Asian factory activity expands in May on robust global demand

TOKYO: Asian factory activity expanded in May as manufacturers benefited from broadening global demand, private surveys show, adding to hopes for sustained economic recovery in the region where China is showing early signs of rebound.

Manufacturing activity expanded in Japan for the first time in a year and in South Korea at the fastest pace in two years, due in part to hints of a pick-up in the automobile and semiconductor sectors, the surveys showed.