Businesses remain optimistic amid operating challenges- CBN survey
CBN Headquarters
Businesses remain optimistic amid operating challenges- CBN survey
Nike Popoola
Insecurity, high interest rate, insufficient power supply, and high/multiple taxes were major challenges faces by businesses according to the July 2024 Business Expectations Survey released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
However, the businesses remained optimistic amid the challenges, the survey which was obtained by Dailyeconomy showed.
The July 2024 Business Expectations Survey (BES)1 was carried out between the period of July 15-19, 2024, with a sample size of 1,600 business enterprises nationwide.
A response rate of 98.9 percent was achieved, and the sectors covered during the exercise were Industry, Services and Agriculture, according to the CBN.
The highlights of the BES report showed that, “Respondents indicated optimism on overall business outlook in July 2024, as the business conditions in Nigeria is expected to improve. This optimism is driven by the opinion of respondents from the Agriculture Sector.
“Respondents outlook for the next month, next 3 months and next 6 months all indicated optimism.
“The positive outlook in the volume of business activities of the firms in the next month implied improved prospects for employment in the same period. The sector with the highest prospect for employment is the agriculture sector, followed by the Industry and Services sectors.
“The respondent firms opined that insecurity was the major factor constraining the business activity in July 2024. Other constraining factors are high interest rate, insufficient power supply, and high/multiple taxes.
“Respondent firms expect the exchange rate to depreciate in all review periods except the next six months.However,they expect the borrowing rate to rise in all the periods under review. Respondents also opined that the current inflation rate of 34.19 is too high.”
