charindra chandrasena 00:05 Riyad, Speaker 1 00:05 Shari, charindra chandrasena 00:07 how are you? Speaker 1 00:08 Good, good, good. charindra chandrasena 00:09 We have quite a bit to talk about. Speaker 1 00:12 Yeah, it has been relatively. But it charindra chandrasena 00:14 has been relatively a quiet week compared to you know some weeks in Sri Lanka. Speaker 1 00:19 Absolutely, I mean, especially last week. I mean, the news that was coming out with the whole whole med scenario and some of the other stuff, and especially what happened in Nepal. So there were a lot of there was a lot of information that came out, and there are a lot of stuff to talk about. charindra chandrasena 00:32 Nepal is quieting down now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I Speaker 1 00:36 mean, thank God that's happening because you know it was. But one good thing is it was very quick. It charindra chandrasena 00:39 was quick. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:40 So he didn't he didn't carry on. Only thing is, I'm a little bit. The only thing I'm like little bit upset is you know there was some certain public property which actually belongs to the people that was burned down, and some private. I don't know if it was private now. For example, the Hilton was burnt. I mean, these are Nepal is a country that basically lives on tourism. So you know when you get rid of a public asset, the people who have to pay for it is again the public, so you know that was the only disappointing. That was the main disappointing thing for me, but apart from that, it was very quick. So things have calmed down. Whole transition is going on. charindra chandrasena 01:12 Yeah, I think it's this bottled up anger. No, Speaker 1 01:14 it's bottled up anger. Yeah, bottled up for years and years, charindra chandrasena 01:17 particularly over the last three or four years with all the you know musical chairs of politics absolutely that has gone on there. Yeah, Speaker 1 01:25 I mean ultimately, I mean multiple political parties becoming one political party, and then the opposition is basically opposition becomes part of the government. Yes. So then obviously you're asking for trouble. Yeah. So I mean then the pent up anger just came up, and there's this whole thing about Nepal babies, right? Nepo babies, yes. So because all charindra chandrasena 01:44 these privileged children of established people, yeah, established, yeah, established politicians and and and wealthy people were going abroad and like you know posting pictures, pictures and all that. They were living in a different world, you know, compared to a lot of people in Nepal. Speaker 1 02:02 Yeah, exactly. Even what they were saying is, even even from Western standards, they will live a luxurious life. Yeah, yeah. So I mean, then obviously, you know, I mean, Nepal is a very poor country, and in a country like that, when you see something like that, I mean, it's it's the public anger is justified. Justified. Yeah, charindra chandrasena 02:20 that's the thing. Speaker 1 02:20 Yeah, charindra chandrasena 02:22 but so in the news Speaker 1 02:23 today, this week, in the news today, this week in Sri Lanka, exactly. charindra chandrasena 02:27 Bus Gamuno. Well, his real name was Gamuno Vijayra, Speaker 1 02:35 A.K.A. Bus Gamun. A.K.A. Bus Gamuno. Yeah. charindra chandrasena 02:38 Did you hear what he said, Speaker 1 02:40 you know, I I don't know somebody. Yeah, yeah. Basically, he said being very funny. charindra chandrasena 02:45 He said that they are going to launch a strike. Speaker 1 02:49 Right. charindra chandrasena 02:49 If so, for for people who don't know, Baska Muno is the head of the private bus association, and he threatened to conduct a strike if the government interfered too much with the private bus culture. Speaker 1 03:08 You're kidding. charindra chandrasena 03:10 I wish I was. What is this private bus culture? Speaker 1 03:14 Okay, that's a big question. I mean, I do. I mean, the thing is, I know you don't charindra chandrasena 03:19 travel in buses. No, no, I do. Speaker 1 03:21 I do, I do. I mean, I do. Even recently, I went about a month ago. I went to Hammandar down south. I met up with some friends. I didn't drive. I just took a bus and went there because those guys are already there. I mean, I don't know. I mean, when he refers to even bus culture, it's a big question. Is it about all these lights and all they have inside and the lights they have outside and the whole? charindra chandrasena 03:40 That's what I'm also wondering whether it is about all the the decor inside the and the loud music and the loud music and whatever they play and how you know the the the conductor walks around and and you know collects money from people and how sometimes they don't give the change, yeah, yeah, yeah. So from each passenger, they can earn like extra two rupees or whatever. Yeah, yeah. Speaker 1 04:09 So they lose change. charindra chandrasena 04:11 Lose change. There you go. Right. So it's it's not clear what this is. I mean, Speaker 1 04:16 I mean, it's it's it's a. I mean, I'm completely kind of puzzled about that statement, I mean, since you just said it, I mean, I don't know what the whole bus culture thing is, but one thing I can say is, I mean, Sri Lankan, especially the private buses, right? Sometimes this happens with the what you call the CTB buses as well. One thing is that discipline on the road. This something that everyone talks about, right? I mean, their driving is atrocious most of the time, and that was the reason. Remember, I mean, when last week you were talking about it, putting a GPS unit is a very good thing. Then you know what kind of a driver he is, right? And then some, if some remedy has to be taken, if he has to be retrained, or if he has to be retrained, or if he has to be even removed, then you can take a. You you can take a call on that, but the the scenario of you know asking about bus culture, I think it's mostly I think it must be this deco and stuff. You know they have lot of yeah they have and charindra chandrasena 05:13 also the attire of the driver I suppose right because the drivers are not necessarily you know clad in very formal, not formal, but in sort of a uniform attire. But Speaker 1 05:26 but wasn't that the thing? I mean, couple of not couple of years ago, about maybe about 10 or 15 years ago, they were asked to wear like you know you had to wear a particular uniform kind of thing, which they were wearing over there, whatever they were wearing at that time. I mean, remember that khaki colour shirt and all that colour, yeah. They had to wear that. Then it kind of just vanished. But that was not enforced, right? Was it? I think it was enforced at a time. But I think after that, I mean, what happens in Sri Lanka is over time people forget about it and it just withers off. But you're 100 right, and I agree on that. You know, for example, you get bus drivers and all that twain skinnies, In shorts, you know. I mean, they look like they're going to the beach. That's the thing, isn't it? Yeah, and you know, and some of these guys are, you know, they have funny beards, funny hairs. Some of these guys have, you know, I mean, charindra chandrasena 06:12 there's there's a difference, yeah, right, between celebrating individuality, Speaker 1 06:15 yeah, charindra chandrasena 06:16 and having some consistency and uniformity. Absolutely, these are profession, Speaker 1 06:20 absolutely, yes, right, charindra chandrasena 06:21 because these guys have also. I mean, they are the the public has a stake in these buses as well because they are travelling in these buses. Absolutely, right. So just because you're private doesn't mean that you can be completely disconnected and isolated from the responsibilities you have. Speaker 1 06:38 100% charindra chandrasena 06:39 So somebody might say that we are elitists, the