Economist, retired street cricketer, failed comedian.
Sri Lanka
Joined January 2010
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Turns out Sri Lanka (afka Ceylon) was involved in a sovereign debt restructuring in 1953, as a creditor (!) Likely restructuring export credit (tea or rubber) to germany pre-war, which also included a SCDI linked to german economic growth and exports. researchgate.net/publication…
983 days. 3 Presidents. 3 Finance Ministers. 1 team. Sri Lanka is back.
fitchratings.com/research/so…
Whilst today’s debt standstill is a positive in terms of beginning the recovery process through debt restructuring and freeing up forex for critical imports, it’s a sad day since this was entirely avoidable if we acted early. This from an internal note on 4th December 2019.
Slide on the immediate steps that could be taken to address the prevailing foreign exchange issues. Lot more structural stuff to be done subsequently but these are the most urgent steps.
Some recollections of Mangala’s work as Minister of Finance deshald.medium.com/mangalas-…
Some thoughts on “money printing” etc from a few months ago in Jan
deshald.medium.com/applicabi…
One year since this nonsense #aiyo
Some (personal) views on macroecon implications of budget ‘21 shared yesterday at panel organized by SL Association of Political Economy deshald.wordpress.com/2020/1…
Also touches on Modern Monetary Theory and the limits of its application to economies like SL.
Good to see more pieces like this by @waw1949 on the topic of MMT ft.lk/columns/A-Child-s-Guid…
Whilst immediate fiscal priority is to provide sufficient funds for social protection and healthcare, Fitch rating sensitivities suggest the post covid focus must shift to arresting the fiscal slide to avoid further downgrades to a C rating.
Very cool initiative by Ngala reserve in Kruger national park - live streaming two game drives each day during lockdown m.youtube.com/channel/UCV6HJ… As good as it gets for wildlife enthusiasts during lockdown! (9:30a.m and 7:00pm SL time)
Institutions such as the courts are in place to protect citizens. The process maybe slow and cumbersome - but it’s a crucial check on abuse of power. Undermining this institution is a threat to all citizens - not just those directly affected by an individual case.
Good to see pharmacies being opened and some delivery services operating - hopefully the first steps in shifting from curfew to a lock down. Quite a way to go but steps in the right direction.
Govt could encourage (difficult to mandate) a 50% concession on business rent for the next 3 months. Parties can recover difference from Jan ‘21 over 12M. Asset owners likely better equipped to weather the prevailing distress. Will be a big help to small business during #covid19.
