Business confidence of Japan's large companies decreased further to a new low in the first quarter of 2009 due to shrinking domestic and external demand amid the global financial meltdown, said a government poll on Monday.

In the January-March quarter, the business confidence index for large manufacturers fell further from minus 44.5 in the previous quarter to hit a record-low of minus 66.0, according to a joint survey conducted by the Cabinet Office and Finance Ministry.

The confidence index for large nonmanufacturers sank from minus 30.5 to a new low of minus 42.6, said the poll.

Meanwhile, the index of business conditions at companies capitalized at 1 billion yen or more also saw a 15.6 points drop from minus 35.7 in the October-December quarter to minus 51.3 on an all-industry basis, while that for small companies capitalized between 10 million yen and 100 million yen dipped from minus 40.7 to a new record low of minus 52.9.

Examining 14,125 companies, the joint government survey, which was conducted on Feb. 25, received responses from 79.2 percent of the polled.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2009)