Q: What are your expectations of the business environment in the next 12 months or so?
A: COVID-19 is likely to remain with us for the rest of the year and hopefully, we will learn to live with it in a more productive manner.

The currency and interest rates will come under pressure. Tourism will pick up to some extent. And the economy will grow at low single digits from the lower 2020 base.

However, the US economy is expected to witness strong growth this year and if that happens, it will help the global economy recover. This process will help Sri Lanka as well – particularly on the export front.

Q: How is your company planning for the medium term – i.e. for financial year 2021/22 – given the ‘new normal’ era that is now upon us?
A: We’re taking the view that the pandemic – although somewhat long-drawn-out – is a temporary phenomenon. We know that as long as COVID-19 is with us, performance will not be optimum. However, we also know that it will go away at some point.

So the plan is to ride out the pandemic with as strong a balance sheet as possible while keeping our employees safe – in terms of their health, jobs and remuneration – and prepare for the growth that will come in the (hopefully not too distant) future. Yes, times are challenging now but we are looking to the future with optimism.

Q: What is your take of the ongoing vaccination programme and how critical is it to  Lion Brewery Ceylon’s prospects this year?
A: A strong vaccination programme will help the entire private sector and indeed the entire country. Since we are a small population, we should aim to vaccinate all before the year end. It will keep citizens safe, lockdowns away and the economy moving.

Q: And finally, what are the main challenges that corporates must contend with at this time?
A: The main challenge at the moment is uncertainty and it comes from multiple sources. COVID-19 – as in how long it will remain with us and what impact it will have – is a principal source of uncertainty.

The fluctuations in the currency, interest rates and import restrictions are some other sources from which uncertainty arises. While these factors have been aggravated due to COVID-19, they are also the result of poor economic management over too many years.

It’s a remarkably difficult period in which to plan for the future and no corporate likes to operate in such an environment.