Another Year, Another Moment

Only January’s 2025 budget will reveal the new administration’s true intentions. So far, their caution aligns with fiscal reforms critical to recovery. But can they confront the reforms postponed for decades?
Debt restructuring offers some relief, but a debt-to-GDP ratio above 100% and strained public finances remain stark realities. State enterprise inefficiency, a weak tax base, and fiscal indiscipline persist unaddressed.
Economic recovery will be painful and slow. It demands foresight and resolve to pursue long-overdue reforms. One hopes we are prepared to tighten our belts.
To see demons more than vast hell can hold is human, perhaps. But now, we must be realistic and pragmatic and foster the political culture shift we yearn for.

Money Printing or Not?

The Central Bank is under renewed scrutiny over its use of open market operations (OMO) to manage liquidity, sparking a debate over whether these actions equate to money printing that could destabilize the economy. Critics contend that OMOs—by expanding money in circulation—risk inflation and foreign exchange stress, especially as private lending recovers.
Historically, direct purchases of government securities in the primary market are linked to inflationary pressures and discouraged. Our columnist Bellwether has argued in a recent piece for EconomyNext that OMO could pose similar risks, as increased bank reserves from these injections can stimulate lending and imports, putting strain on reserves in our managed exchange rate regime.
The Central Bank, however, asserts that its OMOs primarily address liquidity shortfalls, comparing its actions to the U.S. Fed’s repo operations, which aim to stabilize rates without adding long-term inflationary pressure.
Finding a balance is crucial. While controlled liquidity boosts can support economic recovery, excessive intervention risks igniting the instability policymakers aim to prevent. With a new-look administration in place aiming to change the political-economic culture of Sri Lanka, it appears fundamental issues remain.

The Anti-Corruption Wave

Sri Lanka is on the cusp of a pivotal moment in its political history. Disillusioned by the establishment, Sri Lanka elected a new President to fight corruption. 
In this edition, our cover argues that the new administration under Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) must balance anti-corruption efforts with competent governance to resolve the economic crisis. 
While AKD’s anti-corruption stance is crucial, it risks being undermined by populist economic policies similar to previous administrations, which could worsen the fiscal deficit. Tackling corruption alone will not fix the crisis. Painful reforms must continue. That is the narrative the new administration must advance to keep the fire-brand elements within (and without) its ranks, yearning for a revolution that never was, from turning against it on the misguided belief that all economic pain stems from corruption.



Decide Well
A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it - Agent Kay

he upcoming elections would be the most decisive in Sri Lanka's history. The JVP-led NPP are riding the anti-corruption sentiment, something no other party can do. For all the IMF-bashing on the campaign trail and a manifesto determined to renegotiate the current IMF programme, the JVP  already accepts the IMF is necessary because it wishes to achieve debt sustainability, improve the sovereign credit rating and promote global trade. The IMF's governance diagnostic and welfare recommendations may be something the Marxists could own.  
However, does anti-corruption equate to short-term relief? The reforms needed to recalibrate the economy and achieve debt sustainability will be painful in the short term. 
How would people then react to an NPP government, or any government, pursuing a reform agenda? As we vote, we have the daunting task of factoring in what our next leaders plan to do, what they can do, and how people will react given that none of the manifestos talks about the tough road ahead. Instead, the manifestos talk about what Sri Lanka can be, and the immediate handouts voters can expect.
In many ways, the elections are not about the leaders or politicians. 
It is about who we want to be. It has always been.


There is certainty about when the elections will be, but not about the outcome or fate of the economy beyond September. Renegotiating or reneging on reforms, IMF commitments, and proposed debt restructuring frameworks with external creditors will only cut off forex inflows and plunge the economy into turmoil, unable to afford fuel, food, pharmaceuticals, or factory inputs. It does not matter who takes over the reins; it is what they do that counts.
The uncertainty about this is worrying. However, this underlying flaw of our nation got us here in the first place. But we can change.
We hope you find this edition reassuring, even in a small way, to reinforce consensus and resolve. We spoke to the impressive leadership team of one of Sri Lanka's leading wealth management firms, respected globally for its credibility, including its chair, former Central Bank Governor Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy. We also sat down with two market analysts to discuss the implications of the debt restructuring. We believe you will find their insights compelling.



