BusinessSri Lanka’s economic consolidation faces the risk of losing its current momentum if political instability prevails further following the local government election defeat of the ruling coalition government, Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomarswamy warned. He told a media conference convened to brief monetary policy review in Colombo on Thursday that accelerated economic growth cannot be expected if the political instability continues in the country. The country’s economic growth is expected to reach 5 to 5.5 per cent of GDP from last year’s growth of around 4 per cent. The country will have to continue economic reforms including the process of divesting state owned hotels, he said adding that the government faces an uphill task of massive debt repayment this year. The CB has to face many obstacles in implementing monetary policy in cooperation with the government, as the political economy exerts considerable pressure on monetary policy.

Source: Sunday Times February 15, 2018 08:15 UTC