French manufacturing industry investments to rise by five percent in 2010

In July, business leaders in the French manufacturing industry forecast a rebound of five percent in their investments for 2010 compared to 2009, according to France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE).
 
The rebound in investment is expected to be particularly important in the sector of electrical, electronic equipment and machine equipment (+11 percent in 2010 after -25 percent in 2009). The rebound would be also noticeable in the sector of ‘other manufacturing' (+6 percent after -27 percent), including manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products. Investments are also expected to rise in the manufacture of transport equipment (+2 percent after -14 percent).
 
Meanwhile, for the first half of 2010, business leaders in the French manufacturing industry state that investments increased in H1 2010 comparatively to H2 2009, contrary to their forecasts in January. For the second half of 2010, they anticipate that investment will grow compared to the first half of this year.