Aust business among world's most confident

17 Oct 2012, 3:45 pm   -   Source: AAP

Australian businesses are more confident than their counterparts in the UK, US and China, a survey shows.

Australian businesses remain more confident than their counterparts in the US, UK or China despite speculation that the mining boom may have ended.

The Regus Business Confidence Index, released on Wednesday, shows confidence among Australian businesses has increased slightly over the past six months, despite a fall in global confidence.

Australian business confidence was at 116 points on the index in October, up two points since April.

This is despite global business confidence falling to 111 points, from 113 points in April.

There has also been a sharp fall in commodity prices since July, which has stoked fears Australia's boom times might be over.

The index started in 2009 with a benchmark of 100 points, so the latest survey indicates global business confidence is 13 points higher than it was three years ago.

The survey of 24,000 senior managers and business leaders from across the globe showed Australian businesses were more confident than their counterparts in the US (107 index points) and the UK (94 points).

Meanwhile, business confidence in China has plummeted to 110 points, from 130 points in April.

Regus Australia manager Jacqueline Lehmann said the index showed Australia remained one of the most stable and positive markets for business sentiment globally.

However, she said the fall in confidence in China, Australia's biggest trading partner, was concerning for local businesses.

"This could have implications for the demand of Australian exports as the Chinese economy softens towards the end of 2012," Ms Lehmann said in a statement.

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