Wednesday, 23 Dec 2020 01:10 PM MYT
The outlook for Asian companies in the next six months tracked by the Thomson Reuters/Insead Asian Business Sentiment Index jumped to 62 this quarter from 53 in the third quarter. “Things are getting better but they are getting better with still a dose of uncertainty. The effect of the crisis is very different across sectors,” he added, noting the weakness in the transport sector due to curbs on global travel.
Some Asian countries are still running their own late-stage trials of vaccines, while others are allowing time to check for any side effects in people inoculated elsewhere. The coronavirus pandemic has brought on the worst global economic slowdown since the Great Depression, with millions of jobs lost and industries brought to their knees.
According to the Thomson Reuters Insead survey, some 44 per cent of the companies polled in the fourth quarter were positive about their outlook for the next six months, up sharply from 28 per cent in the third quarter and nearly 8 per cent in the second.