Fewer People Relaxed About Our China Relationship

Tony Alexander BNZ Confidence Survey

Business confidence remains strong but fewer people are relaxed about our growing dependence upon China.

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Fewer People Relaxed About Our China Relationship

Our feelings of ease about New Zealand’s growing economic dependence upon China have taken a battering this month following the milk powder scare. Whereas for the previous three months a net 44% of respondents to our survey have each month said that they are happy about our economic relationship with China, this month that proportion has dropped to a net 28%. This is still a firmly positive result but the decline provides us with the only evidence of how our thinking as opposed to the thoughts of Chinese may have changed as a result of the poison milk worries.

Nevertheless, even though we are less sanguine about our relationship with China and parts of the country have been disturbed by earthquakes, our optimism about where the economy will be in a year’s time remains strong. A net 57% of our 582 respondents are optimistic compared with 59% last month and 56% in July. Confidence is therefore steady at a very high level.

Do you personally feel happy or unhappy that house prices are rising?

A net 11% of respondents feel happy about house prices riisng.

Are you thinking about borrowing more money for your business in the next three months?

A gross 25% of respondents this month say they are thinking about borrowing more money. This is up from 21% last month but not out of line with the results for June and July. There is no clear trend change as yet underway in this rough measure of credit demand from the business sector.

ENDS

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