Photo by: Duane Daws
The Merchantec CEO Confidence Index saw a record decrease in CEO confidence to 41 points in the fourth quarter of this year, the lowest score recorded since its inception in the second quarter of 2009.
This was also the fourth consecutive quarter in which the confidence of CEOs had dropped, resulting in a negative outlook for 2016.
The loss of CEO confidence in South Africa was represented across all sectors including basic resources, industrials, financials, information and communication technology, consumer goods and consumer services.
Confidence relating to the current economic conditions dropped from a score of 30.64 points to 29.13 points, with the largest decrease demonstrated by CEOs in the financials sector, while the technology sector had the largest increase at 44.3%.
South African CEOs saw the current economic conditions in the country as moderately worse compared to six months ago. On average, CEOs were expecting growth in their industry to decline this year, while growth expectations for their companies were forecast to remain unchanged.
The confidence levels of the majority of CEOs with regards to obtaining debt/equity capital and planned levels of investment remained constant.