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Sri Lanka’s LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index shows increase in business confidence in January 2018

Sri Lanka’s LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index shows increase in business confidence in January 2018

The latest edition of the Sri Lankan business magazine Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD) has reported an increase of five basis points in the LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI), from 122 in December to 127 in January.
LMD has noted that this is the first time since June 2016 that the BCI has improved over four consecutive months with the index standing nine basis points above its 12 month average.
Nielsen’s Managing Director Sharang Pant has reportedly stated that in the February of the magazine that “apart from visible activity in the construction or infrastructure space, business leaders say the Government’s efforts to improve the investment climate are bearing fruit and foreign direct investment (FDI) in specific sectors is increasing.”
He has noted: “They do point to the fact that demand for consumption has not yet picked up as inflation is still on the high side. Efforts by the Government to offer price relief… may help shore up consumption levels.”
The exclusive monthly survey reveals that 23% of respondents expect the economy to improve in the next 12 months with one businessperson citing infrastructure growth as a sign of progress.
In terms of business prospects, LMD has noted that a majority of those polled believe business prospects are improving with more respondents expecting sales volumes to increase in the long (38%) and short terms (35%) than in the previous month (28% and 22% respectively).
The magazine has stated that sentiment regarding the investment climate has waned with one in five perceiving the outlook to be bright compared with a quarter of Nielsen’s sample population in the previous month.

OSL take:

The increase in business confidence noted between December 2017 and January 2018 in the LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index is a positive sign on the development and economic policies of Sri Lanka. It would undoubtedly serve to help foreign businessmen/investors consider Sri Lanka as a destination for them to consider for their business ventures.

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Article Code : VBS/AT/20180207/Z_3

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