China's SME index edges up to 89 in October

China's Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index (SMEDI) increased 0.3 points month-on-month to 89 in October, witnessing the highest jump since the beginning of this year, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said on Monday.

The overall rate of operation for enterprises increased, with 40.2 percent of enterprises starting operation fully in October, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous month.

The proportion of enterprises with the rate of operation ranging from 75 to 100 percent registered 14.2 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month.

In the same period, the macroeconomic sentiment index, the cost index, the labor index, the input index and the profitability index changed upwards from the downward trend, rising by 0.6, 0.5, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.2 points respectively, compared to the previous month.

In terms of the industry index, six industries noted an increase while two decreased. The six increased indexes are industrial, construction, transportation, real estate, social services, accommodation and catering industries.

The wholesale and retail indexes, as well as for the information transmission software industry, decreased by 0.1 and 0.3 points respectively, in October.

The indexes indicate that China's small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to operate and develop better, the market demand is recovering and the capital situation of enterprises is improving.

Meanwhile, the indexes also showed that the supply and demand of labor is rising in China, with recovering investment willingness of enterprises, the rising cost of enterprises, and the steady improvement of corporate profitability.

The SMEDI is a composite index that reflects the economic performance of small and medium-sized enterprises.