Business confidence recovers in July

The latest edition of LMD reports that business confidence moved up to 134 in July. This is the first time the unique index has crossed the 130 mark since November 2016 when the LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) stood at 144.

Nielsen’s Managing Director Sharang Pant observes that the latest BCI “reflects faith in improving fundamentals”.

He states in LMD: “Inflation hasn’t gone up for in last three months, lending rates have not increased although they haven’t dropped either, rupee depreciation has slowed down and GSP+ was granted to Sri Lanka.”

The exclusive monthly survey reveals that 28% of respondents feel that the economy will improve in the coming 12 months. Meanwhile, a third of the survey sample expects no change in economic conditions while a further 39% have a negative outlook of the economy.

Where business prospects are concerned, the magazine notes that businesspeople are rather upbeat – almost half of those surveyed anticipate better times in the next 12 months. The short-term forecast too sees more than a third of respondents expecting sales volumes to increase in the next three months.

Looking ahead, a spokesperson for LMD says: “Critical issues raised by those surveyed include the dengue epidemic and challenges posed by the mountain of waste and its disposal. And the release of listed company results for financial year 2016/17 will be closely watched by analysts.”

“But in July, macro factors seem to have improved business confidence despite the concerns there are at the ground level,” she adds.

For the full BCI report, go to www.LMD.lk.