China's Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index rises in Q1 2024

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index (SMEDI), which was calculated based on a survey of 3,000 SMEs, registered at 89.3 in the first quarter of 2024, up 0.2 percentage points than that of the fourth quarter last year, according to the results released by the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CASME) on Tuesday.

China Central Television quoted Ma Bin, executive vice-president of the association, as saying that the index's improvement has been supported by the continuous efforts of small and medium enterprises to resume their production activities after the Spring Festival, along with increased supportive policies rolled out by governments.

"The operating rate of enterprises rebounded significantly after the Spring Festival. The number of enterprises with full operation at the end of March increased by 15 percentage points month on month. Second, after the 'two sessions', a series of policy combinations to stabilise growth and benefit people's livelihood have been launched, boosting corporate confidence," said Ma.

In the first quarter, all sub-indexes of the China SME Development Index increased, with the market index and funding index both rising by 0.3 points, marking the largest increase. These indicated that the market expectations and financing conditions of SMEs have improved significantly.

The survey also showed that among the eight major industries of the national economy, the domestic order index of five industries, the input index of five industries, and the sales price index of four industries all increased.