New Zealand small business confidence is below the Asia-Pacific average but is not falling off a cliff, a survey by CPA Australia shows.
The 10th annual CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey for 2018 showed that 57.4 per cent of New Zealand businesses grew in the calendar year, versus a survey average of 66.3 per cent, while 63.2 per cent of businesses expect to grow in the next 12 months versus the survey average of 68.8 per cent.
On the local economy, businesses were not so upbeat with 46.5 per cent expecting it to grow in the next 12 months versus a survey average of 58.4 per cent. According to CPA, sentiment has improved since the 2017 survey when only 39.9 expected New Zealand's economy to grow but is well below the 61.5 per cent that predicted growth in the 2016 survey.
Across the Asia-Pacific 3,607 small businesses completed the survey including 310 from New Zealand. The survey took place Nov. 16 to Dec. 11.
New Zealand small business conditions remained "generally positive in 2018," CPA said. The number of small businesses that expect to grow also looks positive but "small business confidence in the local economy remains low, with less than half forecasting the economy to grow," it said.