and 0.6 point, respectively.

Three out of the six regional indices went up, two remained unchanged, and one went down.

The North China index reported 42.0 in December, up 0.1 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index was 37.0, up by 0.2 point; the purchasing index 39.5, up 0.4 point; the performance index 42.1, up 0.2 point; the confidence index 38.0, up 0.1 point; the financing index 54.0, up 0.1 point; and the risk index was 47.3, up 0.1 point.

The Northeast China index reported 41.1 in December, down 0.1 point from the previous month. The market index, the purchasing index and the expansion index fell by 0.2 point, 0.2 point and 0.2 point, to 35.0, 41.7 and 39.2, respectively.

The East China index reported 45.0 in December, on a par with that in the previous month. Specifically, the market index recorded 43.1, the same as that in the previous month; the purchasing index edged up 0.1 point to 45.0; the performance index went down by 0.1 point to 45.2; the expansion index was 44.2, on a par with that in the previous month; the confidence index dropped 0.3 point to 41.2; the financing index rose by 0.1 point to 49.2; and the risk index gained 0.2 point and reached 48.5.

The Central & Southern China index reported 46.4 in December, up 0.3 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index was 44.1, up by 0.4 point; the purchasing index 45.8, up 0.3 point; the performance index 44.4, up 0.3 point; the expansion index 44.9, up 0.3 point; the financing index 55.0, up 0.3 point; and the risk index was 47.1, up 0.2 point.

The Southwest China index reported 43.6 in December, on a par with that in the previous month. Specifically, the market index recorded 41.5, the same as that in the previous month; the purchasing index edged up 0.1 point to 44.4; the performance index went down by 0.1 point to 44.1; the expansion index was 43.6, on a par with that in the previous month; the confidence index rose by 0.2 point to 38.4; the financing index increased by 0.1 point to 48.3; and the risk index gained 0.1 point and reached 48.8.

The Northwest China index reported 41.3 in December, up 0.3 point from the previous month. Specifically, the market index was 37.3, up by 0.3 point; the purchasing index 37.0, up 0.3 point; the performance index 43.9, up 0.4 point; the financing index 50.2, up 0.2 point; and the risk index was 48.1, up 3.0 point.

Both the financing demand and the expansion index went up.

The financing index reflecting the financing demand of MSEs (See Fig. 5) edged up 0.5 point to 52.8 in December.

In the month, the financing index of the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry & fishery rose by 0.4 point to 50.5; that of the manufacturing industry went up by 0.5 point to 54.6; that of the construction industry gained 0.6 point and reached 50.5; that of the transportation industry increased by 0.6 point to 51.7; that of the wholesale & retail industry ascended 0.3 point to 52.1; that of the accommodation & catering industry rose by 0.6 point to 47.4; and that of the service industry edged up 0.6 point to 53.8.

The risk index of MSEs (See Fig. 5) rose by 0.3 point to 48.8 in December. To be specific, the risk index of the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry & fishery rose by 0.6 point to 46.4; that of the manufacturing industry went up by 0.2 point to 50.6; that of the construction industry gained 0.3 point and reached 45.6; that of the transportation industry increased by 0.2 point to 44.1; that of the wholesale & retail industry ascended 0.3 point to 51.3; that of the accommodation & catering industry rose by 0.4 point to 42.6; and that of the service industry edged up 0.3 point to 41.0. The survey results show that the working capital turnover index of the six out of the seven industries went up, while that of the other one went down. All of the seven industries other than agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry & fishery generated an accelerated working capital turnover. The payment collection period index of all the seven industries climbed, which means that all of them managed to shorten the payment collection period somewhat.

Fig. 5 Financing Index and Risk Index by Industry

In December, the expansion index rose by 0.1 point and the confidence index went down by 0.2 point, both of which are used to reflect the business expectations of MSEs.

The expansion index of MSEs reported 42.8 in December, up 0.1 point from the previous month. In an industry-specific view, MSEs in all industries other than agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry & fishery, construction and accommodation & catering saw their expansion index going up slightly. Specifically, the expansion index of MSEs in the manufacturing industry was 45.0, up 0.1 point, with the new investment demand rising by 0.4 point; the expansion index of MSEs in the transportation industry was 39.8, up 0.1 point, with the new investment demand rising by 0.2 point and the labor demand rising by 0.1 point; the expansion index of MSEs in the wholesale & retail industry was 44.3, up 0.2 point, with the new investment demand and the labor demand each rising by 0.1 point; the expansion index of MSEs in the service industry was 41.4, up 0.2 point, with the new investment demand increasing by 0.3 point and the labor demand increasing by 0.1 point.

The confidence index of MSEs reported 41.1 in December, down 0.2 point from the previous month. In an industry-specific view, the confidence index of MSEs in manufacturing and accommodation & catering industries edged up while that of the service industry remained unchanged. And all the other four industries saw their confidence index decreasing. To be specific, the confidence index of MSEs in the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry & fishery was 41.8, down 0.6 point; that in the manufacturing industry was 44.7, up 0.4 point; that in the construction industry was 35.0, down 0.3 point; that in the transportation industry was 40.5, down 0.1 point; that in the wholesale & retail industry was 42.3, down 0.3 point; that in the accommodation & catering industry was 33.2, up 0.1 point; and that in the service industry was 33.9, on a par with that in the previous month.

Fig 6. Expansion Index and Confidence Index by Industry

Notes:

All the indicators are positive ones with the value ranging between 0 and 100; the critical point is 50, representing the general status. An index higher than 50 indicates an improving business situation. Otherwise, the business situation gets worse.

The original data of both the risk index and the cost index have been adjusted to positive indicators. The higher the index is, the better the situation is.