S.Africa business confidence falls to 81.2 - SACCI

South Africa's business confidence index (BCI) declined to 81.2 in January from 83.5 in December, dragged down by lower import and export volumes, sponsor South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said on Monday.

SACCI said in a statement it was concerned Africa's biggest economy was yet to share "the vigorous economic recovery anticipated for key emerging market economies" after exiting a recession in the third quarter of last year.

"The consequences of the recession may still pervade the domestic economy and contribute to the tentativeness in the business environment as well as in business confidence," it added.