Via The Daily FT (Sri Lanka’s first and only national daily business paper), a report on recent Emirati investor delegation visit to Port City Colombo: A delegation of investors from the United Arab Emirates, led by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, visited Port City Colombo on 14 January, during a special visit […]
Read more »Via the Financial Times, a report on come unusual commercial activities led by Sri Lanka’s bloated military: The Laya is much like any other three-star resort on Sri Lanka’s glistening coast. About an hour south of Colombo, it is a popular spot for weddings and city dwellers hoping the sprawling beachfront garden, cricket pitch and […]
Read more »Via The Diplomat, an article on how the Sri Lankan government could take advantage of the crisis to do things that it could never attempt before, from addressing regressive subsidies to restructuring state-owned enterprises: Winston Churchill’s famous dictum, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” could not be more apt for Sri Lanka in […]
Read more »Via NPR, an article on why a Chinese ship’s arrival in Sri Lanka has caused alarm in India and the West: It all began 20 years ago, when China loaned Sri Lanka more than $1 billion to build a fancy new port — what would become its second-largest — on its southern coast. The Hambantota […]
Read more »Courtesy of Nikkei Asia, a report on China BRI, and whether the Pakistan, Sri Lanka debt crises threaten Beijing’s regional influence: The drive to Pakistan’s port of Gwadar takes seven and a half hours from Karachi via the Makran coastal highway. Much of the 600-km route is deserted, with no restaurants, restrooms or even fuel stations. […]
Read more »Via the Carnegie Endowment, commentary that Bangladesh and Nepal are not destined to repeat Sri Lanka’s mistakes due to their vastly different approaches to debt and China: South Asia is in trouble. The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has led to an uprising ousting the government, with crowds taking over the president’s office and residence. The country has defaulted on […]
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