We got a pulse!
We highly recommend Micheal Lewis' Boomerang to understand why people make bad decisions and assume unreasonable risks in a single-minded determination to ignore the obvious warning signs.
Like loose money: everyone knows and understands the risk, but almost always (if not always) states, businesses or individuals betray a willful inertness to curb their desires.
Our economic condition is down to persistently ignoring a malignant twin-deficit problem and going to the IMF like popping a Panadol or two when the pain gets worse as the cancer spreads.
 Would we now get hooked on more dangerous Opioids, like debt restructuring? For Argentina, defaulting and negotiating creditor deals to restructure debt has happened multiple times (see our segment on the bilateral creditor agreement).
Are we fixing our twin deficit problem?
The budget deficit fell off a cliff to Rs361 billion up to April 2024 from Rs824.2 billion a year ago, helped by higher tax revenues and a falling interest bill, official data show.
Revenues surged 48% to Rs1.2 trillion in April 2024, ahead of the 35% annual growth projected in the 2024 budget, with higher VAT and income tax rates and economic activity recovering close to previous levels.
This past June, inflation reached 1.7%, up from 0.9% in May but significantly lower than 12% a year earlier.
Sri Lanka also reported a $1.3 billion Balance of Payments surplus in the first five months of the year, with earnings from merchandise exports ($5 billion), services ($1.6 billion) and worker remittances ($2.6 billion) outweighing import spending ($7.2 billion). Gross official reserves grew by $1 billion since 2023 to $5.4 billion in May 2024.
Vital signs are improving, but there is no escaping the excruciating convalescence. We have plenty of second opinions and options. Soon, we will have to decide.

Blueprints for Success

Many businesses have consistently outperformed the economy, broken free from its oscillating trajectory. 
We've gone before the IMF 17 times and still crashed to an unprecedented low post-Covid, defaulting on our debts and suffering the consequences. When and what elections will we have, and to whom will we hand over the reins? 
Importantly, where do we want to go? Treasury Secretary Dr Mahinda Siriwardena told a recent forum hosted by the Advocata Institute that failure to heed the IMF's governance diagnosis could lead to a worse disaster than that we suffered in recent years. The painful reforms and structural shifts must gather momentum. To stop is to fall!
Change starts with you and me, and it is easy to be overwhelmed by the daunting state of the Aegean stable. It is all about attitude, which is the whole point of the fable of the undoing of the Gordian Knot, about questioning conventional wisdom with an instinct and desire to solve problems. 
We can draw inspiration from the many businesses that have fought hard to consistently buck the economic trend, challenge conventions, build stability, engineer expansion in Sri Lanka and beyond, and foster growth for their people and communities with purpose and without seeking rent or bribing: for instance, WSO2, whose founder we feature and learn about the vision, struggles and bold decisions behind the business' success. 

Cat and Mouse, Chickens and Kingmakers
It would be naïve to take political diatribes seriously. However, the ongoing posturing between the two leading contenders for the Presidency and the Parliamentary majority, the NPP and SJB, over dates for a debate and who debates whom is irritatingly worrying. 
The NPP leader - and Presidential aspirant - Anura Kumara Dissanayake is rearing for a debate with fellow aspirant and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa. The two leaders cannot agree on a date, and both are haggling it out cat and mouse-style in the press!
Daring and egging each other, suggesting one or the other is chicken. On the other hand, the SJB are keen that its panel of experts on economic policy be allowed to confront the coterie of experts informing the NPP strategy. 
We infer two things from this mundane but reverting exchange between the NPP and SJB - and pardon us for stating the obvious. First, the consensus among business leaders, professionals and policy experts who have engaged with the two leaders becomes very evident. One exudes a firm grip on the economic malaise but marches to a different ideological drum. The other exudes an inferiority complex, is pretentious, and relies on a solid team of experts responsible for any clarity or semblance of a plan. Second, the most worrying conclusion from the posturing over dates and who debates who is that the NPP and SJB will likely continue the tradition of a factious and fractious parliament pushing the executive towards the ineffectual or autocratic.
For now, we can draw comfort that all the palaver and ruction over dates and debates, egregious as it may be, is just politics. When the time comes, after all, the choice is always ours. 
They have clamoured for elections and a citizen mandate to deal with the economic crisis. When they get it, will they respect and abide by it from whichever side of the aisle citizens place them? Incidentally, would the Pohottuwa-clan become king-makers?

