Asia business confidence falls over sluggish demand, political uncertainty: survey

Kuala Lumpur

CONFIDENCE in Asia towards business conditions over the coming six months dropped in the final quarter of 2016 to its lowest level in a year as firms fretted about sluggish demand in a persistently low-growth economic environment, a Thomson Reuters/Insead survey found.

Firms also flagged political uncertainty as a key near-term risk, including that brought by the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency - an outcome some cited as a key risk in the same survey three months prior.

The Thomson Reuters/Insead Asian Business Sentiment Index , representing the half-year outlook of 118 firms, fell to 63 from 68 in the September quarter, although it remained above the 50 mark separating optimism from pessimism…