Businesses face confidence crisis

Business confidence among Chinese enterprises is expected to remain weak untill 2010, according to a survey conducted by UK-based L.E.K. Consulting, indicating that the global financial turmoil is taking a firmer grip than previously expected on the Chinese economy.

The survey, based on interviews with over 30 business owners and executives of Chinese enterprises, showed that the majority of respondents view the current commercial environment as "unfavorable" or "strongly unfavorable" and their confidence is to fall further in the coming months.

Over 56 percent of the respondents surveyed felt that the negative impact of the global economic downturn will persist for one to two years while 44 percent thought that the effects would last for a longer time.