Sri Lanka's $50 billion gross domestic product will increase 8.5 percent this year, up from 8 percent in 2010 and bucking a global slowdown, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Deputy Governor Dharma Dheerasinghe said.
India’s $1.7 trillion economy, Asia’s third-biggest, is likely to grow 8.2 percent in 2011 according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund, the slowest pace since 2009.
Not Worth Comparing!
http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/106339-sri-lankan-economy-looking-up-adb-imf.html
IMF praises Sri Lanka's surging economy - International Business Times
Sri Lanka’s economy: building bricks
by James Fontanella-Khan
Far away from the sovereign credit doldrums affecting Europe, a small island state in the Indian ocean seems to be attracting the attention of foreign investors.
Sri Lanka raised $1bn on Thursday after its 10-year bond sale was seven times subscribed, in a sign that investors remain confident that the island’s sustained economic recovery is on track.
“In a sea of uncertainty, volatility and global complications we stand out,” said Cabraal. “The hard work we put in over the last three years to get our macroeconomic fundamentals into shape is now paying off and many people have really latched on to the country’s overall growth story.”
Sri Lanka’s growth rate has rebounded sharply since the end of civil war in May 2009, with annual gross domestic product growth expected to reach a new record of 8.5 per cent this year. This comes after reaching a record 8 per cent in 2010 and just 3.5 per cent in 2009.
Investors’ backing follows that of international rating agencies. Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s recently upgraded Sri Lanka’s long-term foreign currency rating, while Fitch upgraded the island’s sovereign rating to BB-, three notches below investment grade.
“We revised our outlook on the foreign currency rating to reflect the improving external liquidity, progress in addressing structural fiscal weaknesses, the government’s effort to keep inflation near that of trading partners,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Takahira Ogawa. “The ratings incorporate our expectation of gradual improvement in public finances, via tax reform and better management of government-owned companies, he added.
Art Woo, Director in Fitch’s Asia Sovereign Ratings group, said: “The upgrade reflects the stabilization and recovery of the economy under the country’s IMF programme and increased efforts to address the chronic budget deficit position.”
All in all it looks as though the only way is up for the island of Sri Lanka.
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/07/21/sri-lankas-economy-building-bricks/
