Business confidence slips in March
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Business Confidence Index (BCI) decreased by 3.7 index points month-on-month to 89.1 in March.
The BCI was 3.6 index points lower than the 92.7 recorded in March 2014 and averaged at 90.4 in the first quarter of this year, compared with an average 89.3 in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 91.7 in the first quarter of last year.
Sacci stated that the current economic situa- tion was not supportive of a restored business mood, despite the 2015 first-quarter BCI implying improved business confidence, compared with the end of 2014.
Only one of the six financial subindices was positive month-on-month in March, compared with three in February. Two of the seven physical activity subindices recorded positive month-on-month changes in March, compared with four in February. A further three subindices recorded negative month-on-month changes, while two remained unchanged.
Nine of the thirteen subindices making up the Sacci BCI turned negative over the 12 months to March. Real activities, such as manufacturing, exports, vehicle sales, retail sales and building construction pulled the BCI down during the month.
Negative events had impeded the South African economy and business environment last year and were continuing to threaten to further adversely impact on the economy this year and beyond.
The prospect of labour strikes and work stoppages was causing uncertainty among business, while the performance of the global economy was hindering the export avenue.
The underperformance of some of its fellow Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or Brics, partners, most notably Brazil and Russia, was also impeding South Africa’s economic performance.
Issues surrounding property rights and foreign-owned investment would have a detrimental impact on investment decisions – particularly foreign investment – and could jeopardise future economic growth.
The poor savings effort in South Africa made foreign investment an imperative if growth was to remain a priority. Sacci stated that, “loose ends must be tightened to nurture business confidence among local and foreign business before further momentum is lost”.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation