Monetary tightening and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) flexible exchange rate policy served to cool the economy by slowing down credit to desired levels and controlling inflation to some degree. The economy, which saw significant weakness in 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, readjusted accordingly. Starting in February 2017 foreign...
After an uncertain period, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is back on an upward trajectory, supported by the improving economic climate. The market will see significant reforms in 2018 to strengthen regulation, increase the bourse’s independence and efficiency, and broaden the range of products available.
DEEP...
Sri Lanka had a challenging year in 2017, with GDP growth slowing notably to 3.3% in the third quarter, from 4.6% during the same period the previous year. The country was affected by a series of natural disasters and a dengue fever epidemic, which impacted tourist arrivals, retail, construction and agriculture, while driving the inflation...
Sri Lanka benefits from its strategic geographic position along a critical Indian Ocean trade route, strong base of industrial and cash crop exports, and rapidly expanding non-agricultural economy. High levels of public expenditure and rapid industrial expansion supported recent robust macroeconomic growth, averaging more than 6% between 2008...
Recent decades have seen a downward convergence in corporate tax regimes as advanced, emerging and developing economies moved to grab a bigger slice of the global investment pie. Headline corporate tax rates have fallen by 20 percentage points since the early 1980s. Alongside lower average rates, special tax incentives aimed at capturing...
Low government revenue is a key challenge facing sustainable macroeconomic growth in Sri Lanka, adversely affecting its finances and limiting the government’s ability to fund infrastructure and social initiatives. Tax reforms launched under an IMF loan agreement, coupled with the Inland Revenue Act (IRA) to improve tax collection, should offer...
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