While national security considerations when developing foreign investment regulation isn’t new, it is becoming a greater consideration when assessing investment into sectors and companies that play a critical function to society or are of strategic importance to a country. A recently published Discussion Paper by CSF serves to introduce this emerging area to Sri Lankan trade and investment stakeholders, provide some country examples, and to inform further deliberation on the topic.

CSF’s latest Policy Brief looks at the implications of selected aspects of the European Green Deal for Sri Lanka’s exports. We flag four areas for action -Government support, Public-private partnerships, International cooperation and bilateral engagement, and Industry support to SMEs.

Sri Lanka must consolidate its enterprise-support agencies into one single agency, that is smaller, sharper, and with a clear and unambiguous mandate - to improve SME competitiveness towards creating more export-ready and near export-ready firms. The need of the hour is not generic SME development and enterprise support initiatives.

CSF Visiting Fellow Dr Janaka Wijayasiri argues that as the country begins to explore FTAs once again, it is timely to consider mainstreaming gender into Sri Lanka's trade policy and trade agreements taking into the gender inequality in the country.

This Working Paper reviews bilateral trade performance, explains some of the key domestic economic policy contexts during and after the FTA was signed, discusses some of the key issues that emerged, and takes an initial look at prospects.

While steady growth in exports was recorded in the year 2021, Sri Lanka’s deepening economic crisis runs the serious risk of impacting the export recovery achieved to date. This article reviews some key data points and industry insights.

In this interview, former Deloitte consultant Danindu Udalamaththa outlines some key areas for Sri Lanka to focus on in designing good incentives frameworks to attract good quality foreign direct investment.

In this interview with finance and investment specialist Sharini Kulasinghe, we explore some new perspectives on solving SME development challenges (especially SME access to finance), going beyond the conventional wisdom.

Sri Lanka’s apparel industry – a significant export revenue earner and employer – was substantially hit by the pandemic. Moving from recovery to resilience and a new phase of growth will be shaped by three key trends.

COVID-19 caused severe economic challenges worldwide, including a negative 3.6% growth in Sri Lanka in 2020. A lockdown by the government led to a drop in economic activity and job losses. The government intervened by providing limited stimulus, including cash transfers and low-interest loans, and investing heavily in infrastructure development to help the economy rebound.

CSF Visiting Fellow Dr Janaka Wijayasiri argues that as the country begins to explore FTAs once again, it is timely to consider mainstreaming gender into Sri Lanka's trade policy and trade agreements taking into the gender inequality in the country.