Topic > SWOT Analysis of Sri Lanka - 955

GDP growth in 2009 fell to 3.5% and the financial crisis hit the country's foreign reserves which fell sharply as global demand for Sri Lanka's exports. For two consecutive years GDP growth was around 8% in 2010 and 2012. Growth slowed slightly in 2012 to around 6.5% due to declines in exports, agriculture etc. The Central Bank had initially forecast that the economy will grow by 7.5% in 2013 and by more than 8% annually in the 2014-2016 period. The Central Bank's January 2013 Economic Roadmap states that GDP will nearly double before 2018, from the current GDP of $59 billion in 2012 to $100 billion in 2016, and the Sri Lankan government hopes to increase the country's per capita income from its current value of $2,900 in 2014 to $4,000 in 2016. But growth may be hampered by the lack of diversification of the export base, investors can diversify to reduce both political and economic problems to the US and EU countries, which are Sri Lanka's major export markets. Government fiscal control has improved, but losses by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a major concern. Sri Lanka requires high levels of foreign direct investment to achieve desired growth levels, and the government has said that foreign direct investment in 2012 reached $1 billion, which is only half of the $2 billion target. UNCTAD reported 2011 foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka