Business confidence remains unchanged for two months

Saturday, 31 July 2021 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) registered 87 for the second consecutive month in July, remaining below 90 basis points for three successive months.

In addition to representing a deterioration compared to the corresponding month of last year when the index stood at 97, this also places the index more than 20 points below its 12 month average.

Elaborating on the latest survey results, NielsenIQ’s Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya said: “With the country opening up again, immunisation drive accelerating with more than 30% of the population [at the time] being vaccinated… the situation is gradually becoming more manageable.”

“People and businesses have more or less overcome the fear that gripped the nation at the onset of the pandemic, and are settling down to embrace the ‘new normal’,” she added.

Commenting on the sensitivities impacting the index, Miyanadeniya stated: “As the country forces itself to settle down despite the ongoing pandemic, for the economy to recover following the heavy battering it experienced, we are yet to see what the future will hold.”

As for the future of the index, a spokesperson for LMD said: “The general direction of the BCI going forward will depend on how the country tackles the macroeconomic challenges it faces such as boosting its dwindling reserves, meeting its debt obligations, bridging the trade deficit and mitigating the foreign exchange crisis.”

Media Services, which publishes LMD, says the latest edition of the magazine will be released shortly while its digital version is available on WhatsApp and its social media platforms (for the full BCI report, visit www.LMD.lk).