Rethinking the Indebted Sri Lankan Economy We live in volatile times, unprecedented by many accounts. For highly indebted countries like Sri Lanka, navigating this instability by assuming we turn to old rulebooks may be folly, especially as almost the entire world faces Trump’s tariffs. Sri Lanka needs to address the structural inequities and conditions […]
Grounding Economic Policies in Tumultuous Times Read More »
Political Appointments: A Test for the NPP’s Economic Vision. The planned appointment of Duminda Hulangamuwa, as reported by the Daily Mirror on 16 March, as the next Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED) under the newly elected National People’s Power (NPP) government comes across as a surprising turn for
NPP’s Political Appointments Read More »
Fiscal and Redistributive Reform The Sri Lankan government’s treasury is currently facing a significant burden due to high interest costs on Treasury Bonds, which is severely constraining the fiscal space available for critical social protection programs. There is a valuable opportunity to alleviate this pressure by reducing the interest paid on bonds held outside
The Burden of Interest Costs Read More »
September 21 was a day of many firsts in Sri Lanka. Millions of people went to the polls to vote in the first presidential elections since mass protests forced the country’s last elected president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, from office in 2022. It also marked the first time in Sri Lanka’s history that a second round
Sri Lanka’s new president faces uphill battle to revive debt-ridden economy Read More »
The people of Sri Lanka have spoken. In a historic moment, Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been elected as the nation’s president, marking a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s political history. This election, deeply rooted in the widespread calls for systemic change during the 2022 Aragalaya protests, represents the will of the people and their demand
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake: Sri Lanka’s Desire to Chart a New Course. Read More »
Shifting deficit financing towards commercial sources. The underlying premise of the Bill is that Sri Lanka’s debt issues primarily stem from the budget deficit, with particular emphasis on the primary deficit (i.e., the budget deficit excluding interest payments on existing government debt). The Bill posits that reducing the public debt requires first reducing the primary
Public Finance Management Act 2024. Read More »
The Sri Lankan government announced that it has reached an agreement with its foreign private creditors to restructure the $12.5 billion of its external debt that they hold. The agreement incorporates a novel instrument: a macro-linked bond for which the payout is linked to the GDP performance of the debtor country. These bonds are to
Sri Lanka’s Debt Restructuring: A Win for Private Bondholders Read More »
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued an end-of-mission press release on 27 September 2023, with its preliminary findings on economic performance and policies underpinning the first review under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement with Sri Lanka. 1 The IMF is yet to reach a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka that would lead to
IMF lauds developments that worsens the plight of Sri Lanka’s poor Read More »
Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (Press Release, 3 July 2023) 3 July 2023 Dear Ms. Kristalina Georgieva The Managing Director International Monetary Fund (IMF) Re: IMF assistance to Sri Lanka We are writing this open letter to you to express our concerns on the International
Open Letter to IMF Managing Director on Sri Lanka (ICRICT) Read More »
