“International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in Sri Lanka Dr. Koshy Mathai has urged Sri Lanka to focus more on exporting to neighbouring countries such as India.
He said at present Sri Lanka’s export to India stands at just 5% in comparison to its exports to US which stands at 20% and to the EU which is 36%.
Speaking at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) on ‘Economic Outlook and Policy Issues,’ recently, Dr Mathai said Korea sends 35% of its exports to Asian countries, and Sri Lanka should adopt a similar trend, and capitalize on Asia’s growth.
While emphasizing that Sri Lankan exports to the world have seen a dip over a period of time from 0.8% to 0.6% , Dr. Mathai noted that restoring the dip in exports and increasingly promoting Sri Lankan exports should be a key goal, to ensure sustained growth in the country.
Among other measures Sri Lanka should take to maintain the present healthy growth was to maintain fiscal discipline, while taking steps to improve the country’s business environment which will be key to spurring Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and growth.
“Financial market development is also of critical importance and Sri Lanka should concentrate on reducing its budget deficit and focus on continuing to build its reserves, while using monetary tools to deal with the excess rupee liquidity that could result from the reserve buildup,” the IMF Resident Representative said.
He also welcomed the opening up of more private universities in Sri Lanka, saying, “although the literacy rate is high, there are constant complaints of a shortage of managerial talent so it’s important for Sri Lanka to increase its investments for higher education which will help bridge this gap”. |
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