Standard Chartered Bank’s Global Research team recently visited Sri Lanka to hold its annual Global Research Briefing (GRB), themed ‘A year of two halves’. The event, held on March 3 at the Galle Face Hotel Colombo, was attended by approximately 150 Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking (CCIB) clients of Standard Chartered Bank.
During the briefing, the Global Research team addressed various questions and shared their views on the global and Sri Lankan economic outlook for the year ahead. The team discussed their forecasts for the year as the global economy continues to navigate multiple headwinds in the first half and anticipated shifts in the second half with China’s reopening.
The team also discussed the ongoing debt restructuring and critical reforms that Sri Lanka is undertaking, which will shape the economy’s future in 2023 and beyond. They explored the path for debt sustainability in Sri Lanka and how the LKR will behave during and after the restructuring process. Regarding Standard Chartered Bank’s support of the government’s efforts to face economic challenges, the team expressed hope for a positive outcome through debt restructuring and favourable economic outputs.
“Standard Chartered is fully committed to supporting Sri Lanka during these challenging times. We have taken various steps to face economic challenges, including supporting our clients’ businesses and extending financing solutions. We will continue to work closely with the government and other stakeholders to navigate through the ongoing debt restructuring process and support the country’s path towards economic stability and growth. We remain optimistic about the outcome of the debt restructuring and look forward to favourable economic outputs soon,” said Bingumal Thewarathanthri, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka.
“We are delighted to have organised the GRB as an in-person event in Sri Lanka after a lapse of four years. It is an honour to have brought together our esteemed CCIB clients for a timely discussion on Sri Lanka’s economic future. We thank our Global Research team for sharing their insights on the global and local outlook for the year ahead. We hope that this event has provided valuable insights and that together, we can build stronger economic resilience for Sri Lanka.” said Anuk De Silva, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka.
The event commenced with Anuk De Silva setting the stage and welcoming the audience followed by the opening address by Bingumal Thewarathanthri. The event included speaker sessions by the Standard Chartered Global Research team, including Kaushik Rudra, Global Head, Fixed Income Research & Head, Asia Research, who made a presentation on the 2023 global economic outlook; Saurav Anand, Economist, South Asia, who spoke about the Sri Lankan economic outlook; and Divya Devesh, Head of ASA FX Research, who provided insights on the way forward with the FX strategy. The event also included a panel discussion, moderated by Bingumal Thewarathanthri, and featured the three speakers as panellists, and concluded with an interactive Q&A session.
