Biz confidence holds firm

“Biz sentiment holds firm amid the rubble of multiple crises and a state of paralysis,” notes LMD, in its February edition. 

It added: “Despite the bleak outlook, the outcome of the latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey paints an ever so slightly more positive picture – so much so that the index is now at a nine-month high.”

LMD reports that the BCI nudged up by three basis points from December, to register 122 in January. The index now stands at where it stood a year ago and is a healthy 14 points above its 12-month average of 108, it adds. 

NielsenIQ’s Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya pointed out in the magazine that: “While the business confidence index has increased slightly, this sentiment is not shared by the general public as the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) has dropped to an all-time low of 25.”

Miyanadeniya attributes the slight improvement in sentiment to “businesses formulating new strategies to salvage and improve on whatever has been lost due to the pandemic in 2021.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for LMD asserted: “The corporate community may well be taking a longer-term view of the macro scenario, but until there is a revival of the economy and an easing of the restrictions that the forex crisis has brought about, there is a limit to what degree such resilience can hold.”

Media Services, which publishes LMD, said the latest edition of the magazine will be released shortly, along with its digital version which will be shared on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms (for the full BCI report, visit www.LMD.lk).