BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 6
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
After a significant improvement in the previous quarter, the Business Confidence Index (BCI) has decreased by 18.7 points compared to 3Q2020 and reached -28.6 in Georgia, Trend reports referring to ISET-PI, a think-tank based at the International School of Economics of Tbilisi State University.
Expectations in the Georgian private sector have deteriorated by 62.5 index points, reaching a new historic low of -41.7. As for business performance over the past three months, they have increased slightly, reaching -40.4 points, related to a small upturn in production, turnover, and sales. Compared to the previous quarter, the Sales Price Expectation Index has increased, showing growth in the market share of business owners who anticipate increasing prices on their products.
The BCI decreased in most economic sectors, with the highest decline in construction (-81.8), followed by service (-24.9), manufacturing (-20.7), and agriculture (-9.5) sectors. Compared to 3Q2020, the BCI increased in the retail trade (27.7) and financial (0.3) sectors.
Business confidence in the fourth quarter of 2020 has decreased both for SMEs (-3.6), and large firms (-19).
The Business Past Performance Index, which shows the development of business production, turnover, and sales in the past three months, increased slightly further by 0.2 points compared to 3Q2020 and reached -40.4 for 4Q2020.
A significant deterioration in performance was observed in construction sector (-131.7), followed by the manufacturing (-38.3), and agriculture (-29.9) sectors. An increase in past performance was observed in retail trade (59.7), financial (41.2), and service (10.6) sectors.
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