Meanwhile, 37.2 percent of the surveyed enterprises expected stability in their production and 17.4 percent of them predicted a reduction.
Up to 41.4 percent and 41.8 percent of the respondents expected an increase and stability in their orders in the first quarter of 2022, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Just 16.8 percent of the surveyed businesses forecast a drop in their orders.
New export orders of 37.2 percent of the surveyed firms were predicted to rise in the first quarter of this year from the last three months of 2021. The new export orders were predicted to drop in 16.7 percent of the enterprises and remain stable in 46.1 percent of them.
Foreign-invested firms were the most optimistic about production and business with 83.1 percent expecting better performance or stability in the first quarter of 2022. The rates among State and non-State enterprises were 82 percent and 81.2 percent, respectively.