The Best and Worst of Sri Lanka’s 2025

Participants reviewed the economic highlights and challenges of Sri Lanka’s performance throughout the year. Dhananath identified the relaxation of vehicle imports as a major fiscal success, noting that high import margins provided essential revenue for the government’s surplus. Riyadh observed improvements in the government procurement and tendering processes, suggesting they have become more transparent and less prone to corruption compared to previous administrations. Key observations included: Vehicle imports helped stabilize the second-hand market by increasing supply and lowering prices. Increased transparency in tendering is attributed to new income declaration requirements and an improved fear of accountability among officials. Dhananath argued that these gains must be supported by public sector reforms, specifically through better salary structures to reduce reliance on bribery. The discussion shifted to significant regulatory and infrastructure failures that hindered growth. Dhananath criticised the recent gambling act for lacking comprehensive regulation, particularly regarding online betting, which represents a missed billion-dollar opportunity for foreign exchange revenue.