Annual Report 2010 - Ministry of Finance and Planning

BRIEFINGSBriefings“Much remains to be won in the cause of freedom.There should be opportunity for our people toenjoy the victories and successes obtained bythose in the countries of the developed world.Our aim should be the eradication of poverty.For that, we need to expand employment opportunities. We must become a high income country byexpanding the avenues for income generation. Our freedom will be sustainable only when the gapbetween the rural and urban sectors is removed, by further expanding services such as electricity, roads,telecommunication, education and healthcare.… The country cannot be developed solely on popular decisions. Inconvenient and difficult decisions are alsonecessary for the nation’s progress. It is the nation’s responsibility to take hard and difficult decisions to bringlight to the future of our children, rather than taking popular decisions that will lead them to darkness ahead.”H.E Mahinda Rajapaksa, The President of Sri Lanka, 04 February 2011“The Sri Lankan economy bounced back strongly in 2010,reflecting post–civil war optimism and the global recovery.The outlook, too, is positive for healthy growth provided the fiscal consolidation process meets targetsand the burgeoning inflation pressures are addressed. The medium term presents a need to greatly liftprivate investment, if the country is to reap the full rewards of the peace dividend.”Asian Development Outlook – 2011: ADB“In the 19 months since the nation’s civil war ended, stock pricesare up nearly 250% and the rupee up 6%. Government debt is alsoin high demand: The difference between yields on a Sri Lankandollar-denominated bond due in 2012 and similar U.S. Treasuries isjust 3.5 percentage points, data from Barclays Capital show.A year ago, that was spread closer to 6%. The potential here goes well beyond a boost in tourism.Sri Lanka’s location within East-to-West shipping lanes is promising, and large areas of farmland andcoastline in the northeast can be developed now that fighting has ended. The government, meanwhile,recently implemented tax cuts and other reforms aimed at boosting foreign investment. Adjusted forinflation, economic growth could be close to 8% this year, up from an average of 5% in the prior decade.”Wall Street Journal, 30 December 2010“There is a lot of potential in the industries. Globally, any investorwho is coming here would look at it from a global perspective.For agriculture, fisheries or livestock, depending on the sector the domestic consumer will constitute themain market. But industrial products and plantation products have to compete in the global market. Soindustrial development cannot be planned with a purely district or provincial perspective though we candistribute industries to different locations.”HON. BASIL Rajapaksa, MINISTER, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, october 200916