Investment spending to grow 2.8% this year
Investment spending in the manufacturing sector fell 6.9% in 2020 compared with 2019, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said in a report on Tuesday.
The survey on industrial investments in the period October-November 2020 showed that investment spending in the manufacturing sector is expected to rise 2.8% this year, helped by anticipated demand and technological developments.
On the other hand, economic policy in general and capital taxation were identified as negative factors. IOBE said investment spending grew 21.5% in 2019 and noted the food/beverages/tobacco sector was expected to record the highest growth rate this year (6.7%), followed by non-metal minerals (20.2%).
The survey showed that 51% of respondents said the impact of demand was either positive or very positive in 2020 and predicted a similar trend in 2021. The contribution of technological developments is important, with 41.2% saying it was positive and 44.1% very positive for 2020 and 2021.
More than a quarter (26.5%) of enterprises offered positive or very positive estimates on the impact of availability and capital costs, both for 2020 and 2021.
