Optimism for Africa among some bosses

Their confidence levels surpass even those of chief executives in Asia whose economies have until recently been growing rapidly, fuelled by demand in China where the world's second largest economy is now showing signs of stalling.

Separately‚ the survey by the non-profit organisation Young People's Organisation (YPO) revealed confidence among CEOs in the US had declined owing to concern about economic conditions in the next six months.

The YPO‚ which is also represented in South Africa with about 470 members‚ is a global network of 20 000 young CEOs whose companies employ more than 15-million people and generate in excess of $6-trillion in annual revenues.

Its survey was carried out during the first two weeks of last month and collected the views of nearly 1 700 CEOs of which 85 were drawn from Africa‚ the majority of them based in South Africa‚ said Khutso Mampeule‚ a member of the YPO's Johannesburg chapter and chairman of its Africa region.

The survey said its YPO Global Pulse Index for Africa rose by 1,3 points to 65,6 in the second quarter of 2012 making it the world's most optimistic region.

"Following a decline in economic optimism by 6,5 points in South Africa over the first three quarters of 2011‚ its confidence level has gradually moved higher and now stands at 64,8‚ its highest level since January of 2011‚" the survey said.

"Moreover‚ this marks the third quarter in a row that African confidence has been higher than that of Asia‚ which previously had a lead over the rest of the world in terms of economic optimism ‚" it said.

Participants in the survey were drawn from companies in such sectors as manufacturing‚ services and construction. Its findings on confidence levels in South Africa and Africa confirm recent comments by business leaders that sub-Saharan Africa has become one of the most attractive regions in which to invest because of projected growth rates of as much as 8% in some countries.

South Africa‚ Africa's largest economy‚ is expected to grow by just 2,7% this year according to revised estimates from the Reserve Bank although economists at Nomura say growth could be as low as 1,7%.

Nedbank on Tuesday warned that the economy was losing momentum and said the focus over the coming months would be on the success of global efforts to prevent another recession.

Mampeule said he was not surprised with the confidence levels among local CEOs because South Africa and much of Africa had become a global destination for trade and investment as investors fled from depressed markets elsewhere.

He said such confidence should provide cautious optimism for local companies sitting on excess cash to invest in the country and the region. "Remember the saying that where there is no risk there is no gain and there are some golden opportunities ahead even outside the natural areas like resources‚" said Mampeule.

Among other findings‚ the survey said confidence about investment in fixed assets had risen by 1,6 points to 66,8 points in the second quarter‚ which was the highest in the world and showed that the respondents believed Africa offered attractive investment opportunities.

"After declining earlier in the year‚ hiring plans rebounded in the second quarter‚ from 58,1 in April‚ to 62,2 in July‚" the survey said.