Economic sentiment continues to decline – Survey

Sentiment surrounding the economy continued to deteriorate in October with only a third of businesspeople consulted for the latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey saying that economic conditions are likely to improve in the coming 12 months, declining from 48% in September.

On the other hand, 35% of respondents expect economic conditions to continue to deteriorate during this period, while 31% expect the economy to ‘remain the same’.

In terms of the business outlook for the long term, half of those consulted by Nielsen believe sales volumes will increase over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 31% of businesspeople say sales ‘will get better’ in the short term – down from 37% in September. With regard to the investment climate, 29% of survey respondents consider this to be a good time to invest (up from 17% in the previous month). In contrast, 35% of corporate executives view conditions negatively, while 36% describe the investment landscape as being ‘fair.’

Media Services, which publishes LMD, says the November edition of the magazine has been released. Its digital edition is also available on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms.

LMD’s Cover Story features an assessment of the banking sector in relation to the fallout from COVID-19 and the outlook for the year ahead – including interviews with a number of leaders from within the banking community.

The issue also features an exclusive interview with World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley, which was recently awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. For the full story, log onto www.LMD.lk