two of us. You know, we are we are talking in English and we are criticising the tie of these bus drivers. Absolutely. But it's it's also about like when a country develops, do you want to? I mean, have this level of irregularity or not irregularity, but inconsistencies. Yeah, and Speaker 1 07:00 you need to have. I mean, I mean, for anything to succeed. I mean, if you want to succeed in, let's say, your personal life or you want to succeed in a business, you need to have some sort of discipline at some point. Yeah. Right. Now, for example, if you take the private sector, some companies go to the extent, like if you're having tattoos in your arm and all that, they they they tell you please wear a long sleeve shirt, right? Because what you do it in your private life, that's fine with us. If you are going, I mean, you have to make yourself presentable because you are meeting customers, right? And there are some customers. If you come and, for example, if you take, let's say, financial institution, they are very strict on that because what happens is when you come and see the guy who's on the counter, if he looks weird, you think, okay, I'm giving him my money, and you know, if this place is, you know, is this place okay? It brings a bad vibe on the financial institution. For example, something like a bank, right? So because of that, there's a certain set of disciplines that they have to do. You know, you have to come in the morning. You have to be either you have to be clean shaved, or if you're having a beard, it has to be you know properly maintained. You know, you need to have a decent haircut, all that. So that is there because then people perceive because first impression counts a lot. charindra chandrasena 08:03 Yeah, Speaker 1 08:04 right. So the thing is, if this guy comes like you know, I don't know what term to to describe. And charindra chandrasena 08:10 and think about it, like the bus driver and the bus conductor. Yeah, are possibly two of the people you meet earliest in the day. Speaker 1 08:18 Absolutely. charindra chandrasena 08:18 At the start of your day, they may be the one of the first public people you meet. Speaker 1 08:24 Yes. charindra chandrasena 08:25 Right. And what is the impression you create for the rest of the day? Yes. Right. Yeah. When they are dressed in a you know very shabby way. Speaker 1 08:33 Yeah. charindra chandrasena 08:33 So they may say economic reasons, financial reasons, all of that. That that's fine. Yeah. But what I'm saying here is a resistance to change in that. Speaker 1 08:43 No, so thing is, so the thing is, I mean, I mean, I'm looking at it this way. Now, for example, the guys who come, who who are the bus drivers, the only people who can control them are the bus owners because the bus driver and the bus owner are two different people, right? So if the bus owner takes the position that okay you need to come you need to come you need to be now for example until the basic for example you take the highway buses generally they are very well maintained the conductor the driver all is generally decent declared right I mean because thing is you know I mean it's it's because the what do you call the owner of the bus has taken the stance. Okay, no, this has to be run properly. And when you take the highway buses and all that, generally these are these AC buses and all that. You know, and people of a particular income go on that because people who are at the bottom bottom end of the pyramid generally what they what they will do is they'll try to take a they'll take a normal CTB whatever bus and they'll try to go to their destination. Yeah. So because of that class, because then after a while people will be like, okay, this particular bus company I don't want to get in because this guy, you know, the driver and the conductor looks so dodgy. I don't want to get into this bus, right? And then you have, for example, the female passengers. Yeah, they get very uncomfortable when you have people who are dressed like that, right? So those are things you need to take into consideration. No. This happens not in, for example, ACO highway buses or long distance buses. This I mean long distance buses, but this normally happens in what you call the inside the district. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Inside the district, short distance, short distance buses inside the district or whatever you call that, and particular buses that go on particular on on particular routes, right? So this is something I suppose where if the owners are not taking the initiative, this is something the government can push. And by the way, they had a rule before this. Remember, we just spoke up a little while ago, right? And we had to come in that khaki shirt, and they were supposed to wear a khaki pant and all that. Yeah, I'm charindra chandrasena 10:37 just wondering whether that was enforced, like whether it was an actual regulation or whether it was just a guidance. Speaker 1 10:42 Yeah, I but I don't know. I mean, I don't know. But most of the buses at that time, I remember when I was travelling. I mean, when I was travelling in buses more often than now, but I used to see them. They used to because in the morning I used to go to to to the to the to the what do you call the the the call BT bus. What do you call that? Not the term. Bus stand. Bus stand. Right. Right. So that's the depot. Sorry. The bus depot depot. That's the correct word. And when you go there, you see these guys. They are in their usual clad. But when they get into the bus, what they do is they put their shirt on. So some level of discipline is coming. charindra chandrasena 11:20 At least some level of compliance, compliance and all is coming. Be perfect, but they will at least try, trying, right? And Speaker 1 11:26 the other thing is, what another problem what I'm having with buses is like, as a driver, not as a commuter of a in a bus, as a driver in a privately owned passenger vehicle, when these buses go with all these flashy lights and all, it's so distracting when you are in India in front of you, because one thing overtaking a bus in Sri Lankan on a normal road is very difficult because one thing is roads are very narrow, right? And the other so the chance that you will get to overtake that bus is probably you might not drive a couple of kilometres. I mean, this is something any driver will know. So the thing is, let's say you are trying to overtake this guy and all these flashlights are going, it completely distracts you, and the other one is it completely you lose your focus also because the reason is you are trying to see who's coming on the other side, and all these flashy lights, and you know it looks like a torona there, right? So with that, the chance of accident happening goes higher, right? So I think in that sense, I think it makes sense, but if the what do you call if bus games, you know that's part of their culture. I don't know what to say. That is something I think really needs to be addressed. Yeah, and you're not getting into a bus for this psychedelic experience. Exactly. I mean, these are the other ways to get that experience. You're not. You're charindra chandrasena 12:35 getting. You're getting into a bus, especially the short distance buses. Yeah. To get from point A to point B Speaker 1 12:41 at the at the at the most safest and the least amount of time, charindra chandrasena 12:45 right? Yeah. And like a lot of people now use earbuds or exactly you know headphones or whatever. So if they want the music or if they want it loud, they'll put that. Exactly. You can have general music, but like the the the kind of music that is played in these buses sometimes. Speaker 1 13:00 Yeah. charindra chandrasena 13:01 And also the speed at which they go, you know, when they when they brake when they suddenly brake, it the driver doesn't feel it so much because