Sri Lanka’s business confidence rebounds, news report
Sentiment in corporate circles on Sri Lanka’s business confidence has bounced back despite the multitude of challenges.
In a mid year economic update, ICRA Lanka revised its forecast for Sri Lanka’s economic growth this year, downgrading it from 3.6 percent to 3.4 percent. The rating agency notes that this projection is based on the assumption that there will not be any major shocks in the second half of the year.
Additionally, the nation’s medium-term growth is expected to remain at around four percent. ICRA Lanka states that “structural weaknesses, external sector vulnerability and the absence of substantial real investments make it difficult for the country to achieve a satisfactory growth level.”
At a recent press conference, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) maintained that its economic growth forecast of five percent for this year is intact despite the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths – and that this “momentum will be sustained over the medium term.”
Meanwhile, the latest LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey suggests that sentiment has improved – albeit that this was in the first week of August when the poll was carried out and the islandwide immunisation campaign was at its peak. As we know, COVID-19 cases and fatalities have spiralled upwards since then. (Source: Ada Derana)
OSL take:
The news report notes that business confidence in Sri Lanka is on the rebound after facing the global Covid 19 pandemic. Sri Lanka’s economy has shown great resilience to external and internal challenges through the years and is once again on the path to recovery. Several key economic sectors in the country have also shown a positive growth despite the pandemic challenges. Sri Lanka is currently engaged in an aggressive development programme while also working towards positioning the country as an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. Given the positive trends shown by Sri Lanka’s economy, foreign businesses/investors could explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/03092021/Z_8 |