Poor economic conditions impact confidence levels of SA SMEs  Local small and medium enterprise (SME) owners continue to be apprehensive about the regulatory and economic challenges facing the sector and country as a whole. This is according to the fourth quarter 2014 Business Partners Limited SME Index (BPLSI), which measures attitudes and confidence levels among local SME owners. SMEs conveyed an average confidence level of 53% that the South African economy will be conducive for business growth in 2015 – a 2 percentage point quarter-on-quarter (q/q) and year-on-year (y/y) decrease. Ben Bierman, the CFO of Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS), says that the current issues facing the economy, such as the slow economic growth, rand volatility and load shedding, are impacting business owners’ confidence levels. “Business owners continue to operate in a tough environment, and while they are resilient by nature, recent developments continue to erode their confidence. ...