he's at the front, yeah. But people at the back, oh yeah, oh yeah, you know. So it's just not a pleasant experience. It's not. Speaker 1 13:16 And the thing is, lot of the buses that we run, for example, the ones that actually come from from India and all that. Most of the buses, because those are the short distance buses that we run. So all those buses, they are completely they on what you call lorry chassis, right? So lorry chassis are made for something else, right? You know the rigidity, the suspension, travel, and all is made for something else because they are they are made to carry heavy loads. So those are big chassis, right? So when you convert that and you take the what you call the the lorry body off and you put a bus body onto it, obviously you're not going to have a pleasant experience. But then again, that's what we can afford because if you bring customised buses that are made for that, then what's going to happen is you know the consumer will have to foot the bill because obviously the prices will be higher. Yeah. So that is something to see, but I don't know. Maybe an option would be to bring recondition buses down. That may be option because then it'll be cheaper. So that is for something for the treasury to consider in the future. Because then you are bringing down buses which are purpose made as buses, right? Which are more com. You know, the comfort levels are better, the safety levels are better. You know they are made for that. It's a single purpose vehicle, so that is something I think the treasury might have to might have to look at because currently we have these policies that you can't bring anything. I think below two years, two or three years. I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's two years that you can't bring. Sorry, three years, right? Which you have to bring down, then there is a problem because then the price is obviously high. But you can bring down ones which are certified, which are in very good condition, and those reconditioned buses can go to the transport ministry at Vera Speaker 2 14:50 Harra, Speaker 1 14:50 where everything is checked, where they do the technical checking. And if the reconditioned vehicles, if the technical everything is good, then I don't see why we can we we can't use them. I mean, there there is. Nothing saying that we need to bring brand new vehicles down. I mean, if you can bring recondition once, it's okay, especially for public transport, right? I mean, for I suppose for the government is pushing for brand new vehicles is I think one thing is the tax income is more. I mean, that's obvious. That's obvious one to talk about. But for public transport, which is like a service for the public, because end of the day, public transport actually is good for the country because you know people go to work. You know that transport actually generates generates wealth to the country. It generates income for the country, and that's how the country rolls. So if people can get in the morning in a very comfortable way in a bus that is actually made as a bus, then I suppose you know. Yeah, charindra chandrasena 15:40 and other problem I see is, I mean, what the statement says about this threat of a strike is that the the resistance to change is because that culture is so embedded right now. Yeah. So the culture he's talking about is basically people telling the government that industry telling the government that we are we are fine going the way we are going, yeah, yeah, right. But what they don't realise is they affect so many people's lives every day, every morning, every afternoon, every night. Speaker 1 16:10 Absolutely. charindra chandrasena 16:10 So it's not really up to Speaker 1 16:12 them. Absolutely. charindra chandrasena 16:13 And also people like this Yamanu Vijayatna, you know, they've made a career out of this, Speaker 1 16:21 correct? Right, charindra chandrasena 16:21 they've made a career out of being relevant. Speaker 1 16:24 Absolutely, charindra chandrasena 16:24 because they hold that monopoly over the the bus industry, private bus sector, true. So I feel like he is now feeling that his grip is loosening on that. Yeah, right. Yeah, because what you have to understand or what you remember is that this government is quite experienced when it comes to trade union action. Speaker 1 16:45 Absolutely, yes, yes. charindra chandrasena 16:47 So sometimes you need to be in it to understand how it operates, and then then break, Speaker 1 16:54 yeah, charindra chandrasena 16:55 and change that for the better. Yeah. So the government people in the government, you know, know exactly absolutely what what this guy is up to Speaker 1 17:02 exactly. So I mean that is something I think they really need to do because it's it's it's it it's a I mean to be honest I mean it has got to the level where people call out saying that it's a menace on the road, right? I mean there is because these guys they go on the wrong way. Then if you look at all the accidents, right? Most of the accidents are most of the accidents that have happened, there are a lot of accidents that have happened which are pretty bad because of buses and all that. They're speeding, you know, they're speeding, going on the wrong lane. You know, it's basically lack of discipline. Yeah. So, and to be honest, I think a lot of the accidents also, especially on long distances, because you know we don't have a extensive highway network. Also, because if you had extensive highway network, these kind of things won't be happening because people will rather take the highway than going in. Yeah, windy roads. Yeah, charindra chandrasena 17:47 you know the traffic it just makes these bus drivers want to overtake, and then you know Speaker 1 17:52 exactly. I mean, and I think it's the training also because now I think there was a report that came out about the the the Ella bus accident where the the the initial one basically said that this particular driver I think it's because of inexperience has basically he has what we call he has rode on the brakes right so basically what has happened is the the the brakes have overheated and then suddenly they just lose you just lose your brakes that's it yeah I think we spoke about this last week. We spoke about this last week. Yeah. So the thing is, I mean that. So that is something. So driving in in a mountainous area and driving on flat road, it's two different things. charindra chandrasena 18:31 Yeah. Exactly. So Speaker 1 18:32 if a guy is driving a bus that is going on that particular route, I mean, he has to be trained to drive on that. charindra chandrasena 18:39 That's the thing. Speaker 1 18:39 Yeah. So those are things. I suppose you need to. I mean, if you look, I mean, for example, if you look at the airline industry, I mean, just because you're a pilot, that doesn't mean you can fly any airline. You have to be, for example, if it's a Boeing 737 or if it's a Boeing 787, you have to be certified to fly that. charindra chandrasena 18:55 Yeah, yeah. Speaker 1 18:55 And you didn't have so many of hours to basically become the captain now to fly on that airline. So I mean, buses are not complicated as that, but there's a clear difference between going on what you call flat land and going on a mountainous terrain. Because in a mountainous terrain, you get the twisty part, plus you know you get going up and down. It depends on you know you need to calm down on particular routes. You need to calm down on the gear. So if that person is not experienced on that, then what's going to happen is you know basically you're going to lead to you know to issues like brake failure. Yep. All right, we had to move on. Yes. To the economy. Yes. You saw the yes some good loads to it. No. Yeah, absolutely. So the so the economy has grown by 4.9% on the second queue compared to last year, which was 4.4 point one. But the but the scenario