Our Choice
Protests and political blame games often follow IMF programmes, as governments fault the IMF for imposing harsh measures, while opposition parties capitalize on public anger. Unfortunately, this political theatre hampers necessary long-term reforms, trapping countries in a cycle of instability - Sri Lanka has gone to the IMF 17 times. 

The ongoing IMF programme does focus on mitigating the impact of reforms on vulnerable groups, which include expanding social safety net programmes and improving targeting to ensure aid reaches those in need.

Ultimately, the responsibility for implementing social safety net reforms lies with the government, not the IMF, and this is something the opposition lawmakers can build consensus with the government - at least to get this one thing done. But no: the factious and fractious politicians must do what's best for them. 

If it pursues reforms, the next government will likely have to stamp out public dissent or meet its demise before another aragalaya. The main parties contesting the elections have at some point resorted to ruthless violence to defend what they believe is right. The only way to avoid a downward spiral is to run on a ticket of painful reforms - a system change precipitated by honest reflection on what needs to get done, not what is ideal. 

IMF or no IMF, foreign debt or no foreign debt, our tax revenue cannot sustain the bloated public sector, fill the loss-making chasm of state-owned enterprises, pay subsidies and transfers, and service debt. Denying past presidents their pensions and tracing wealth in safe havens for repatriation will not solve the fundamental economic problems. Growth cannot come without building infrastructure, expanding our productive and skilled workforce and compelling our businesses to be enterprising and competitiv

Empowered and Unstoppable: Leaders and Strategies Unlocking a Key Ingredient forImpact and Success
Low female engagement in Sri Lanka's workforce persists. It is a critical concern, emblematic of entrenched norms and stereotypes. Women's labour force engagement hovers at a mere 31%, trailing significantly behind men's involvement, while their economic contribution stands at 29%. Many women find themselves within informal sectors, encompassing agriculture, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), alongside domestic labour.
In 2021, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, spotlighted the glaring underrepresentation of women in Sri Lanka's labour force. Despite elevated educational attainment, only approximately one in three working-age women secure employment.
This trend finds egregious accentuation in senior managerial positions, board memberships, and business proprietorship. In comparison, Sri Lanka trails its South Asian peers, such as India and Bangladesh, in female representation on corporate boards. Under 10% of board directors in companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) are women. Achieving gender parity on these boards necessitates the inclusion of more than 500 female members.
Nevertheless, there are beacons of triumph: inspiring role models who drive innovations, spearhead change and lead companies to success, and many who have ascended to pinnacle positions in their respective domains. Many companies are also fervently endeavouring to forge more equitable opportunities for women, acknowledging that diversity nurtures equity, engenders invaluable viewpoints, and infuses indispensable qualities and unique perspectives pivotal for succeeding in a challenging world.

Rally for System Change!
Our cover story attempts to unravel a complex issue: our aversion to income tax. While ending corruption and waste is a priority, we are yet to address fundamental economic problems - problems that will make it harder to eradicate graft, mismanagement, rent-seeking and other forms of corruption. 
How can we reset the economy with a clean slate?  The best place to start is with personal income tax, a not-elusive yet ignored system change!
Our consistently poor attitude towards personal income taxes has contributed to the economic malaise. A 2009 Presidential Taxation Commission found widespread personal income tax dodging. Professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and academics, who have benefited from taxpayer-funded education, have often dodged their tax obligations, leaving the burden of direct taxes to be shouldered by productive private sector entities and individuals already in the income tax net.
Our fiscal problems are not solely due to government spending but are primarily a result of falling tax revenue, forcing us to borrow heavily to maintain an unproductive public sector workforce, bankroll loss-making state enterprises, and finance infrastructure. 
It's time for us to step up and fulfil our tax obligations in exchange for responsible government spending, transparency, and good governance because most of us, one hopes, would demand (vote) for these and not for benefits, concessions and relief we used to expect others to pay for.

