The first quarter of the year aggregate Business Confidence Index (BCI) dropped from the 30 per cent it posted in fourth quarter of last year to 22.3 per cent. This represents a 7.7 per cent slack of the confidence level among business operators over the last three months, says Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) latest report.
The report said it represents the largest quarter on quarter point drop of the BCI score over the last three years. The report signed by LCCI Director- General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said conventionally, movement of the BCI score by up to five points indicates the presence of significant positive or adverse development in the country’s economic and business environment.
He, however, regretted that the drop of the BCI scores at this time suggests that business leaders are largely pessimistic about expanding their business and investment spending over the next few months. It is worse with indigenous manufacturers as growth in the sector shrank by 19.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to data by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
