Economic sentiment remains muted: Survey

The latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence (BCI) poll reveals that economic sentiment remained largely the same in July with 12% of respondents believing that the economy will improve in the next 12 months compared to 11% in June. 

However, a majority (64%) of businesspeople consulted feel that conditions will worsen.

“Certain industries have been slow to pick up after April, and this will have a negative impact on the economy going forward. The Government needs to make sure that these industries are supported in the coming few months in order to get back on track,” one corporate executive stated.

Meanwhile, the outlook for business prospects in the long term remain much the same with 27% of executives (versus 28% in the preceding month) expecting business to improve. However, prospects for the next three months have worsened with a mere 19% of respondents believing that sales volumes will improve. 

An optimistic businessperson said: “Due to the events in April, we experienced a negative impact on our investments; and therefore, we have had to defer our plans for this quarter. We are hopeful, however, that we’ll witness positive results in the coming months.”

When it comes to the investment climate, a majority of survey respondents (79%) feel that this is not a good time to invest in Sri Lanka.

Media Services, the publisher of LMD, says the August edition of the pioneering business magazine has been released to leading supermarkets and bookstores in Colombo and the outstations.

Its 25th anniversary Cover Story sheds light on the evolving role of generation Z at a time when disruption seems to be the order of the day. For the full story, log onto www.LMD.lk