Merchantec Q2 Index registers CEO confidence ‘crisis’

19th June 2017

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

The prospects of growth for the second half of 2017 are looking slim as CEOs suffered a confidence “crisis” in the second quarter of the year.

The latest Merchantec CEO Confidence Index shows that CEO confidence has been shaken by political instability, ratings downgrades, ineffective broad-based black economic empowerment policies and tax increases.

The index, released on Monday, recorded a 24.75% quarter-on-quarter slump in CEO confidence to a second-quarter score of 38.7% – persisting well below the neutral 50-point mark.

“A number of CEOs have adopted the wait and see approach and are in survival mode; they feel the International Monetary Fund forecast of 1% growth is a bit bold considering the current economic climate,” the index outlined.

The survey found that, overall, expectations for economic growth decreased 40.4%, accompanied by 25.7% and 23.3% decreases in industry growth expectations and the the ability to secure debt or equity respectively.

While CEOs across all six industry sectors believe current economic conditions in South Africa are on the downturn, the basic resources sector was hardest hit, plunging 41.8% to an all-time low of 31.67.

“The decrease in overall confidence was driven by decreases in contributing individual components of the index, mainly a 53.2% decrease in planned levels of investment and a 52.6% decrease in economic conditions,” the index highlighted.

The consumer goods sector had decreased by 20.6%, while the financials sector recorded a decrease in confidence of 23.1% in the second quarter of 2017.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

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?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION