Public Finance Data and Analysis
Sri Lanka's new government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, plans to present an interim budget for Q1 2025 in November and pass the full 2025 Budget in January, prioritizing economic relief and stability in line with IMF agreements. The government will review state salary anomalies and adjust wages bi-annually based on purchasing power. They will also examine the previous administration's proposals on salary increases and lifting the vehicle import ban. Although recent gains in the Colombo Stock Exchange reflect some investor confidence, Prof. Anil Jayanth Fernando of the NPP Economic Council cautioned that the rise is largely speculative and not entirely based on fundamentals, warning of potential volatility in the market.