Subdued economy batters business confidence :: Mmegi Online

The level of optimism among businesses continues to deteriorate as the economy battles to recover from last year’s negative economic growth rate. In a Business Expectation Survey (BES) report released this week, the Bank of Botswana (BoB) says overall business confidence as measured by the Business Confidence Index (BCI) deteriorated from 44% in September last year to 36% in March 2016.

“The overall confidence in the prevailing business conditions is at 36%, eight percentage points lower than the level that prevailed during the September 2015 survey.

“This was considerably lower than the 45% expected for this period at the time of the previous survey, a clear indication that expectations have been revised downwards. The continued subdued level of confidence possibly reflects the recurring water shortages in the greater Gaborone area as well as the continuing risk of power outages,” stated the central bank. The BCI value varies from zero to 100, with zero indicating extreme lack of confidence, while 100 indicates extreme confidence.

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