South African business confidence plunged to the lowest level in 45 years due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with companies even more pessimistic now than when disinvestment from the country over its apartheid policies started gaining momentum more than three decades ago.
A quarterly gauge measuring business confidence fell to 5 in the second quarter from 18 in the previous three months, Rand Merchant Bank and Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research said in a statement on Wednesday.
That was the year the United Nations Security Council called on members to introduce more far-reaching economic sanctions against South Africa.
A reading of 5 means just about every respondent in the second quarter was unsatisfied with the prevailing business conditions
A reading of 5 means “just about every respondent in the second quarter was unsatisfied with the prevailing business conditions”, RMB said.
A monthly business confidence index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry also dropped to an all-time low in April and was then temporarily suspended due to a lack of activity during the lockdown.
