Sri Lanka needs to improve investor confidence, focus on sources of potential high growth and focus on areas where there are opportunities to export, Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia Region said.

“But for some reason, these opportunities have not been taken,” he added.

“When there is a lot of uncertainty and unwillingness to invest probably the best thing is to build up “confidence” among investors, focus on sources of potential high growth and focus on areas where there are opportunities to export, but for some kind of reason, these opportunities have not been taken,” Timmer, said whilst speaking at a public forum titled ‘Global Economic Outlook and Challenges with a Focus on Sri Lanka’ at the Central Bank’s Centre for Banking Studies on Tuesday (03).

Timmer, further noted that Sri Lanka’s economy could be destabilized if a fiscal stimulus to be unsustainable.

“When fiscal situations become unsustainable, then you have to be very careful to balance that, or else instead of stabilizing the economy, you could destabilize the economy,” he said.

Timmer also noted that through the right policies, Sri Lanka can increase confidence in the investor market.

“Instead of spending as a government to create domestic demand, you create the right policies so that people will come and invest,” he said.