NewsSri Lanka received top marks from a global rating agency on Thursday when Fitch Ratings affirmed Sri Lanka's Long-Term Foreign- and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'B+' and revised the ‘Outlook to Stable from Negative’. The rating is supported by Sri Lanka's favourable growth performance as well as its basic human development indicators and governance standards, which are more favourable as compared with some peers. Fitch estimates that Sri Lanka's 2016 fiscal performance was better than in 2015, following strong revenue growth that was supported by a value-added tax (VAT) hike. However, Fitch expects authorities to lower spending if there is a large revenue shortfall to keep the fiscal deficit under control,” the report added. Fitch said Sri Lanka's 3-year extended fund facility with the IMF has improved policy coherence and credibility and has eased some near-term balance of payments pressure.

Source: Sunday Times February 09, 2017 10:05 UTC