Budget 2027: Transitioning Sri Lanka from Stabilisation to Growth 📈

• Overview & Targets: Sri Lanka’s proposed 2027 Budget seeks to move from post-crisis macroeconomic stabilisation to a structural transformation. To service external debt post-2027 and boost living standards, the economy must target a real growth rate above 7% annually. • Three Core Missions: • Raising National Productivity: Drive efficiency via "Digital Structuralism" (digitising customs, land registries, taxation), workforce upskilling, and logistics infrastructure. • Mobilising Investment: Expand gross domestic capital formation to over 30% of GDP by streamlining FDI approvals, deepening capital markets, and expanding SME credit guarantee facilities. • Improving Living Standards: Target high-value job creation, elevate female labor participation (currently under 35%), support youth entrepreneurship, and strengthen social safety networks like _Aswesuma_. • Key Sector Focus: • Apparel & Textiles & Tea: Transition into high-tech manufacturing, robotics, and AI to enhance value-addition against low-cost competitors. • Agribusiness: Shift input subsidies into technology co-investments (drip irrigation, cold chain). • Renewable Energy: Scale utility-scale solar, wind, and biomass to cut power costs and fossil fuel reliance. • Trade & Logistics: Upgrade deep-water ports to solidify South Asia maritime hub status. • Performance Framework: Measures success through a National Transformation Scorecard tracking labor productivity, export growth, real household income, and job creation alongside traditional primary surplus and deficit metrics.