1. Chile, Thailand, India have moved past debating privatization to enjoying benefits. 2. #lka lower STEM grads, plus many leaving 3. Need indep.Central Bank. More interested in a Talal Rafi Chathuranga Abey Harsha de Silva debate in EST than SP VS AKD

youtu.be/nxLKa3jPi9I?fe…

Stuck at an impasse with international bondholders, Sri Lanka faces economic uncertainty with an IMF review looming, experts caution about the implications.

My latest for Nikkei Asia, with Talal Rafi, Sergi Lanau & W A Wijewardena.

asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Sri-…
#LKA #SriLanka

I spoke to Newsfirst (Sirasa TV) yesterday (19th) on the IMF Outlook for Sri Lanka and the need for hard reforms to move forward.

I spoke to Newsfirst (Sirasa) yesterday on the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings. I share my thoughts on the Agenda of the World Bank and IMF meetings in Washington DC and the global economic outlook.

Chile and Sri Lanka were the first 2 countries from the developing world to open their economies. Today, Chile is an advanced economy but Sri Lanka is a bankrupt nation. Why is this? I explain the reasons in a speech at the Certified Management Accountants Conference last year.

My paper on 'Strategic Advantages of India in shaping the global order' published by Australia's leading think tank, Australian Institute of International Affairs.

internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutl…

'70% of Vietnam's exports are by firms in Vietnam who have foreign investments in them. Samsung itself accounts for 20% of Vietnam's exports. Vietnam is seen as a success story in growing exports and they have done it through foreign invested companies and not local. Thailand is…

President Ranasinghe Premadasa can be said to be the most successful President in Sri Lanka on the economic front. Even though he was fighting 2 civil wars, he still managed to improve almost all of Sri Lanka's economic indicators (as shown in table below). His 200 garment…

'Even if we successfully complete the current IMF program, our debt to GDP is only expected to come down to 95%. Ghana defaulted when it's debt was only 92% of GDP in 2022. This is how deeply in an economic crisis Sri Lanka is in. As the IMF's Peter Breuer said we are on a knife…

'Sri Lanka needs to move away from saying a leader can save the country. Elections should be about policies and not personalities. Even if Lee Kuan Yew followed economic policies supporting import substitution, bloated public sector, low taxation, excessive land ownership by…

7 million Sri Lankans cannot have 3 meals a day now because of these leftist, socialist Soviet era politicians and their outdated thinking. This guy is still around but the thousands of young Sri Lankan children are having stunted growth. If we had just gone to the IMF early, the…

'Yes, Malaysia avoided the IMF in 1997, but, unlike Sri Lanka, Malaysia was not a bankrupt nation. Malaysia’s debt to GDP in 1997 was only 40% while Sri Lanka’s in 2022 was 128%. Malaysia’s Government revenue to GDP was 20% in 1997 while Sri Lanka’s was 8% in 2022.

Sri Lanka’s…

Had a great casual discussion with Former Central Bank Governor Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy at his apartment. He invited me for a late evening coffee chat of nearly 3 hours. Discussed the economy, elections and advice on how to be a successful Central Bank Governor 😀. Dr…

'Gender parity can cause economic expansion of 35% according to McKinsey. Sri Lanka's debt was at 128% of GDP in 2022 and the IMF program wants to bring it down to 95% by 2032. If we achieve gender parity, we can achieve the IMF target of debt sustainability instead of going…

My interview for The Morning Hot Seat. I reply to the following questions as well :
1. Can a future government change the IMF program? Is there space for change?
2. Do we have an alternative to the IMF program?
3. What do we need to go beyond the IMF reforms? What are those…

Sri Lanka has not been able to balance its budget for 71 out of 76 years: Talal Rafi Talal Rafi
Assessing the status of Sri Lanka’s ongoing 17th IMF programme, Rafi said that the country was making progress, but a lot remained to be done.
themorning.lk/articles/JLYg8…

Dropping consent sex age limit for 14 years : Sajith, Women MPs object newswire.lk/hwzi

It was great meeting the Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki. Japan is one of Sri Lanka's oldest friends. A relationship that has benefitted Sri Lanka for so long.