Economic climate overcast: Survey

The June edition of leading business magazine, LMD, stated: “Following NielsenIQ’s exclusive monthly survey for LMD in the first week of May, its Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya notes that ‘both long and short-term perceptions about business improving have deteriorated’.”

“And likewise, the number of corporates that expect business volumes to increase in the next 12 months has diminished too,” Miyanadeniya added.

LMD observed that “from a somewhat healthy 34% of businesspeople spoken to by the pollsters that expected the economy to ‘improve’ in the next 12 months in April, only marginally in excess of a fifth (22%) said so in May.”  “To make matters worse, nearly half (48%) of the sample population now feel the economy will ‘get worse’ during this time – in the previous month, only slightly over a third (35%) said so,” it said.

As for sales volumes in the 12 months ahead, less businesspeople now say the numbers will ‘get better’ – i.e. less than half (47%) of those polled, compared to 55% in the preceding month, the magazine reported.

LMD also observed that compared to the same time last year, 28% (versus 27% in April) say that sales volumes have ‘increased’ – and the proportion of respondents who say their sales numbers have ‘decreased’ has fallen to slightly over half (i.e. 51 of the 100 executives surveyed), from 54% when the poll was conducted in April.

Media Services, LMD’s publisher, said the latest edition of the magazine will be released shortly. Its digital edition is also available on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms.

The magazine’s Cover Story features an exclusive interview with the Managing Director of Abans Group Behman (Tito) Pestonjee, who discusses Sri Lanka’s path to an economic recovery.