CONCERNED about falling domestic demand and rising interest rates, a growing number of Japanese investors here are saying their business will do “worse” this month until September this year.
       A survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Office (Jetro) showed that for the month of May, only 19.8 percent of Japanese businessmen here indicated that they expect to do better for the month.
       On the other hand, 35.3 percent of the respondents said they expect their business to be worse and 44.9 percent said their situation would be just the same.
       This gave the Philip pines a diffusion index (DI) of negative 15.5. The DI is the difference between the ratio of positive (“better”) and negative (“worse”) responses.
       In the April Jetro survey, 25.8 percent of Japanese investors gave optimistic responses for their business sentiment for that month while 34.6 percent gave negative answers, translating to a DI of negative 8.8.
       The May survey covered 207 Japanese businessmen here and they were asked to compare earnings prospects, supply and demand, inventory, sales prices and accounts receivable with the same period one year earlier.
       Jetro also surveyed Japanese investors in other countries, and the Philippines was lumped with the Asean 5 along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
       The aim of the survey is to provide up-to-date information on business conditions in the Asian economy to help companies develop more effective business strategies.
       In the business sentiment outlook for the next three months, 22.2 percent of the respondents in the Philippines gave positive answers and 27.5 percent answered negatively, giving the country a DI of negative 5.3—again, down from the April DI of only negative 0.6 percent.
       Overall current business sentiment for the five Asean countries declined 6.1 points over the previous month, with the index remaining in negative territory for the sixth straight month.
       The index for Singapore rose 6.9 points, on the heels of the country’s expanded exports of electric/electronics equipment and booming construction and real-estate sectors, Jetro said.
       Sentiment in the remaining four Asean countries, however, was down, with indices reaching into negative territory in all four countries in May.
       “Depressed sentiment among Japanese firms in the region reflects their growing concern over falling domestic demand. This is viewed as the result of increases in the consumer price index and interest rate rises, accompanied by declining domestic demand in the major countries, as well as a reflection of uncertainty over the political situations in Thailand and Indonesia,” the agency said.