We Must Choose
Best wishes for 2024. May you find peace, strength and resolve.
As citizens, we have a role in spearheading the economic revival of Sri Lanka. Despite the World Bank revealing a concerning decline in our GDP growth rates since 2010, with significant contractions in recent years exacerbated by the pandemic and ongoing economic crises, the path forward is clear. These challenges, stemming from decades of misguided policies, call for our collective determined, stoic resolve.
The recent efforts, some unpopular, to rejuvenate the economy are commendable but are just the initial steps in a long arduous journey. It would be best to brace for more tough but essential reforms to dismantle the legacy of populist policies. 
Complain about taxes, by all means. The estimated tax revenue for 2024 is Rs3.8 trillion. Recurrent expenditure is Rs5.3 trillion, with public sector wages at Rs1.1 trillion, debt servicing at Rs2.6 trillion, and subsidy transfers at Rs1.2 trillion. 
These numbers suggest that we are not mere victims of circumstance. We are active participants in what befalls our economy, as Dr W A Wijewardena argues in this issue, and how the current deficit is bridged will depend on which election promises attract us. 
What would you cut? Taxes? Public sector wages or subsidies? 
Dr Wijewardena provides insight into this in the Investor's Guide 2024, discussing the potential economic implications of the 2024 elections. Beware of promises of quick relief, handouts and concessions, increments and spending that would require more borrowings that could heave us back to the dark ages of two years ago.

Turning Point
After everything we've endured over the last four years, the 2023 year-end festive season began propitiously with the Paris Club, an informal group of 23 official creditors, agreeing in principle to restructure $5.6 billion in debt, following separate agreements with India for $1.4 billion and China $5 billion. 
Finalizing these creditor agreements and implementing the IMF-mandated reforms, including new fiscal and revenue laws to bolster financial management and revenue collection and public sector reforms, should be a national priority. Successful debt restructuring is crucial not just to access a further $2.9 billion from the IMF's recovery package approved in September 2023 but to restore our credibility (and currency) in the global economy. 
Ominously, elections loom over the horizon: that is when we undo ourselves. There is little doubt that Sri Lanka is at a turning point, but three challenges continue to confront and confound us when we line up at the ballot box.
First, in negotiating the terms of the debt restructuring, we need to ensure fair terms that encourage fiscal independence and development goals, steering clear of damaging conditions like excessive austerity or giving in to the unreasonable demands of unproductive segments of the economy. Second, transparency and cooperation are crucial: we must honour our commitments to preserve trust with creditors and citizens. Third, restructuring should be an opportunity to reform economic management, focusing on systemic problems such as low revenue and high spending. Long-term, comprehensive reforms are essential over short-term fixes, the one thing we gladly overlook when casting our vote.


The System Change We Need
According to World Bank estimates, Sri Lankan GDP growth rates have steadily declined since reaching a peak of 9.1% in 2012. In three out of the four years since 2019, the economy has contracted. This decline includes a 3.6% drop in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, a further negative 7.5% attributed to the lingering effects of the pandemic, and a negative 7.8% linked to the ongoing economic crisis—a crisis evolving from seven decades worth of ill-conceived economic policies that went off the rails after the end of a three-decade conflict in 2009.
A recent ILO survey reveals the severity of the situation, with 80% of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Sri Lanka—the backbone of the economy—bearing the brunt of the pandemic. This figure has now risen to 89% after the currency crisis.
While recent efforts to revive the economy show promise, it is crucial to recognize that these efforts are merely the beginning. The risk lies in postponing the essential reforms and measures to reverse decades of populist policies. Delaying these necessary but potentially painful steps could further weaken the economy.
Recent policy statements from the government shed light on the complexity of the challenges ahead: The proposal to increase the value-added consumption tax to 18% while simultaneously promising raises in state-sector salaries (and urging the private sector to follow suit), a strand in our Gordian knot. 
Are we all victims only? In our cover story and another piece on state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms, we hope to bring some perspective on what it will take to fix our economy: a system change that begins with personal responsibility.

