Economic sentiment declines further – Survey

Saturday, 19 December 2020 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The latest LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey reveals that sentiment surrounding the economy diminished in November with only 23% of businesspeople consulted expecting economic conditions to improve in the coming 12 months – a decline from 34% in the preceding month.

Nearly half (48%) of the survey respondents say the economy is likely to deteriorate during this period while 29% of executives expect it to ‘stay the same’.

The business outlook for the next 12 months appears to have improved with 58% of poll participants expressing the view that sales volumes will increase (compared to 50% in October). On the other hand, only a quarter of corporate executives believe that their business prospects will improve in the next three months – down from 31% in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the majority of those consulted by Nielsen say that sales volumes have decreased so far compared to the previous year.

As for the investment climate, 12% of respondents consider conditions to be ‘good’ or better (versus 29% in October). Conversely, 67% say that the climate is ‘poor’ or worse while 11% believe it is fair. The publisher of LMD, Media Services, says the December 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 LMD’s 26th ‘Sri Lankan Of The Year’ – The Healthcare Worker.

It highlights Sri Lanka’s healthcare workforce’s continued efforts to carry out their duties despite the risks to their lives and those of their loved ones, and unstinting commitment to anchoring the nation’s pandemic response for most of this year (for the full story, log on to www.LMD.lk).