SOPK: Business Owners Expect No Discernible Improvement in 2017

Bratislava, January 24 (TASR) – Slovakia’s economic performance this year will largely remain unchanged from 2016, and the current entrepreneurial environment in the country is unfavourable, according to a survey carried out among business owners in Slovakia by the Slovak Trade and Industry Chamber (SOPK) towards the end of 2016.

Compared to the same survey from a year earlier, a slight drift towards pessimism was seen in late 2016 as regards expectations of business owners for the upcoming year. That said, most respondents expect their businesses to fare as well, or as badly, as last year.

“The ranking of factors that have the greatest influence on running a business has remained virtually unchanged since 2014. They [the factors] are domestic demand, followed by foreign demand and, further back, labour costs,” said SOPK.

While 7 percent of the entrepeneurs surveyed viewed the business environment in Slovakia in a positive light, as many as 39 percent of them consider it to be unfavourable. Over the long haul, however, the divide has been shrinking consistently since 2013, as the negative assessments were down from the 68 percent seen in 2013.

Evaluations of the Government’s economic policies were more negative in late 2016 than the year before. Only 1 percent of those surveyed took up a positive stance on policies, compared to 47 percent of people who thought the opposite. As many as 45 percent of people took a neutral view.