is lot of the growth is actually it has come on part on consumption. What the report says is that, for example, the services industry has done well, and the reason why the services industry has done well is because we have imported. I mean the car imports. I mean lot of vehicles have come into the country. Of course, the the number of vehicles being registered and the number of vehicles being imported. Okay, that's another story. But but nevertheless, everything has to be imported. And one thing is, when you import, what happens? It goes to the banking sector. And the vehicles that are being purchased, you know, they go through leases and stuff like that. You know leases and loans and all that. Again, it's good for the financial sector, and then again they have to be insured, which is also again part of the financial sector. So because of that, the financial sector has done relatively well. I'm just I'll just quickly go through. I'll just so financial sector basically comes under the services sector, right? So so services has gone up by sorry, services sector is different. Financial sector has gone up by 12.3% and and then you get things like hotels and restaurants which have gone up by 10.3% That is directly linked to, for example, the tourism. And plus, if you look at restaurants and pubs and all that generally over the weekend. You even get Sri Lankans who kind of frequent them because if you go to on Marine Drive and you know all the beachside little places that are there. I mean, normally if you go over weekend, it's generally it's generally it's generally packed. So that's another reason. Then manufacturing sector has gone up by 16.6% and construction by 8.5% because construction some of the projects that were stuck they are starting again and some new projects are starting as well, especially with apartments and stuff like that. Then industry and manufacturing. I mean, if you take manufacturing 16.6% that is mostly I think the apparel sector because I think what has happened is just before the Trump tariffs kind of kick in, I think the preemptive preemptive orders are going through. So I think the factories are doing okay. So overall, it looks good. But only thing is, only issue I'm kind of having is maintaining this might be a problem because the financial sector has contributed a large chunk into this. Because for example, in this whole number number there's a whole number scenario, things like agriculture and all that. The growth has been like 2% which is not great. And already now there is talk of about a rice shortage that is kind of circulating amongst the media. So that may be a reason. Kiri samba, yeah. So that's the thing. So that is one thing. So, but the but the only trouble what I'm seeing is post Trump how the manufacturing sector is going to perform, and post cars being imported how the financial services how how they are going to fare. So that is something we have to keep eye on charindra chandrasena 22:36 because what we have to remember is that this is for the second quarter, which means April, May, June, yeah, April, May, June. So by June, the tariffs had not kicked in. Speaker 1 22:52 No, they still haven't. No. charindra chandrasena 22:53 Yes, there is that speculative impact on the economy, yeah, and on exporters. Yes, Speaker 1 23:00 and you never know what he's going to do next. Exactly right. So that's the other other issue, right? With charindra chandrasena 23:04 Donald Trump, you never know what you're. Speaker 1 23:06 Yeah, exactly. You charindra chandrasena 23:07 know, blowing hot and cold. Yes. So there is that speculative element of trying to read his mind and and prepare accordingly. Yeah. But the actual impact has not been felt. No, it Speaker 1 23:19 still hasn't. Yes. So it'll charindra chandrasena 23:20 be interesting to see what the third quarter, which is July, August, September, yeah, actually brings about in terms of the growth figures, yeah, because they came into effect last month. So at least half the month would have been sorry, half the quarter would have been impacted, correct, yeah, by the tariffs. Correct. Yeah. So, Speaker 1 23:44 so I mean, going forward, I think the next third quarter, I think still, I think the financial services will do okay because still people are now. I think the buying has slowed down, but it'll continue. So still, you know, but it won't have the same numbers. So Speaker 1 23:58 probably there'll be a little bit of you know people buying vehicles, people applying for loans to buy vehicles, people applying for leases to buy vehicles. So that all goes in the financial sector. And obviously, when you go for a loan or lease, you need to get fully insurance, right? I mean, some people don't like fully insurance, but if you go for a loan, if you go for any liability on the vehicle, then you need to get fully insurance. That means the insurance sector will directly benefit from it. But going forward from the third to the fourth quarter, then only we will actually see what the real issues Speaker 2 24:28 are. Speaker 1 24:28 I mean, so until until I think the third quarter also will be relatively decent. I think the real troubles, if they are coming, we'll probably we'll see from the fourth quarter onwards. So that is something we need to keep our eyes on, especially with manufacturing. And if there is going to be any slowdown on on consumption, also because the reason being because we had deflation till the last quarter, and now until the month before, and from from the last month we have started inflation. Has started to go up slightly, slightly, yeah. And we have seen this phenomena where the government primarily, like the auctions, are not going through as planned. I mean, there have been a couple of auction failures, right? So that's going to have an impact. So there is a call for there is excess liquidity in the market, and obviously that's why the auctions didn't go through because the market is demanding at a higher rate, and then the government goes to the captive source. So they have another little fund. They dig into that. So you have to wait and see if the government takes a decision to actually put the rates up. But if you look at experience of not only this government, previous government, generally the governments they like to keep interest rates low because they want consumption and they want growth. But the problem is, if that is what they are looking for, then we are going to have an issue with the currency, because normally the two the the two anchors in the economy are the currency and the other the interest rate and the currency, and the one to control one the one that is easy to control is actually the interest rate because if the government puts its policy rates up and if there's excess liquidity, they mop it up. Generally, things run smoothly. But this is something where for for the last 75 years, every government that has been there, I mean, problems like BOP, you know, crisis and all that, they come and they go. I'm not saying money is going to come immediately, but if this is not, charindra chandrasena 26:22 let's not, yeah, let's not clear people. There are people. I don't. I mean, I Speaker 1 26:25 don't think anything's going to happen this year. But if this keeps on going, then we might have some problems next year. So that is something probably. I don't know. I'm pretty sure the government is looking very closely at that. And if they do, if they do remedial action on that, I'm pretty sure. Then yeah, I think I think as charindra chandrasena 26:38 far as this period is concerned so far. Speaker 1 26:42 Yeah. charindra chandrasena 26:42 So the government has been in power. If you take the presidency for about a year now, yeah. The year is completed this week or next week, right? But if you take as a as a full government, yeah, it's November. Speaker 1 26:57 Yes. charindra