Sri Lanka celebrated as a rising star in international trade by Standard Chartered Global

In a new report published by Standard Chartered Global Research, Sri Lanka has been featured as one of the rising stars of international trade, putting the country among the top 20 performers with the highest potential for trade growth.  The report, titled 'Trade20: The Rising Stars of Global Trade', looks at the 20 markets that have shown impressive growth potential for trade over the past decade.

Côte d'Ivoire heads the list, followed by India, Kenya, China, Ireland, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Oman, and the UAE, to round off the top 10.  In the report, Sri Lanka is ranked 14, below Hong Kong and Russia, but above Bahrain, Singapore, Switzerland, Chile, Turkey, and the Philippines.

Such markets are defined by evaluating improvements in 12 indicators along three pillars: economic dynamism (direct foreign investment, export, and growth in GDP), preparation for trade (infrastructure, e-commerce, and business-friendliness), and diversity of commodities.

The Trade20 index identifies the economies with the most significant potential for trade growth in each region. The index highlights emerging trading forces such as China, India, and Singapore; medium-sized trading economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand that are continuing to make good progress; and smaller trading nations such as Côte d'Ivoire that are promising.

Asia-Pacific markets remain concentrated on improving trade growth potential, home to both emerging stars and export powerhouses. Asia-Pacific markets dominate the Trade20 – including India, China, Sri Lanka, and ASEAN.

Nine of the Trade20 states are in this region, suggesting that Asia has an unusually high potential for individual markets to boost their trade growth, the report said. It also noted that a cluster of Asian markets, including emerging trading giants China and India, and ASEAN accelerators such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, are making particularly good progress in terms of trade readiness.

China's trade readiness developments, including ambitious infrastructure projects, to be launched as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to strengthen cooperation between China and its trading partners, underpin its continuing development, but it is China's effect on other nations' trade growth potential that positions it in its league.

OSL Take: Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board (EDB) is engaged in an aggressive program to promote the country’s export sector and fully utilise the benefits of the trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the state.

Over the past few years, business reforms have helped improve Sri Lanka’s ability to score companies, move closer to global best practices, and raise the potential for trade growth. Such improvements made starting a business more straightforward, securing construction permits, raising capital, paying taxes, and importing and exporting goods.

The many trade agreements and trade concessions enjoyed by Sri Lanka have played a vital role in the development of the country’s export sector. It has also created many business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s export market, as well. Hence, foreign businesses/investors interested in doing business with Sri Lanka could explore opportunities in Sri Lanka’s export sector.
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