Economic sentiment on the rise: Survey

Tuesday, 19 March 2019 01:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sentiment surrounding the economy improved in February as 12% of respondents in the latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence (BCI) poll believe that conditions ‘will get better’ in the next 12 months. “The economy has begun to stabilise now, and we expect that it, as well as the investment climate, will improve further in the coming months,” a corporate executive said.

Business prospects have also improved as 50% and 34% of those surveyed expect sales volumes to increase in the long and short terms, respectively.

One such respondent explains: “We have witnessed an increase in business activity so far this year; and with the economy also starting to improve, we now expect sales revenue to increase compared to the last few months of 2018.”

Perceptions about the investment climate have also improved slightly as 7% (up from 4% in January) of survey respondents feel that it is a good time to invest.

“Although there were a few issues earlier, the investment climate is picking up now… Some of the existing projects have recommenced and there are a few projects coming up in the next few months as well,” notes an optimistic businessperson.

However, a majority (56%) of those consulted by Nielsen view the investment landscape negatively with one poll participant stating that “there is a lot of scepticism and doubt in the minds of investors as they do not know which way the economy will head in the future.”

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

Its cover story features an in-depth analysis of female representation on the boards of Sri Lanka’s listed companies. Log onto www.LMD.lk for the full story.