chandrasena 26:57 So either way, whether it's 10 months or 12 months, the government's performance so far on the economy has been quite commendable. Yes, right. It has been. Speaker 1 27:07 It has been. It has been quite good. It charindra chandrasena 27:08 has been commendable. Yeah, especially because the expectations were so low. Speaker 1 27:13 Correct. charindra chandrasena 27:13 Right. Yeah. And the expectations for failure were so high. Correct. Right. And that's all the political narrative also. Yeah. And Speaker 1 27:20 and one thing I like about the government is, I mean, I mean, if you look at if you if you look at their policy paper, whatever they put out, and I mean, they didn't follow most of it. What they did was they actually this government had actually had more policy consistency than anyone because the reason is there a lot of things that worked with the previous government, they just continued it. For example, the IMF programme, yeah, like for example, tax collection things like that. You know, they didn't do anything drastic. You know, because normally what happens is in Sri Lanka when governments change, they do a complete U-turn on the previous guy. This government has been very, very consistent on that because they saw. I mean, I don't know. I think they are getting. I think they are getting getting proper advice from somewhere, and whatever the good things that was there from the previous government, previous administration, they continued. charindra chandrasena 28:06 I, I, I, I finally agree. I think there are nuances to that. Also, I think the IMF programme is the main thing that they continue. Yeah, and also the fact that they didn't change the treasury secretary and the central bank governor. Speaker 3 28:19 Exactly. charindra chandrasena 28:20 Despite their criticisms of them, you know, before the election, right? So we can leave that aside, saying that's political rhetoric. Yes. But the fact of the matter is, they didn't change. Yeah. Yeah. So Speaker 1 28:30 the thing is, in Sri Lanka, like the two most important people, like it's actually the Treasury Secretary and Central Bank Governor. I mean, they basically control everything. charindra chandrasena 28:36 Exactly. Speaker 1 28:37 Right. I mean, they become when it comes to the economy, they come into play more than the president and finance means to anyone, right? Exactly. Basically, I mean, but in single, what they say is matcha, right? So the thing is that, so I mean, that's I said. These guys they went with a very consistent plan, and they have gone through the process. Now, of course, we have to wait and see. But charindra chandrasena 28:57 in terms of revenue collection, in terms of tax collection, I think the confidence factor can't be ignored. Where they have actually inspired greater confidence in the government, and people now I think believe that their tax money will be utilised properly. Speaker 1 29:14 Yeah, charindra chandrasena 29:15 because of their anti-corruption drive. Correct. Right. That if I pay my taxes, it's not going to waste or going into somebody's pocket. Speaker 1 29:23 Yeah, and the other one is I think people are also a little bit I mean confident is because there is no exuberance, you know, there is exactly expenses and all that where it has happened in the past. Yeah. So so because of that, we have to wait and see. But of course, on on on the government side also, they are not spending too much money. I mean, they are not spending too much money. I mean, compared to the tax collection. So I think what they are doing is they are basically, you know, in in in future years there are particular you know loans that need to be paid off. So I think they are basically looking at the tax structure because it's it's it's it's much easier if they can keep the currency. At a at a confident level, where when they actually start paying now, for example, if the currency starts will move and you know then what happens is it becomes it becomes another burden, yeah, right. So I think that is something they are at the moment they are managing quite well. They are managing relatively well, I would say. But we have to wait and see in the future because things like now, I think they made about one and a half billion dollars from the car imports, charindra chandrasena 30:25 the Speaker 1 30:26 taxes, right? So those are like if you say for the next two, maybe two or three years, those are like bonuses because people who have to buy cars have already bought them, and now you can see a little bit of collapse in the prices of cars also, where the I mean, I mean, if you go on that cohort stretch, you can see most of the car sales. You know, the vehicles are, you know, they are they're completely full, full up with vehicles and all that. So those vehicles have to go out. So currently, I think the demand for vehicles is little by little it's receding. So so when that happens, it's supply and demand, right? Prices will come down, and then again maybe there'll be another set of people who will go and purge a little bit. But what's going to happen is the revenue, what the government is going to get from new vehicles coming in, is going to be much less. Much less, yeah, and it's going to go down. It's going to start going down. So then they'll have to you know collect that money from the traditional places like you know customs and excise and you know Indian revenue and things like that. So I think probably they will concentrate to make them more efficient, where they can get more people into the net. So I think I think they are doing things relatively okay. I charindra chandrasena 31:36 think I think they are doing things relatively okay as well, and it's to their credit that Speaker 1 31:40 yeah charindra chandrasena 31:40 you know we are we are saying that, and a lot of people are saying that despite all the fears that were expressed before they came. Yeah, and I think a lot of that credit has to go to the president for of course for for his political pragmatism. You know, absolutely. You know, a lot of leaders decide based on their egos, right? Absolutely. He had to leave his ego completely aside because he himself had criticised these two officials in that early example, central bank governor and the treasury secretary. When I say treasury secretary, I'm talking on mr. Mahinda Sirwardhana and who retired recently. Who retired recently? So I think I think fantastic example of political pragmatism and leaving a little bit aside. We have to talk about more topics. We what's going on in London and oh yeah, so there is some Speaker 1 32:29 there is some nature. I want to ask you. I mean, the whole London thing is like yeah. I mean, it just crazy about nursing home. London Bridge falling down. London Bridge has fallen was actually charindra chandrasena 32:41 the London Bridge was the name of the plan for when the Queen died. Right, right. Yo, Speaker 1 32:49 that's right. Yeah, yeah. charindra chandrasena 32:50 Just call London Bridge activating London Bridge if I remember correctly. Right, remembering that. But when the Queen died, that was activated because for years and years because she she lived a long life, right? I Speaker 1 33:02 think she was the longest reigning monarch. She was. That's the thing. Yeah. charindra chandrasena 33:05 So so they had that ready for about 20 years, I think. