Business

The Sri Lankan government’s budget highlights the authorities’ commitment to raising fiscal revenues as a share of GDP – an approach that, if successful, would alleviate a long-standing weakness in the sovereign’s credit profile, says Fitch Ratings.

The government has allocated Rs.3 billion for its digital transformation strategies this year, as part of its efforts to generate US $ 15 billion in revenue through the digital economy by 2030.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to meet on February 28, 2025 to discuss and approve third review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

With the Rs. 10 price reduction on a kilogram of wheat flour, the bakery owners have agreed on a price

Budget 2025 sets out a total government expenditure of LKR 7,190 billion, marking a 17% increase from the LKR 6,131 billion allocated in 2024. As a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), government spending is set to rise from 20.4% to 21.8%.

The Government is proposing to lease underutilized state-owned land to SMEs for productive economic activities under the budget 2025.

The budget 2025 has allocated Rs. 20 billion for national carrier SriLankan Airlines, for the repayment of the principal and interest of its loan.

The government has proposed a revision to the public sector salary structure as part of the 2025 Budget, improving the minimum wages and streamlining the allowances.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says that public transport systems – buses, highways and train services – will be developed and renovated both in urban and rural areas of the country, considering it a ‘very timely situation’.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says that a Digital Economic Authority will be established, and a new legal framework for digital payments will be introduced in order to fasten the digital economy further.