Sri Lanka likely to miss growth targets after Easter bombings
REUTERS: Sri Lanka is unlikely to hit its full-year economic growth target of 3-4 percent following the Easter Sunday bombings, junior finance minister Eran Wickremeratne told Reuters yesterday.
A Reuters poll of 10 analysts this month predicted growth could slide to 2.5 percent, which would be the country’s lowest since 2001.
Tourism, foreign investment and overall business activity are all expected to fall, the poll found, following the April 21 bombings in which more than 250 people including 42 foreigners were killed. Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Some analysts said they were expecting a contraction in growth in the second quarter.
But Wickremeratne said measures including increased government spending would soften the impact of falling investment and an estimated $1 billion slump in tourism revenue this year.
Last year the island earned US$ 4.38 billion from tourism. Arrivals tumbled 7.5 percent in April from a year ago.