SA’s low business confidence raises pressure on battered economy
Business as gloomy as when SP Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings cut country’s debt to subinvestment grade
Business confidence is at its lowest level since SA plunged into junk status in the second quarter of last year. This will increase pressure on the battered economy. The business confidence index, compiled quarterly by Rand Merchant Bank and Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research, plummeted in the fourth quarter to 31 points from 34 points in the third quarter and 69% of businesses surveyed found conditions unsatisfactory.
Business confidence soared to 44 in the first quarter with Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as ANC president. However, the index has remained below the 50-point neutral mark for 15 quarters running. This means business is as gloomy as it was when former president Jacob Zuma fired Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, which saw S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings cut the country’s debt to subinvestment grade...
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