BUSINESS confidence among entrepreneurs and bankers in China ebbed during the second quarter due to slowing economic growth and weaker demand for loans, surveys published by the People’s Bank of China showed Friday.

    The entrepreneurs confidence index fell to 58.3 percent in the second quarter, 0.9 percentage points lower than the first quarter, a central bank survey showed.

    A separate central bank survey showed an increasing number of bankers believed China’s economy had cooled and said their confidence in the economy had dipped in the second quarter.

    The bankers confidence index slipped to 43.4 percent in the second quarter, down 4.1 percentage points from the first quarter.

    The index of banking profitability also dropped 8.6percentage points in the second quarter to 62.7 percent, as demand for loans, particularly from manufacturers, weakened.

    Nearly 46 percent of bankers expected the central bank to loosen monetary policy further in the third quarter, the survey showed.

    The central bank has cut interest rates and bank reserve requirements to lower borrowing costs and encourage more lending, while the government is stepping up fiscal spending.

    (SD-Agencies)