Weak domestic market erodes business confidence - survey

According to the Business Expectation Survey (BES), businesses in Botswana are more bearish about their prospects, with the confidence indicator for the first half of 2012 standing at 51 percent, three points lower than last year's survey result in the second half of 2011.

"The overall business confidence in the current period is 51 percent. While this is three percentage points lower compared to the previous period, the September 2011 survey had projected a fall of broadly this magnitude, and appears consistent with the prevailing economic environment, including expectations of lower levels of profitability. There is some expectation of a modest recovery in confidence over the rest of the survey period as the confidence level rises to 55 percent," reads the report.