China's entrepreneurs' confidence index dropped 0.6 points from the first quarter to 132.5 points in the second quarter, said a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

The index result was based on a survey of 19,500 enterprises nationwide. It is compiled on the basis of the understanding, views, judgement and expectation of the entrepreneurs concerning the external environment of the market economy and the macro policy, and reflects the feeling and confidence of the entrepreneurs in the macro economic environment.

The second quarter confidence index was also up 4.0 points from the same period last year, said the report.

The NBS survey revealed the confidence index of entrepreneurs in large firms jumped 3.3 points to 146.9 points from the previous quarter, while those of the medium-sized and small firms fell 3.0 and 3.5 points respectively to 125.4 and 116.9 points.

It also showed that the enterpreneurs' confidence index for manufacture and service sectors grew 1.5 and 1.4 points respectively to 129.7 and 135.3 points from the first quarter, while the index for other sectors all fell in the second quarter over the previous one.

The enterpreneurs' confidence index for the real estate sector dropped 3.3 points from the previous quarter to 157.5 points in the second quarter.

Compared with the same period last year, however, the confidence index did not grow in the sectors of mining, transport, postal service, information transmission and computer service and software.

The report also showed that the confidence index of entrepreneurs in overseas-invested companies maintained the level of the previous quarter, while the confidence index in state-owned enterprises and collective-owned companies fell 3.8 and 3.5 points to 131.2 and 115.5 points respectively in the second quarter.

The confidence index in private companies fell 2.4 points to 127.1 points in the second quarter compared with the prevlous quarter, according to the report.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2006)