South African business sentiment dropped to a one-year low in September as economic activity continued to be hamstrung by restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic and unease persisted following deadly riots in July.<\/p>\n
A confidence index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) dropped to 91, from 91.9 in August, the group said Monday in an emailed statement. While that\u2019s the lowest since September 2020, the average for the first nine months of the year was 9.8 index points higher than a year earlier as conditions normalized.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe present business climate appears to have leveled out, with the business confidence index maintaining pre-Covid-19 levels,\u201d it said. \u201cCompared to a year ago when the business climate was still on its initial recovery path, the September 2021 level of the business confidence index reflects a much-improved business climate despite the lagged effects of the July 2021 disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Africa\u2019s most industrialized economy continues to benefit from a windfall as result of high international commodity prices, it is \u201cimperative\u201d that output expands by more than 3% a year, the chamber said.<\/p>\n
The central bank expects the economy to contract 1.2% in the third quarter – partly due to the worst civil unrest since the 1994 end of White-minority rule – and for growth to average 5.3% in 2021, a sharp recovery from last year, when output fell the most in almost three decades.<\/p>\n
The riots, looting, and arson quelled positive momentum in the economy and destroyed fixed capital assets and inventory, which will now have to be rebuilt, Sacci said. With the \u201cdire need for capital\u201d to finance fixed investment – both in the public and private sectors – hinging on short-term shifts in business sentiment, investors will be looking to finance minister Enoch Godongwana\u2019s medium-term budget for direction, it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cClear, consistent and investment-friendly economic policy certainty as well as the application thereof, is critical to convince both local and foreign investors of a reasonable return on investment,\u201d the chamber said<\/p>\n
The budget, scheduled for Nov. 4, is likely to show an improvement in key metrics, after changes to the way gross domestic product is calculated resulted in the economy being bigger than previously estimated.<\/p>\n