Talking about opportunity...

It was not long ago when tiny Sri Lanka faced a devastating reality. The Christmas Tsunami of 2004. Many survivors resolved not to forget the people that perished that day. They have recovered with the help of the international community and now it's leaders seek a prosperous future for their people and greater promise for their children. I would think if I were Wall Street it would be worth a visit.

Published on Sunday, 24 November 2013 18:50

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance and Planning (click here) last week released the government's Public Investment Strategy for 2014-2016 titled 'Unstoppable Sri Lanka 2020'.

The strategy formulated by the government outlines that Sri Lanka intends to become a US $ 100 billion economy by 2016 and a US $ 185 billion economy by 2020. The government aims to increase the Per Capita Income from US $ 4,470 by 2016 and to US $ 8,500 by 2020.

The plan also outlines that an Inflation target of 4% is expected by 2016 while it will be further reduced to 3% by 2020.

The country aims to reach an export target of US $ 18 billion by 2016 and a US $ 20 billion target by 2020 while earnings from the tourism industry is expected to be US $ 2.65 billion by 2016 and US $ 5 billion by 2020. The Government also aims to increase country's trade turnover to be US $ 44.1 billion by 2016 and to US $ 50 billion by 2020.

Sri Lanka also targets over US $ 10 billion from remittances by 2016 and US $ 16 billion by 2020.

The country's Services sector will be further enhanced to reach a target of US $ 2.6 billion by 2016 and to earn nearly US $ 4.6 billion by 2020.