Sri Lankan businesses bullish for 2018: OBG survey
View(s):Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of high-level executives interviewed for the inaugural edition of the Business Barometer: Sri Lanka CEO Survey carried out by Oxford Business Group (OBG) are bullish about local market conditions for 2018, in a sign that the impact of last year’s challenging weather conditions on the economy is easing.
As part of its survey, the global research and consultancy firm said in a media release that it asked dozens of C-suite executives from across the country’s industries a wide-ranging series of questions on a face-to-face basis aimed at gauging business sentiment in recent months. The results of the survey are now available to view in full on OBG’s Editors’ Blog at: https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/blog/patrick-cooke/obg-business-barometer/ceos-tip-textiles-lead-sri-lankas-export-revival-2018.
In response to a question about business prospects, 64 per cent of executives described their expectations for the coming 12 months as positive, with an additional nine per cent saying their outlook was very positive.
Three-quarters of respondents also said they expected the company they represented to make a significant capital investment in the coming months, in another indication of rising business confidence. On the subject of the broader economic outlook, more than half (56 per cent) said they believed GDP growth would reach between four per cent and five per cent in 2018, close to the forecasts made by the central bank of around 5 per cent – 5.5 per cent.
With the government’s efforts to reach a targeted US$20 billion in export earnings by 2020 gathering pace, business leaders were largely in agreement on which segments they felt would drive international sales. The majority (77 per cent) told OBG that they expected textiles and apparel to drive export growth, well ahead of second-placed tea and spices (14 per cent).
When asked which external event they felt was most likely to affect the local economy in the short to medium term, almost half (49 per cent) of those surveyed cited a rise in oil prices, while, perhaps surprisingly, just 16 per cent opted for a slowdown in demand from China.
With labour shortages a major issue in Sri Lanka, OBG also asked business leaders which skills were most in-demand in the workplace. Close to one-third (31 per cent) chose leadership attributes with 19 per cent opting for research and development.
Commenting on the results in his blog, Patrick Cooke, OBG’s regional editor for Asia, said business leaders appeared to be broadly positive about Sri Lanka’s prospects following the severe floods and drought that curbed economic expansion in 2017, with many seemingly prepared to “put their money where their mouth is.”