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8 Jan 2014
Small business confidence in NZ skyrockets - ANZ survey
FXstreet.com (Bali) - Business activity is set to increase significantly in New Zealand this new year, as small business owners get more confident over the state of the economy, a quarterly ANZ survey of small firms suggests.
As reported by Laura Walters from the website stuff.co.nz, based on ANZ findings "retailing, agriculture and manufacturing were leading a lift in optimism which had resulted in firms' expectations of their own activity, hiring and profitability for the coming year soar to new highs, the results of the ANZ Business Micro Scope survey of small firms showed."
Walters cites ANZ managing director Fred Ohlsson, who said that "while construction and agriculture were caught in the tailwind of the Canterbury rebuild and increasing commodity prices, optimism was at, or near, historic highs across all major sectors, according to the survey of 250 micro and intermediate firms in New Zealand."
Ohlsson adds: "These factors have come together to create a sweet spot for the South Island, with optimism in Canterbury spilling over to the rest of the island whose record-high optimism now tops that of Canterbury itself. For a nation of small businesses, this spells good news for employment and the ongoing strength of our economy."
Walters further explained, based on ANZ's findings: "A net 45% of small Kiwi firms expected to lift business activity during 2014, double the long-term average. A net 17% planned to take on more staff and 29% expected profits to rise. The services sector was the most upbeat with confidence at 25%. But retailing recorded the largest lift in confidence, from 14% to 22%, followed by agriculture and manufacturing. Agriculture was the top sector for profit expectations for the first time in two years."
As reported by Laura Walters from the website stuff.co.nz, based on ANZ findings "retailing, agriculture and manufacturing were leading a lift in optimism which had resulted in firms' expectations of their own activity, hiring and profitability for the coming year soar to new highs, the results of the ANZ Business Micro Scope survey of small firms showed."
Walters cites ANZ managing director Fred Ohlsson, who said that "while construction and agriculture were caught in the tailwind of the Canterbury rebuild and increasing commodity prices, optimism was at, or near, historic highs across all major sectors, according to the survey of 250 micro and intermediate firms in New Zealand."
Ohlsson adds: "These factors have come together to create a sweet spot for the South Island, with optimism in Canterbury spilling over to the rest of the island whose record-high optimism now tops that of Canterbury itself. For a nation of small businesses, this spells good news for employment and the ongoing strength of our economy."
Walters further explained, based on ANZ's findings: "A net 45% of small Kiwi firms expected to lift business activity during 2014, double the long-term average. A net 17% planned to take on more staff and 29% expected profits to rise. The services sector was the most upbeat with confidence at 25%. But retailing recorded the largest lift in confidence, from 14% to 22%, followed by agriculture and manufacturing. Agriculture was the top sector for profit expectations for the first time in two years."