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Speaker 1 33:10 I mean, yeah. charindra chandrasena 33:10 So anyway, so London is well, I would say burning, but London is hot. Speaker 1 33:17 Hot. Yeah, London London is really hot. And you don't really charindra chandrasena 33:19 you don't usually say that about London. It's a damp, very cold place. Exactly, but London is hot, and so basically the story is that there was a march, a protest called. It's in the United Kingdom, no. So the march was called Unite the Kingdom. Yeah. Okay. Right. And they were expecting. So basically, this was a this was ostensibly a free speech protest, right? As free speech rally, but what it was actually was a anti-immigration Speaker 1 33:54 something similar to what happened in Australia. Yes, exactly charindra chandrasena 33:57 similar to what happened in Australia. So anti-immigration, far right, conservative. Speaker 1 34:03 So this is basically Nigel Farage's bestian. charindra chandrasena 34:06 Yes, but it's not Nigel Farage this time. Right. This time it's a guy called Tommy Robinson who was organising. Speaker 1 34:13 He's a he's another dodgy guy, isn't he? He's a dodgy charindra chandrasena 34:15 guy. So he has felony convictions. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. He he has convictions on on several counts. One is about these brawls on the street. He was a he was from the British football culture. Oh, okay. You know, so there's a lot of football fans who get into fights in the in the club scene in hooligans. Speaker 1 34:35 So they are yeah exactly as good as football hooliganism. So charindra chandrasena 34:37 he was convicted of on several counts of you know this brawling and holy canism, one count of forging a passport. You know there are several issues with him, and yet now he has come to the political mainstream so much so that they actually had planned this protests and rally. This weekend for about 40,000 people. Speaker 1 35:04 Right, charindra chandrasena 35:04 they were thinking 40,000 would be a great number to get. Speaker 1 35:07 Right, charindra chandrasena 35:07 right, because it's a huge crowd. Right, they ended up getting a minimum of, depending on whom you ask, it's between one lakh and one and a half lakh. So 100 to 150,000. So they they have overachieved their target by more than 300% yes, exactly, right. Okay. So most estimates put it at 120 530, Speaker 1 35:27 Okay. charindra chandrasena 35:28 Right. But some as high as 150,000. And it did look like 150. I saw the videos, the aerial footage. Yeah. It stretches on and on and on. There's a there's a whole two minute video. Okay. Which is going like a drone, and it doesn't stop. The crowd is still there. Okay, you think it's going to stop at any time? Yeah. So it's crazy, and it's. I think there's an economic reason behind this as well. So because the UK economy is not doing well. Speaker 1 35:56 Yeah. charindra chandrasena 35:56 The cost of living. They have a cost of living crisis. Oh yeah. And one issue they have is in terms of housing as well, right? So all of these problems, I think for them it's easier to blame immigrants than actually confront the problem, which is with their governance and their with Speaker 1 36:16 their own politicians, with their charindra chandrasena 36:18 own politicians, with their own economic management. Speaker 1 36:20 Yeah. charindra chandrasena 36:21 What are your thoughts? Yeah, Speaker 1 36:23 because because I was kind of I kind of read a little bit about it. Actually, I didn't go into detail. But one thing I know, I got this. Something I got from a friend of mine who came from, who actually now lives in London. Actually, one of our co-directors at Advocata, and he was saying that mostly the the traditional Brits, the whites, right? The the white British establishment that has been there, they have been basically priced out of London, and not only London, some of the major cities. Because simple reason is now, if you look at the London property prices, it's absolutely over the cliff. I mean, London is one of the most expensive cities to live when it comes to property. That means buying a property and renting a property. So one reason for that is London has always been is a very cosmovented city, right? It has always been a favourite favourite of, for example, the Eastern Europeans. I mean, oligarchs just started buying property apartment after apartment, property after property, and all that. That is one. Then what do you call the guys from the Middle East, you know the sheiks, the sheiks, the crown princes, and all that. What you get from the Middle East, they started buying big chunks, big chunks as well. And then later on, you you got the Asians that came in, right? So especially the Indian community, Indian and the South Asian, Southeast, I won't say Southeast Asian, South Asian Asian community, community, yeah, that includes our guys and Pakistan. So this charindra chandrasena 37:42 priced out of the market point area. Actually, they are not being priced out by the regular immigrant who comes in, right? Right. They are being priced out by the by the ones that you mentioned, the oligarch or the sheiks and the or the companies that are buying property. Yeah. Speaker 1 38:01 So if you take the two largest funds in the world, I mean, I recently I read somewhere saying, for example, the two biggest funds in the world is basically BlackRock and Vanguard, right? I mean, they have been buying huge properties all over the world, all over the world, like um, from from all the major cities, all among the all all the major different cities. Australia also has this problem. Yeah, exactly, exactly. In Sydney, they have this problem as well. Exactly. So the thing is, what happens is obviously the price goes up, and the guys who the immigrants that come normally, you know, they try to, you know, they come from a country which is worse off than that's the reason they migrated, right? That's the thing. So the thing is, they are going to work super hard. There's no question about it. I mean, if they have to, they'll work over the weekend. If they have to. They'll do two jobs, and their dream would be to buy a house there. So they will go on the singular target of buying a house. There are some of the traditional white families that that have been living. Sometimes, if the price is good, they probably would have sold it. And some of the families, what I've heard, I mean, I'm saying what I've heard from friends is that lot of the people they actually they have always been living on rent, right? And when the rent starts going up, they can afford to stay in their neighbourhood. So house charindra chandrasena 39:08 ownership is the dream. No, yeah, house ownership. You want to live on rent your whole life, right? You want to have something for yourself. But what you mentioned about about this immigrants coming in, the immigrant culture is generally not just to buy, but also to achieve. Speaker 1 39:23 Yes, charindra chandrasena 39:23 right. So, so when they go back Speaker 1 39:25 home, say, you know, I own a house in you know London or you know Melbourne or whatever, right? And charindra chandrasena 39:29 the academic focus they have, yeah, you know, South Asian families, parents especially push their children into you know like nothing is enough, right? Speaker 1 39:38 Absolutely, you want a you know perfect eight days. You need a project four A's. You know, you know. You need to be a married student. charindra chandrasena 39:44 Exactly. Speaker 1 39:44 Right. You know. So charindra chandrasena 39:45 they keep getting pushed, and then when they go abroad, also because you know most people spend a lot to send their children abroad, and they want to achieve so that that academic culture, that educational culture is there. Yeah. Which which may not be there. To that same extent in the Western world, yeah. And the other thing is, I mean, the guys who come from South Asia, most of them in South Asia. I mean, it can be any, it can be any immigrant, right? Normally, what happens is they are generally, genuinely, they are very hardworking, Speaker 1 40:13 right? Because end of the day, because when you land there, they have nothing. So only thing what they have is the skill and the qualification what they bring in and the hard work they are going to put in. So obviously, but but the thing