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SARS IMPACT ON SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS SURVEYED

BEIJING - China's SARS outbreak has had a negative impact on the export business of nearly 40% of 551 industrial companies surveyed in China's southern Guangdong province, reports the Dow Jones Newswire. However the results of the survey by the Guangdong provincial government's statistics bureau indicate that the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on Guangdong's export manufacturing sector has been limited, the news service said, quoting the official Xinhua News Agency. The report said a total of 70% of surveyed companies said that SARS won't seriously affect production in the coming quarter. A total of 10% of the companies that reported a dent in exports said that the outbreak had resulted in contraction in their export business of at least 20% in April and May, the report said. About half of the affected companies said that SARS had resulted in reductions in output, sales, orders and profits of less than 10% in the same period. An additional 20% of the affected companies reported a reduction in their April and May output or sales of at least 30%. The survey results reinforce official assurances and macroeconomic indicators that suggest China's outbreak of the potentially-deadly flu-like illness has had a limited impact on the vital Guangdong manufacturing sector. China recorded a 37.3% year-on-year rise in exports in May, defying predictions that SARS would hamper export growth during the height of the outbreak. Major international ocean carrier Maersk Sealand, one of the most active lines in the transpacific route linking the US and the Far East, has also reported little negative impact from SARS on its export traffic from China.

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