A new survey finds that the gap in business sentiment between export-oriented companies and locally geared firms widened sharply this year.
 
According to the Bank of Korea on Monday, the business survey index(BSI) of exporting firms in August stood at 84, or nine points higher than the BSI of domestic demand-oriented firms. The difference in the two companies’ indices had stood at five points in April, ten points in May, eleven in June and ten in July.
 
A BSI reading over 100 means that those optimistic about economic conditions outnumber pessimists. 
 
Among the companies it surveyed, the central bank classified some 18-hundred manufacturers as either export-oriented firms or locally geared companies.
 
In export-oriented companies, exports take up more than half of total sales while in domestic demand-oriented firms, exports account for less than half of sales.
 
Exporting firms largely consisted of electronics firms and shipbuilding companies while locally geared firms included food and beverage manufacturers as well as wood and lumber companies.