China's SMEs development index continues to pick up

An employee of an engine manufacturer works on a production line in Tangshan, Hebei province, in September. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported improved business performance in April, an industry index showed Thursday.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index, based on a survey of 3,000 SMEs from eight major industries, came in at 89.4 in April, up 0.1 points from the previous month, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said.

The figure, although still lower than the boom-and-bust line of 100, was higher than the same period in 2022 and 2023, the association said in a report.

The sub-index for construction, transportation, post and storage industries, retail and wholesale industry, social services as well as information transmission, computer services, and software sectors all expanded compared with the previous month, while that for accommodation and catering remained flat.

The data also showed that the financing and labor force sub-indexes were above 100 last month.