Sri Lanka’s economic growth to reach 5 to 5.5 % this year

Sri Lanka’s economic growth is expected to reach 5 to 5.5 per cent this year from around 4 per cent last year with the flowing in of local and foreign investment, Central Bank (CB) Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy predicted.
Addressing a media conference in Colombo on Wednesday, he said that macro-economic stability is being restored and the country’s economy is trending in the right direction.
The tight monetary stance of the CB as well as the relatively tight fiscal policy stance of the government, partly affected public and private investment spending that also contributed to low economic growth, he revealed.
He noted that the CB has implemented several proactive policy measures during 2017 in order to achieve the core objectives of maintaining economic stability and financial system stability.
The government will implement the necessary policy reforms to uplift the economy from the prevailing low growth trajectory to reach its potential level, he added.
Presenting the CB Roadmap, Dr.  Coomaraswamy expressed the belief that sharing the policy direction would make policies for the medium term more predictable and transparent, and would help in shaping the plans and operational modalities in the future. (Bandula)