The International School of Economics at TSU (ISET) published a report on Business Confidence Index. According to the study, for the fourth quarter of 2023, business confidence in Georgia increased (by 2.4 index points) and reached 18.1. The highest increase in business confidence is observed in the trade (+21.7) sector. The positive change in BCI for Q4 2023 was driven by improved past performance as well as more optimistic expectations.
The Past Performance Index, which considers the business sector's assessment of their own economic performance in the previous quarter, increased by 10.3 points compared to Q3 2023 and reached 23.0 for Q4 2023, with the trade (+40.3) and agriculture (+29.4) sectors showing the greatest improvement.
Expectations Index, which reflects business optimism, increased, amounting to 36.5 index points. Expectations for Q4 2023 improved significantly for trade (+41.3) and construction (+33.3) sectors.
The Sales Price Expectations Index increased moderately by 0.3 index points and settled at 17.6, indicating only an insignificant increase in the share of businesses that anticipate charging higher prices on their products over the next three months.
For Q4 2023, it is worth noting that the lack of a qualified labor force has emerged as the most significant limiting factor for large companies. Access to finance comes in second as a hindrance for these large companies. Likewise, both access to finance and the lack of a qualified labor force are the most important obstacles for SMEs.
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