Economic sentiment declines: Survey

Saturday, 18 May 2019 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sentiment surrounding the economy continued to deteriorate in April with a mere 9% of respondents saying it will improve in the next 12 months in the latest monthly survey for the LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence (BCI).

A businessperson remarked at the time of the survey in early April that “although the rupee has appreciated slightly, it is still not performing well. Due to this, import prices remain high, taxes need to be paid on imports and the margins that our business can maintain are very low.”

Meanwhile, the outlook for business prospects also appears to have dimmed as 18% and 15% of those surveyed expect business to improve in the long and short terms respectively (down from 32% and 24% in March).

And as a spokesman for LMD says, “Sentiment is likely to worsen in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks.”

“With the increase in taxes on goods and services, we have observed a drop in demand by customers and in this short while, we have also witnessed a drop in our business activities. We do not expect this situation to improve in the coming months,” states a corporate executive.

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

Its Cover Story features an exclusive interview with Manuela Goretti – the IMF’s Deputy Division Chief of its Asia and Pacific Department, and Mission Chief for Sri Lanka – in which she discusses Sri Lanka’s economic prospects and the Government’s reform agenda (for the full story, log onto www.LMD.lk).