Business confidence: The Mercury Drops

Business magazine LMD, in its latest edition, said that as 2022 ends: “the exclusive business barometer falls and withdraws its promise of hope.”

LMD continued: “As nitty-gritties with regard to the IMF bailout are still to be resolved – especially with regard to debt restructuring with Sri Lanka’s creditors and the implications of budget 2023 sink in – it would seem that corporates have retracted their optimism.”

The LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) fell by as many as 12 basis points – from 98 in November to 86 a month later, the magazine reports.

It added that: “The business sentiment barograph is now an insurmountable 33 basis points away from where it stood in December 2021 (119); and one can only surmise its trajectory in the New Year.”

NielsenIQ Consumer Insights Director Therica Miyanadeniya in LMD asserted: “The end of 2022 is at hand and for the past two years, the calendar ended with hope for a better tomorrow. However, reflecting on the past three years, and the current state of affairs in the country, 2023 is very uncertain.”

LMD noted that the index is no way below March’s 132, the highest for 2022 – that was when business sentiment was high even at a time when the nation faced myriad challenges.

A spokesperson for LMD explained that: “Against the backdrop of uncertainty on many fronts, it could well be that the index will continue to fluctuate as business sentiment ebbs and flows between victories and defeats.”

“And the new year could get off to a rocky start as calls for local Government polls intensify, which may mean that political strife comes back on the radar, which in turn will pose new challenges to businesses and their viability,” she added.

Media Services, LMD’s publisher, says the January edition of the pioneering 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).