| B.S.P. POLL SHOWS CONFIDENCE INDEX NEARLY DOUBLE |
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| By Jun Vallecera |
| Reporter |
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| THE central bank’s business expectations survey, which helps the Monetary Board craft monetary policy, again showed a bullish outlook for the first quarter with the business confidence index standing at 44.9 percent, almost double the year-ago index of 23.4 percent. Business expectations for the second quarter were even more bullish with the index at 49.4 percent, the highest since the start of the survey in 2001. Businessmen based in the National Capital Region—that for the first time includes all 17 regions after the remaining four regions were included—were the most optimistic. Greater business opportunities in the run-up to the May elections the improvement in such macro numbers as low inflation, stronger peso, lower interest rates, stronger fiscal sector, the increase in consumer demand, and the rollback in oil prices fed the optimism. Business activity has been picking up this quarter and access to loans and financial conditions are improving, the survey found. Employment is also on the way to moving, particularly in the services sector where hotels, restaurants and the rental business are involved. More firms than before indicated that capacity utilization, where the index stood at 75 percent for years, now posted a confidence index of 83.1 percent. The number of industries expressing plans for expansion increased to 27.2 percent. The survey said the downsides include increasing competition as a major restraint, followed by low demand, access to credit, unclear economic laws and the interest rate regime that, while trending down, remains a cause for concern. The survey also said the greater number of businessmen expects the local currency to continue to appreciate, for inflation to drift lower, and for interest rates to remain similarly low and stable. |
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0302&032007/headlines07.html
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