Integrated risk management key to success of SL’S new growth model: WB

„Says SL should move to more private investment, tradable sector-led growth model „Projects economy will recover in second half and reach 4.6% growth over full year „Notes increasingly frequent natural disasters demand more preparedness

To sustain growth, job creation and poverty reduction, Sri Lanka needs to move to a more private investment, tradable sector-led growth model, says the latest Sri Lanka Development Update, the World Bank’s half-yearly flagship report on the country’s economy, future outlook and policy priorities.

It recognizes Vision 2025 as a road map that outlines such a shift.

The update makes a strong case for better risk management, which can support Sri Lanka’s transition to this new growth model— which while opening more opportunities for development and making Sri Lanka more resilient to traditional risks, will also expose it to new ones.

“These risks need to be well managed to maximize the opportunities for households, firms, the public sector and the economy as a whole,” the World Bank said.

This edition of the update focuses on managing the risks related to fiscal and trade policy reforms, public debt and contingent liabilities and natural disasters.

While Sri Lanka’s growth, especially in the agriculture sector, was affected by the impact of floods and drought in the first half of 2017, the World Bank projects that Sri Lanka’s economy will recover in the second half and reach 4.6 percent growth over the full year. The island nation regained the concessions under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus from the European Union in May 2017.