Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Q1 Asian Business Sentiment Survey - by sector

REUTERS - Business sentiment at Asia's top companies remained upbeat at the start of 2015 with property developers reporting the brightest prospects and expressing enough optimism to diminish the impact of a supply glut in China. Financial institutions again had the least positive business outlook, but were buoyant enough to exceed a score of 50 - the break-even point between optimists and pessimists. The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index, representing the six-month outlook at 111 respondents, was 71 for the first quarter of 2015 versus 72 in the previous three months. PROPERTY: SURVEY'S MOST OPTIMISTIC AT 88 VS 87 IN Q4 Sentiment among property developers hit its highest since the third quarter of 2013, with 75 percent of respondents having positive outlooks. Chinese companies extended their neutral expectations amid a glut of housing supply, though their new orders picked up from the previous three months. RETAIL: ALMOST UNCHANGED AT 82 VS 83 IN Q4 Optimism among retailers eased incrementally from the fourth quarter, when their index hit its highest since the survey began in 2009. Seven of 11 respondents, which included Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co Ltd, had positive outlooks, with more employment at six versus five whose staffing was unchanged. DRUGS: NEAR 3-YEAR HIGH AT 81 VS 70 IN Q4 Sentiment at drugmakers jumped to a level unseen in almost three years with outlooks positive at five of eight respondents, which featured India's second-biggest drugmaker by market value, Lupin Ltd. Half booked an increase in new orders, but just one company increased staffing. FOOD: FEAR OF RISING COSTS LEFT INDEX AT 80 VS 81 IN Q4 Rising costs amounted to the most common concern among food firms, whose optimism edged down from what was the most bullish result since early 2013. Respondents included Japanese brewers Asahi Group Holdings Ltd and Kirin Holdings Co Ltd. BUILDING: SENTIMENT DROPS TO 79 VS 100 IN Q4 Sentiment among building firms dropped from the last quarter, with those from South Korea and Australia - including the world's top fibre cement products maker, James Hardie Industries PLC - flagging concerns about global economic uncertainty. RESOURCES: ONE-YEAR LOW AT 67 VS 74 IN Q4 The outlook for firms in the resources sector fell to a one-year low, with just seven of 21 respondents expressing optimism, versus 10 in the previous quarter. More than half of respondents singled out global economic uncertainty as their biggest fear, while some put rising costs at the top of their risk list. TECH: SMALL REVIVAL AT 64 VS 58 IN Q4 Sentiment edged up from a two-year low as 39 percent of respondents had positive outlooks, versus 38 percent last time, with two-thirds fretting over global economic uncertainty. Respondents included Japan's Canon Inc, the world's biggest camera maker, which made a $2.8 billion offer for network video surveillance leader Axis AB last month. [ID:nL4N0W52JH] SHIPPING: NEARLY NEUTRAL AT 58 VS 50 IN Q4 Most shippers attributed their neutral business outlook to global economic uncertainty, while just one firm was positive, having hired new staff during the quarter and posting a rise in new orders. Respondents included South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, the world's top shipbuilder. AUTOS: OPTIMISM LOWEST IN A YEAR AT 57 VS 75 IN Q4 Automakers were the least positive in a year as global economic uncertainty clouded the outlook at six of seven respondents, while just one respondent reported new hires. FINANCIALS: LEAST POSITIVE AGAIN AT 55 VS 50 IN Q4 Global economic uncertainty remained the key risk for a mostly neutral outlook among Asian financial companies, with two positive outlooks ensuring the sector avoided a third straight reading of 50. Of the respondents - which included Taiwan's Yuanta Financial Holdings Co Ltd - four booked new orders, five reported no change and two said new orders fell. (Writing by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Christopher Cushing)