• Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is far from over, with a massive depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee, a budget deficit of 7.9 per cent, and the government’s inability to increase revenue fast enough.
  • If tourism and remittances from abroad do not pick up fast enough, Sri Lanka will have to pin all hope on the IMF.
  • Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told Parliament on November 22 that the economic crisis was because of “foreign elements”.
  • On the contrary, the Sri Lanka Retailers Association said that the small and marginal businesses were staring at going out of business because the borrowing rates were so high, up to 34 per cent. 
  • President Ranil Wickremesinghe wants the sale of public assets to happen as soon as possible so that the IMF believes that Sri Lanka is keen on moving forward with its brand of reforms.
  • While the buzz in Colombo seems to indicate that the IMF is the panacea for all evils, this could create the conditions for another protest on the part of the people.