The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said that Nigeria’s Business Confidence Index (BCI) declined by 7.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.
In a statement to the media over the weekend in Lagos, the chamber said that its research showed that the drop represented 7.7 per cent slack of confidence level among business operators.
It noted that Business Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2015 has fallen to 22.3 per cent from 30 per cent posted in the fourth quarter of 2014.
It said, “This is the largest quarter-on-quarter point drop of the BCI score over the last three years. Conventionally, movement of the BCI score by up to five points indicates the presence of significant positive or adverse development in the country’s economic/business environment.”
The BCI is a leading economic indicator designed to measure the degree of optimism on the state of the economy expressed by business leaders through their activities.
The BCI survey covered 180 top business executives in 162 companies over the period.
The statement said that for years, Nigeria’s BCI scores continues to trail below the 50 per cent global business confidence threshold due to lingering infrastructural and institutional shortcomings.
According to LCCI, the decline of the BCI scores indicated that business leaders were pessimistic about expanding their business and investment spending over the next few months.
It said that the factors responsible for the slack were the uncertainty surrounding the 2015 general elections, falling crude oil price and the volatile exchange rate, which had depreciated the local currency.
According to the statement, players in the professional business services sector were concerned about the delayed approval of the 2015 draft budget.
“Uncertainty relating to approval and contents of the 2015 budget, security challenges, regulatory issues and 2015 elections tops the concerns of players in the IT/Telecoms sector.
“For the trade sector, declining patronage due to weak consumer demand, depreciation of the naira, e-trade platforms and rising cost of goods and services are the concerns.”
The statement added that business leaders in the financial services sector were concerned about the macro-economic fluctuations due to the general elections. (Leadership)
In a statement to the media over the weekend in Lagos, the chamber said that its research showed that the drop represented 7.7 per cent slack of confidence level among business operators.
It noted that Business Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2015 has fallen to 22.3 per cent from 30 per cent posted in the fourth quarter of 2014.
It said, “This is the largest quarter-on-quarter point drop of the BCI score over the last three years. Conventionally, movement of the BCI score by up to five points indicates the presence of significant positive or adverse development in the country’s economic/business environment.”
The BCI is a leading economic indicator designed to measure the degree of optimism on the state of the economy expressed by business leaders through their activities.
The BCI survey covered 180 top business executives in 162 companies over the period.
The statement said that for years, Nigeria’s BCI scores continues to trail below the 50 per cent global business confidence threshold due to lingering infrastructural and institutional shortcomings.
According to LCCI, the decline of the BCI scores indicated that business leaders were pessimistic about expanding their business and investment spending over the next few months.
It said that the factors responsible for the slack were the uncertainty surrounding the 2015 general elections, falling crude oil price and the volatile exchange rate, which had depreciated the local currency.
According to the statement, players in the professional business services sector were concerned about the delayed approval of the 2015 draft budget.
“Uncertainty relating to approval and contents of the 2015 budget, security challenges, regulatory issues and 2015 elections tops the concerns of players in the IT/Telecoms sector.
“For the trade sector, declining patronage due to weak consumer demand, depreciation of the naira, e-trade platforms and rising cost of goods and services are the concerns.”
The statement added that business leaders in the financial services sector were concerned about the macro-economic fluctuations due to the general elections. (Leadership)
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