Consequently, corporate and household sentiment remains cautious, and a recovery has not been observed in private demand. With the implementation of the government’s comprehensive economic stimulus package and recently launched emergency economic measures, the economy is likely to be underpinned mainly by public investment towards [= during? ]the first half of fiscal 1999.
Furthermore, the Bank’s monetary and financial measures and the government’s measures to alleviate the credit crunch are expected to take effect gradually. Nevertheless, an immediate self-sustained recovery in private demand is hardly expected since corporate profits and household income are deteriorating and the constraints from corporate finance are likely to persist for some time, owing to cautious lending attitudes of private banks.