Companies' capital spending rose 16.6 percent in the April-June quarter on an all-industry basis from a year earlier, marking the sharpest expansion since comparative data became available in July-September 2002, according to a Finance Ministry survey released Monday.
Nonmanufacturers spent 17.9 percent more on plant and equipment costs than they did a year earlier, also posting the sharpest-ever increase, while manufacturers spent 14.1 percent more, the quarterly survey showed.
Corporate investment excluding financial and insurance companies marked the 13th consecutive year-on-year quarterly expansion, underlining its role as a major force behind the private demand-led economic recovery.