ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka achieved the highest ever foreign direct investment and higher ever exports in the history of the country in 2017, while unemployment was at 4.2 percent, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera had said.
“We expect the economy to accelerate growth driven by private enterprise and exports,” Samaraweera told the annual sessions of the Asian Development Bank in Manila.
“We have introduced some key reforms including the new Inland Revenue Act, which came to force last month that could be called the most progressive tax reform in Sri Lanka in several decades.
“This is part of a broader agenda of introducing transparent rules based legislative and governance frameworks. Our Active Liability Management Act was made effective with a view to improve domestic and foreign debt management.
“We are at the doorstep of becoming an upper-middle income country and your continued support to accommodate the desired transition without any hindrance to our national development agenda would be immensely appreciated.”
Sri Lanka has received over 8.5 billion US dollars from the ADB since 1968. A resident mission had been set up in 1997. (Colombo/May07/2018)
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