Business confidence has recovered despite the difficulties the face, according to the latest report from the Private Economic Development Research Board (Board IV) under the Prime Minister’s Administrative Reform Advisory Council.

The report on the business situation in 2023 and outlook for 2024 revealed that businesses were more optimistic in the Board’s survey conducted in December compared to April last year.

The rate of those assessing the current macro-economic situation as positive / very positive was 2.7-fold higher than in the April survey.

Meanwhile, the proportion of enterprises rating the economic situation in their industry as positive / very positive was 2.5-fold higher than in April.

The rate of businesses with a positive assessment about the macro-economic outlook for the next 12 months was nearly triple the rate in the April survey.

Enterprises planning to expand their business scale doubled the April figure.

Other assessments in capital access, market prospects, and the efficiency of the local government support were also higher than in April, which demonstrates that businesses have regained some level of confidence, according to the report.

However, it also showed that difficulties remain in the economic outlook according to many businesses. Of the 2,734 enterprises surveyed, 69.1 per cent rated the economic outlook for 2024 as negative / very negative. Some 72.8 per cent plan to downsize their business scale and halt or cease operations this year.