The latest Business Expectations Survey (BES) conducted every quarter by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed that businesses are more upbeat in terms of business prospects and are hiring more workers and expecting brisk sales due to the anticipated holiday spending.
The BES confidence index rose to 51.3 per cent for the fourth quarter of the year from 41.4 per cent in the third, the highest recorded in two years. This indicates “that more businesses are optimistic about the country’s economic prospects for the last quarter of the year,’ the BSP statement said.
The confidence index is computed as the percentage of firms that answered in the affirmative less the percentage of firms that responded negatively when asked about their business prospects.
Among the reasons cited for the positive outlook are: stronger sales during the holiday season; steady inflow of remittances from OFWs, election-related spending, and better business expected from the holding of the APEC Summit in Manila last month.
On the other hand, those who responded negatively cited the following reasons for their downbeat prediction: the expected slump in demand after the holidays; stiffer competition; concerns over the El Nino phenomenon; and uncertainties about the global economy.
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