Belgium’s economy has greatly improved in the past few months. And in spite of many uncertainties the recovery does not seem dramatically affected, says FEB (Federation of Belgian Businesses) following publication of its bi-annual “Economic focus” collating questionnaires sent to its sectoral federations.
FEB maintains estimates for growth at 1.3% in 2015 and 1.5% in 2016, “if the Asian situation becomes stable and if European trust is not permanently affected by the Paris attacks.” For its part, French bank BNP Paribas Fortis forecasts growth at 1.2% and 1.3% in its estimates which were also published on Tuesday.
Approximately 25% of industries polled by FEB think the BRIC countries’ economic trough is already having a negative impact on the economy, and almost 50% reckon this trend will continue in the foreseeable future. The Paris events and Brussels terror threat will also have negative repercussions on short-term trust levels, points out the federation.
A study of four industries representing 6-8% of GDP (hospitality, events, aeronautics, retail) leads FEB to lower growth estimated for the fourth quarter from 0.4-0.5% to 0.3%.
(Source: Belga)
