The confidence of Chinese small and medium enterprises dropped further in the third quarter, as the country's economic growth continued to slow down, a research note from Standard Chartered said on Thursday.

The SME confidence index stood at 46.71 percent, down 7.44 percentage points compared with the previous quarter, the bank said.

If the index shows a reading above 50, SMEs are confident about their prospects, otherwise they are not so optimistic about future performance.

The slide is mainly due to the continuous decline of China's economic growth, especially the deteriorating foreign trade situation, according to the bank.