Provincial confidence up

By JIM EAGLES

Provincial business confidence in the top half of the North Island has bounced back from the gloom of three months ago.

That finding, in a survey carried out for the Northern Regional Chambers of Commerce, is in marked contrast to Auckland, where the atmosphere is still gloomy.

When the Auckland Chamber of Commerce surveyed 700 of its members last month it found that net confidence about the state of the economy in six months - optimists minus pessimists - was still negative by 17 per cent. But the same survey of 456 provincial chamber members found that net confidence about the economy was positive by 10 per cent.

That represents a huge turnaround from the situation in April when net confidence plunged to a negative 26 per cent amid concerns about falling commodity prices and lower farm returns.

The latest survey is basically back to where things were in June and September last year.

Provincial business people are also confident about their own businesses.

Asked about the prospects for their own businesses in six months, a net 47 per cent expected things to improve. An impressive 90 per cent of those surveyed think their businesses will either stay the same or improve, with a mere 9 per cent expecting things to deteriorate.

Confidence was highest in Tauranga, Cambridge and rural Waikato generally. It was lowest in Te Awamutu, which has been hit by the strike at Kinleith.

Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said the bounce in confidence in the provinces could be the result of falling interest rates easing financial pressures.

The sharp difference between the provinces and the metropolitan area, he suggested, could be due to specific negative influences on Auckland such as the loss of the America's Cup, the impact of Sars on numbers of tourists and international students, and continuing frustration over traffic problems.