So far, the advance has been led primarily by manufacturing industries such as electric machinery, but the rising trend has expanded to other industries as well. The outlook for business investment is expected to remain robust for the time being mainly in manufacturing industries, as machinery orders, a leading indicator, have continued their upturn in the second half of last year. Housing investment is in a weak tone Housing investment had generally remained at an annual rate of about 1.2 million units since 1999, but are in a weak tone in recent months. After posting a decline for two consecutive months in January and February, housing investment in March stood at an annual rate of 1.207 million units due to a sharp increase in the number of condominium starts. Furthermore, the number of applications for Housing Loan Corp. loans has been declining, a factor that may decrease housing starts in the near future.
Public investment is sluggish as a whole.
Public investment remains generally stagnant, such as contracted public works orders that have continued to fall below the previous-year levels since June 2000. Looking at the movements of public works-related budget in fiscal 2000, as the national budget of the preceding year was at a high level, the revised budget was smaller than the level of the preceding year. As for local governments, the trend to curb investment expenses has continued due to severe financial conditions. Exports are decreasing. Imports remain broadly flat.