is, if you look at the if you look at the traditional, for example, the traditional citizens of that particular area. I mean, if you look for example, if you take London, you know, they have a carousel thing. You know, they go to work when they come back home. You know, they go to the pub, have a pint. You know, they have that. So that thing, then they are getting pushed into into compete with the immigrant, yeah, they also might have to go and work, do two jobs, or maybe work over the weekend, or maybe do something extra. Yeah. So I think there's a push from that as well. But but but the thing is, I think these are all got to do with economic issues. Yeah. charindra chandrasena 40:55 And after Brexit, I think this feeling has improved. I mean, Brexit was also partly caused by you know immigration, but after that it has only increased. Even though you know now UK is out of the European Union, Speaker 1 41:10 correct. charindra chandrasena 41:11 This anti-immigration, anti-immigrant feeling. Speaker 1 41:14 Yes. charindra chandrasena 41:14 So now it's not Nigel Farage. Like you know, Nigel Farage is basically the Brexit guy. Yeah, Brexit guy, leader of UK Independence Party, who was the main architect of the Brexit and who was calling for Brexit 20 years before it happened. Yeah, from the 90s. Yeah, yeah. So that was his life's work. Speaker 1 41:31 Yeah, charindra chandrasena 41:31 and now he's rising in the polls. Speaker 1 41:34 Yeah, charindra chandrasena 41:34 right. So there's a polls have come out saying that if there was an election held tomorrow, that he would win. Speaker 1 41:42 Oh really? Yeah, that UKIP charindra chandrasena 41:44 would win over Key Starmer, over Labour and Conservative. Oh Speaker 1 41:48 really? Yeah, charindra chandrasena 41:49 right. So that's that's incredible. Speaker 1 41:51 Yeah, charindra chandrasena 41:52 because Speaker 1 41:53 like like what happened here? I mean, the two old parties got knocked off exactly charindra chandrasena 41:57 right, which is which is why it's incredible because I remember Naija Swaraj always being on the fringes. Speaker 1 42:02 Yeah, charindra chandrasena 42:03 right. He was in the margins. Yeah, yeah, yeah. British policy. Yeah, Speaker 1 42:05 he hardly made it to Parliament. charindra chandrasena 42:07 Yeah, I mean, he was in European Parliament for a long. Yeah, exactly. It's it's just that he didn't have power in terms of actually getting votes. He was more about a like a cheerleader for a certain point. Yeah, Speaker 1 42:20 because I think he was in the Commons only once or something like that. Something like that. Yeah, he was MEP most most of exactly most of his life. Yeah. charindra chandrasena 42:26 So now Tommy Robinson could be the next Najah Farage. Okay. But a more extreme Najayevarage. Right. So Niger Farage doesn't want to take Tommy Robinson into the UKIP party. Okay. Because Speaker 1 42:39 because this guy is too big. Okay. If you think Nigeria is extreme, this guy is a banana. charindra chandrasena 42:46 So you don't really want, but Elon Musk is backing him. Okay. Elon Musk is backing Speaker 1 42:52 right charindra chandrasena 42:52 Tommy Robinson. Right. So he actually spoke at the rally as well. Oh really? Via webcam. I mean via video conference. Video conference. Speaker 1 43:00 Okay. charindra chandrasena 43:00 So he's apparently telling Najah Farage to take Tommy Robinson in, but Najah Farage is Speaker 1 43:07 saying okay, charindra chandrasena 43:07 scared, yeah, right, because you don't want to go that text train, Speaker 1 43:10 exactly, charindra chandrasena 43:10 right? Because he has worked so hard to come to the political mainstream. Yeah, yeah, because Speaker 1 43:14 because I think one thing is for any politicians, the real trouble would be, I mean, UK is, I mean, if you look at what's happening in the whole UK economy? The whole UK economy depends on London, right? And London is one of the it's one of the biggest financial centres in the world, right? It charindra chandrasena 43:29 was the financial centre of the Europe. Yeah, Speaker 1 43:32 I think before Brexit. Now I don't know what the situation. Yeah. So I mean, the three or four biggest financial centres are London, New York, Tokyo, yeah, Hong Kong, and probably Singapore, and now Dubai. So those are that's where all the money, you know, money never sleeps, right? It keeps skipping from country to country. So I think one thing that is really which is a bigger concern, I think, for all the policy guys and all that. UK gets a lot of money from, for example, from the developing world because there are a lot of guys who come and invest and all that, right? Because generally UK is considered a safe haven, and trust the UK legal system is considered a safe haven. That's one of the reasons why you know a lot of the world's financial arbitration is done in UK courts because generally, yeah, generally what they say is you can trust UK law and you can trust the UK judge, but the thing is, if this kind of stuff starts to come, then what's going to happen is all the growth is coming from the developing world. It's from, I mean, it's from this, this from our side of the world, right? That's what charindra chandrasena 44:33 people don't understand. UK is strong because of immigration. Exactly, you know, it's not despite immigration. So now suddenly you have a problem with immigrants. There are there are cases here and there which are like you know bad examples of, I mean examples of bad immigration. Yeah, but generally immigration is a net good. That's what exactly you know. And I mean these countries, not UK so much, but America, Australia, all these countries are built on immigration. Absolutely. Yeah, and that is because what you mentioned that immigrants have a different, you know, determination, different will to succeed because they are leaving a life behind and they are coming to start over. Speaker 1 45:12 Exactly, right? charindra chandrasena 45:12 None of the better, Speaker 1 45:13 and they are starting with nothing. Exactly, nothing. Yeah. charindra chandrasena 45:16 So the drive is there. The Speaker 1 45:17 drive is that. So that's that. The native charindra chandrasena 45:19 may not have. Speaker 1 45:20 Exactly. So thing is, I mean, they are they are thinking okay. Somehow I'm going to make it. Yeah. You know. So when you come with that attitude, generally that attitude generally brings you a winner. Brings you yes. And when you bring a winner, and when you get a winner into your country, what's going to happen is you know he's going to build on that. And let's say later on he starts a business, right? Then he's going to start giving employment of people. So that's how economies develop. Exactly. Speaker 1 45:39 But I don't know the current status how things are going. I don't know how things will shift in London. We'll have to. charindra chandrasena 45:46 We'll have to see. It'll be interesting developments because they might have another rally, and Australia is having another one today or well this weekend maybe. Right. So it's not stopping. Right. Before we wind up, we have to talk about SOEs, Speaker 1 46:02 right? Yes. charindra chandrasena 46:03 So they have closed down 30 odd SOEs recently. Speaker 1 46:08 Correct. charindra chandrasena 46:08 So Mahin Lanka is one of them. Yes, so I think the most prominent Speaker 1 46:14 one. Yeah. So thing is, they have closed down 3333. But we only know of I think four. So I think the one is. Just give me a minute. Okay. So the thing is, Meen Lanka. That's a that's a big one. I mean, out. I mean, there's 33, but we only know of four. It's on the it's on the Advocata website. So if you if you go, you can actually read the article. So the four that we know of is Mean Lanka, that's a big one. Lanka Cement PLC, Selendiva Investments. I think this is that. charindra chandrasena 