Firms more upbeat about prospects

The survey, conducted quarterly, sampled 100 businesses across eight economic sectors including agriculture, mining, manufacturing, trade, hotels and restaurants as well as finance and business services. According to the survey, businesses now expect the economy to record zero growth this year, an improvement from their expectation of a 0.2% contraction in the June edition of the BES. By comparison, the Finance and Economic Development ministry expects 8.9 percent contraction of the economy this year, while the International Monetary Fund has projected a 9.6 percent fall.

With the easing of local and international COVID-19 restrictions and recovery of demand, more firms even in hard hit sectors such as hotels, were more optimistic about their short term prospects, the BES showed.