Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, United States, on Sept 21, 2023. — Reuters
COLOMBO (Bloomberg): Sri Lanka is likely to raise taxes and curb spending in its annual budget to meet the International Monetary Fund’s conditions and maintain a US$3bil bailout, but elections next year might see the government delay some reforms.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to announce a narrower budget deficit from the last fiscal year’s target of 7.9% of gross domestic product and lay out a road map to boost investments to aid economic recovery. Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, needs to win over voters ahead of presidential elections due in 2024.
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