Economic sentiment continues to decline: Survey

Sentiment surrounding the economy continued to decline in May as a mere 11% of respondents to the latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey believe that conditions will improve in the next 12 months – down from 27% in the previous month.

Furthermore, a majority (57% – up from only 10% in the preceding month) of corporate executives say the economy “will get worse” during this period while another 32% expect conditions to “stay the same”.

Similarly, the outlook for business has deteriorated as 47% (versus 81% in April) of those polled by Nielsen expect sales volumes in the next year to improve and 12% (compared to 2% in the previous month) anticipate a decline.

As for short-term prospects, 15% of businesspeople expect sales volumes to improve in the next quarter – marking a decline from 60% in the preceding month. On the other hand, 44% say that sales will decline during this period.

However, perceptions of the investment climate improved as 16% (up from 8% in April) of those consulted view conditions favourably, although a majority (65%) do not consider this to be a good time to invest.

Media Services, which publishes LMD, says the June edition of the magazine has been released. Its digital edition is also available on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms.

Its cover story features an exclusive interview with Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Saliya Pieris, in which he highlights the challenges the Judiciary faces, the need to strengthen the rule of law, and the importance of addressing bribery and corruption in the country. For the full story, log onto the LMD website.