Asian business sentiment plunges to record low

People line up to get a nucleic acid test at a sport center after a spike of cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

SINGAPORE: Business sentiment of Asian companies sank to an 11-year low in the second quarter, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey found, with some two-thirds of the firms polled flagging a worsening COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest risk over the next six months.

While the pandemic's initial impact was reflected in the March survey, confidence during the June quarter fell by a third to 35, only the second time the Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index has slumped below 50 since the survey began in the second quarter of 2009.