“Economic recovery to continue in 2024”
Sri Lanka’s economy showed a strong recovery in 2023 following the IMF deal opined Standard Chartered Bank’s Global Research team that conducted its 2024 H1Global Research Briefing (GRB) in Colombo recently.
The eventthemed ‘A soft landing, with risks’ was attended by corporate, commercial and institutional banking clients of the Bank and provided a valuable platform for participants to gain insights on the global and Sri Lankan economic outlooks for the first half of 2024.
The Global Research team said that this economic recovery is expected to continue in 2024, with a focus on commercial debt restructuring. “However, the potential election risk could create challenges for Sri Lanka in the year ahead.”
Presenting the global economic outlook, the Standard Chartered research team noted that in 2024, global growth is expected to face persistent challenges from elevated rates, sub-par global trade volumes, and geopolitical tensions. The year is anticipated to be defined by a shift from monetary tightening to a more neutral monetary stance for global central banks. As divergence under the surface continues and the USD and US rates stabilise, emerging markets may experience pockets of improved performance.
However, the new challenge for economies and markets in the year ahead may be election risk. CEO of Standard Chartered Sri Lanka Bingumal Thewarathanthri, said, “Standard Chartered is firmly committed to supporting Sri Lanka amidst economic headwinds. We are fully dedicated to assisting the government’s endeavours, and we believe that debt restructuring, and collaborative efforts will achieve positive outcomes for the country.”
“Despite the current uncertainties, we are optimistic for a brighter economic future and remain hopeful of achieving sustainable growth and prosperity.”
Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, commented on the country’s overall growth and the future inflation trends. Dr. Weerasinghe also elaborated on the importance of fiscal and other policy reforms, and strategies to mitigate future domestic and external risks by building on the country’s reserves. He also spoke of how Sri Lanka is expected to have a turnaround with a positive growth momentum in 2024 and how the Central Bank is hoping to maintain the inflation at 5% in the medium to long-term basis to aid growth.
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