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8 Jul 2015
Three things keeping NZ SME owners up at night
Small business confidence in NZ remains high despite a pullback from record levels in the June quarter but a number of concerns for owners remain, ANZ NZ managing director of retail and business banking Fred Ohlsson says.
" If there's more introduction of regulation and red tape than it's hard for [SMEs] to operate."
Fred Ohlsson, Managing Director Retail and Business Banking | ANZ NZ
ANZ's small business micro scope quarterly survey showed small business confidence mirrored the broader economy in the three months to June, declining slightly but remaining at respectable levels.
Speaking on video, Ohlsson said among individual sector, construction, manufacturing and services all recorded slight declines.
“Retail fell a bit more and at the moment agriculture is in the negative due to falling commodity prices,” he said. “But there is some relief for agriculture ahead with the weakening Kiwi dollar.”
Ohlsson said red tape and regulation, skills shortages and a lower turnover remained the key issues troubling SME owners in NZ.
“Small-business owners need to be able to plan what comes ahead and if there's more introduction of regulation and red tape than it's hard for them to operate,” he said.
Fred Ohlsson is Managing Director Retail and Business Banking at ANZ NZ.
The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.