tokyo jan 4 reuters  asias factory activity grew in december as companies took rising global cases of the new omicron coronavirus variant in stride though persistent supply constraints and rising input costs clouded the outlook for some economies the rising rate of global infections have raised eyebrows among policymakers with outbreaks in china forcing some firms to suspend production and threatening to disrupt output for memory chip giants like samsung electronics 005930ks read more for now however the direct hit from omicron on output appeared subdued according to surveys released on monday and tuesday chinas factory activity grew at its fastest pace in six months in december the caixinmarkit manufacturing purchasing managers index pmi showed earlier in the day read more the findings from the private survey which focuses more on small firms in coastal regions tally with those in chinas official pmi that pointed to an uptick in factory activity read more other parts of asia also fared well with factory activity expanding in countries ranging from vietnam malaysia and the philippines manufacturing pmis and timely trade data reveal that asias exportfocussed industry gained momentum at the turn of the year said alex holmes emerging asia economist at capital economics while the omicron variant presents a key threat to the outlook it is unlikely to cause nearly as much disruption to industry as delta did in q3 he said in japan the worlds thirdbiggest economy manufacturing activity in december grew for an 11th straight month and bellwether exporter south korea saw its main factories gauge enjoy the fastest pace of expansion in three months the surveys showed we expect asias exports and capex upswing to be sustained by continued global recovery and asias manufacturing pmis will remain moderately strong over the coming months analysts at morgan stanley wrote in a research note some economists however warned that supply shortages and rising input costs remain risks particularly for exportreliant countries like south korea given south koreas prominence in the automotive and electronics industries substantial improvements in global supply chains will be required before we see a meaningful acceleration in manufacturing growth said joe hayes senior economist at ihs markit japans pmi stood at 543 in december remaining above the 50mark threshold that indicates expansion in activity but lower than novembers 545 as new order growth softened read more south koreas pmi rose to 519 from 509 in november to mark the 15th consecutive month of expansion as rising domestic demand offset sluggish overseas sales read more indias manufacturing activity continued to expand in december though at a slower pace than in november as elevated price pressures remained a concern read more the omicron variant poses nearterm growth risks by delaying the consumption recovery but higher vaccination rates in asia could help limit the damage to growth as compared to the delta wave morgan stanley analysts said