S Korea sees rise in business sentiment for May

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

SEOUL, April 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's business sentiment index for May rose to a one-year high on hopes of economic recovery, an industry survey showed Wednesday.

The monthly business sentiment index, an indicator of companies' outlook for the coming month, hit 103.8 for May, compared with 86.7 for April, according to the survey by Federation of Korean Industries, the nation's top business lobby group.

The May figure is the first time in 11 months that the index rose above 100, which means companies with optimistic views on the economy exceed those with pessimistic forecasts.

The rise in the index comes as corporate earnings are better than earlier expected, the federation said.