Chinese entrepreneurs less confident in Q3: survey

Chinese entrepreneurs are not as confident about the country's macro economy for the July-September period as they were for the previous quarter, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Friday.

Based on a survey of 5,900 industrial entrepreneurs nationwide, the PBOC, China's central bank, set the entrepreneur confidence index at 63.6 percent for the third quarter, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous quarter but up 0.8 percentage points from a year ago.

Among all the surveyed entrepreneurs, 60.9 percent said the current macro economy is "normal", while 37.4 percent considered it "relatively cool".

Raw material purchase price index added 0.8 percentage points from previous quarter to 55.3 percent for the third quarter, compared with 55.8 percent a year ago.

Export order index went up 0.2 percentage points from previous quarter for the July-September period, while domestic order index dropped 1.6 percentage points from previous quarter to 46.9 percent.

The entrepreneurs' cash flow index for the July-September period slid by 0.4 percentage points from previous quarter to 55.6 percent, suggesting tighter liquidity for them.

A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion in specific category while one below 50 percent suggests contraction.