India Inc’s business confidence drops to lowest level in 17 quarters: FICCI survey

16 Sep 2013 Evaluate

The woes of India Inc, struggling with growth concern amid slowing demand and high interest rates do not seem to lessen soon, as indicated by the mood of the India Inc. As per a latest Business Confidence survey conducted by industry body FICCI during July and August, business confidence has plunged to the lowest level in 17 quarters, at the levels of 2008-09 financial meltdown - as cost and availability of credit constrain growth in a weak demand scenario. The Overall Business Confidence Index sliding for four quarters, came at 49 in the latest survey, compared to 57.4 during the previous quarter. Furthermore, the participating companies were not too optimistic about the near term performance either. The companies surveyed also said that the sharp fall in the value of the rupee has affected their input costs, which in turn has lowered their profitability.

The survey stated that about 72 per cent of the participating companies cited high cost of credit as a major concern and a factor constraining growth, while 38 percent said that availability of credit was an issue, almost double the percentage of participants saying this in the previous survey. As many as 67 percent of the participating companies indicated they did not intend any fresh hiring in the near term and their workforce was expected to remain at the current levels. Only 21 percent of the respondents expected an improvement in the overall condition over the next two quarters, compared to 49 percent in the last survey. The outlook for rest of the fiscal remained somewhat subdued as about 40 percent of the respondents said they expected profits to be lower in the near term, while another 43 percent said they did not see any change in profit levels over the next six months.

Going forward, the participants suggested various measures to revive industrial growth, mainly expediting investments in stalled infrastructure projects, simplifying policies and procedures in conducting business. Companies also want implementation of the long-proposed goods and services tax (GST) and a cut in interest rates by the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank will release its next mid-quarter monetary policy review on September 20.The participants indicated that they would be comfortable paying an average interest rate of 9.4 per cent on working capital loan and 8.9 per cent on term loan in the current situation.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×