46:48 This was this was started by President Gotaba. Yeah, this was Speaker 1 46:52 that land company they were trying to do. Okay, that's right. I think charindra chandrasena 46:55 I think Grand Oriental Hotel and some of these land companies are going to be that's four which they were trying Speaker 1 47:00 to repurpose. Yeah, then the other one is there's something called Magampur Port Management Company Limited. So that's something in Hambantota. So up to now, we only know that four because the full list I think still hasn't come down. But just to give a recap of SOEs, so I'll just read out from from the Advocata from the press release. Sri Lanka's SOE SOE is numbering of 400 across 33 sectors and employing nearly 250,000 people, account for around four and a half percent of the country's total public debt. Four and a half percent, yeah, of the public debt is due to is due to SOEs. Yeah, because you know, because a lot of 400 charindra chandrasena 47:35 plus SOS. Yeah, because a Speaker 1 47:36 lot of these debt of state-owned enterprises they run on a treasury guarantee, right? So, so when the treasury takes a hit, it basically becomes a burden to the public because a lot of people. One thing they don't understand is treasury, the government taking debt and the public taking debt is the same thing because industry that debt has to be paid by the public. So it's a what you call it's a so how the government pays the debt is one thing through taxation, other one is through. I mean, now of course they can't print and do all that stuff. But even when you print or you go for monetary expansion, still that debt overall debt comes back to you. It boomerangs back to the public. So in other days, there's no way around it. It's the public that has to pay for it. But I think the government is on the right what you call gear again? Because the reason is, I think they have figured out. Okay, these guys we can't maintain. charindra chandrasena 48:25 Yeah, but also, yeah, these are not necessarily active SOEs. No, so these are Speaker 1 48:30 the these are what you call in these are like digital. Yeah, charindra chandrasena 48:32 basically, yeah, like nominally they are there. Yeah, they Speaker 1 48:36 are just there, right? Yeah. charindra chandrasena 48:37 So is this sign of things to come in terms of them actually, you know, restructuring or giving up activists also. Speaker 1 48:48 I think so because no, is charindra chandrasena 48:50 this dipping their toes into the water? Speaker 1 48:53 The thing is, sorry, I think yes because thing it's like this much. If you, I mean, if you, I'm just saying right now, this whole thing is like a test for the government. So I'm just saying, if you and I go for a test, what do you do first? You first finish the easy ones. Yeah, low hanging fruit. Low hanging fruit. You first finish that off. So I think the government is also taking a very pragmatic position. What they are doing is okay. The ones they can knock knock off very easily without fighting with the trade unions, without fighting with a lot of what you call outside agents, is the ones that are non-active, so you knock them off, right? And then you kind of send message also saying, you know, this is not working out. But the thing is, and other thing is, in the government, this government also knows, you know, how how trade unions operate and all that, right? So because of that, I think they are sent. I think they're sending the right signals also. Only thing is there are a lot of SOEs which are actually creating. I mean, there are about handful of SOEs which are creating most of the problems. That's where a lot of the you know the treasury guarantees and the public debt and all is going on. These are like the biggest companies in the country, right? So how do you manage them? I mean, for example, everyone talks in. Private sector and all that, you know the big. I mean, the what you call the big guns are the John Keelsers, you know Haley's8, Conspensers. These are the then you get MAS Brandix and all that, you know, which are of course privately held. But these are the big companies. But then again, no one realises. You know, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation turnover is about $5 billion. CV is also about I think three or something, three or billion dollars. So these, I mean, all the biggest companies in the country is owned by the government, and they are running into huge losses, right? So managing that, and obviously, I mean, you don't necessarily have to sell some of them. You might have to get, you know, the economic reforms have to go through, right? Restructuring has to go through. I think those are areas the government really needs to look into, because if they, the longer they keep dragging these, the more debt you pile. Yeah, I mean, what they say is, what they say is like, if you're if you're running a let's say sorry, you're running a you're let's say you're running a private company, right? And let's say you have got into trouble, let's say bad business, maybe during bad times you got in trouble. Yeah, you try to resolve that debt issue quickly as possible because the longer you keep it going, the interest interest keeps compounding, keeps compounding, and then after maybe another period of time, your exposure increases, right? Yeah. Then doing the restructure becomes even harder. Yeah. So if you are in trouble, doing it early as possible is the right way to do it. Yeah. Right. So I don't know what the government's plan on that because, for example, the CEB, the CEB bill, which the reforms that were supposed to go through, which was actually passed by Parliament on the previous government, which were the reforms what even the IMF had asked for, currently it was basically reversed, right? So that is a big concern. I mean, that's a that's that's a big concern on this government. I mean, that is something that Sri Lanka really needed because we have a kind of a really frail what you call power generation system, right? And power generation, you know, distribution and all that. So, getting let's say international agencies, donor agencies, and all that particular things were needed to be done, and that was done by the previous government. But of course, some of them were reversed. A lot of that was reversed now, so that is a big concern because end of the day, grid is really old. Speaker 1 52:15 Generation, we have a lot of expensive generation methodologies that have come in recently, so we need to get all that sorted out because one thing is, if you like it or not, electricity is a big factor when it comes to, for example, manufacturing or getting industry running. And if electricity prices come at a level where it's not sustainable, then a lot of people are not going to come and invest, and you know we can't get that growth and all going. So I think that rather sooner than later needs to be addressed. But I don't know. We'll have to we'll have to wait and see. We'll charindra chandrasena 52:51 have to wait and see. Speaker 1 52:52 Yeah. charindra chandrasena 52:52 And now we'll have to go. Our time is up. Our time is up. Thank you, Riyadh. We will catch up next. Speaker 1 53:01 Yeah, next week, and I think probably next week I think Dana should be back. charindra chandrasena 53:04 Ah, Dana should be back. Yeah. Okay, great. So I will catch up with him and you. Yeah. Let's Speaker 1 53:09 see how it goes next charindra chandrasena 53:10 week, and yeah, we'll talk economics and politics and politics. Yeah, because Speaker 1 53:14 we are also trying to expand the show, get some you know at least get three or four people into this. Yeah. Then it becomes more interactive and more fun. charindra chandrasena 53:21 Absolutely. So Speaker 1 53:22 let's see. All right. All right. All right. Take care. All right. Cheers. Bye bye. Bye. Transcribed by https://otter.ai