Turning Point (or Turn of the Screw)

Recall the Carol when the second of Marley's ghosts declared in anger, revealing two phantom children - offspring of humankind clinging to the otherwise jovial spirit: "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased".
A caution that hauntingly chimes in today's Sri Lankan political landscape. While politicians are beginning to champion tax and utility reductions for electoral gains, the malignant tumour remains the same: misguided policies that nurture a dependent, entitled, and irresponsible citizenry.
Without question, Sri Lanka stands at a crossroads. The IMF, World Bank, HSBC, and Fitch Ratings highlight the nation's emergence from financial despair. Inflation rates dropped from 69.8% in September 2022 to under 2% a year later. This decline, coupled with the Central Bank's swift policy actions and the bolstering of foreign reserves, marks a commendable financial pivot. Fitch also removed 15 banks from its Rating Watch Negative list and assigned them Stable Outlooks.
Nevertheless, the shadow of past economic missteps, like the 2019 tax cuts, lingers. These miscalculations escalated the national debt and sparked an economic downturn, leading to job losses and increased poverty. While the IMF's recent 48-month Extended Fund Facility brings optimism, navigating future uncertainties demands vigilance and well-strategized reforms to reverse decades of misguided economic policies. Come elections in 2024, how will Sri Lanka decide? Will we persevere with painful yet crucial reforms or unravel them and risk all? The danger of ignorance is clear: unchecked, it paves the way to downfall.


Lifeline or Bind?

According to a Financial Times report over the first weekend of September 2023 (Sri Lanka Debt Twist), the United States government has intervened in a lawsuit filed by Hamilton Reserve Bank (in US courts) seeking payment for defaulted Sri Lankan bonds worth $250 million. 
Our government had filed a motion to stay HRB's litigation for six months until it can sort out its debt restructuring plans with other lenders - admittedly, the very thing HRB is attempting to avoid with the litigation: HRB is holding out to avoid a haircut from any debt restructuring Sri Lanka negotiates with other investor groups. 
Could we have a powerful ally watching over our interests? The United States Attorney, in a letter to the presiding judge, has indicated that the US government may submit a formal opinion to the court by October 2, 2023, on whether HRB should be pushed to the sidelines and give us the extra time. 
It is tempting to speculate why the US is wading in. While the specifics are unclear, the American government has asked the court to delay making any decisions until it submits its opinion, one that could potentially sway the court and its final decision. If the US supports Sri Lanka's request, it is a lifeline. If the US opposes the delay, we are in a bind.
Now, Sri Lanka does not need the mindless cacophony of alarmist politicians, union leaders, academics and mercantilists fearmongering and conjuring conspiracies. In all likelihood, the US could be taking measures to protect the interests of other investors in that country holding dud Sri Lankan sovereign bonds. And that is good for us, too.

How stocks are an economic barometer and an inflation hedge

The direction of earnings growth and the stock market don’t always march in lockstep. In 2023, Sri Lanka is experiencing just that. Stock prices gained 30% in the first six months when analysts expected market earnings - or cumulative listed company profits - to contract 5-15% this year. 
How come forecast earnings and the market be headed in opposite directions?
Echelon convened a round table of investment analysts, and one of the questions they tried to address was the divergence of forecast earnings from the trajectory of share prices. Several factors explain this, and all of them support the understanding that the stock market is a reliable economic barometer and real assets, shares in a company, are a hedge against inflation.  
Stock markets are a good economic barometer because, as in Sri Lanka now, stock prices are responding to what investors expect will happen in the future. On a second front, most real assets have adjusted to Sri Lanka’s record-breaking inflation of 2022, but not the value of listed companies, according to the stock analysts.
The market is now rerating to account for these two factors. Forecast earnings aren’t driving stock prices upwards. In 2024 analysts expect earnings to rise by as much as 20%.

All our Yesterdays
The collective responsibility for the economic crisis, and every other one over the years being seminal to this, is undeniable. Painful reforms and hard choices are attributes (we lacked and chose not to cultivate) of an economic recovery with enough energy to cross the wilderness towards stability and vibrancy.
According to the economic policy think tank, addressing the unsustainable mountain of public debt sinking us requires domestic debt restructuring (DDR) as much as reprofiling external debts. DDR offers significant advantages that align with Sri Lanka's best interests. It provides a faster path to solvency, decisively addresses the mounting debt burden, and allows for the quicker restoration of debt sustainability, leading to economic recovery. It establishes a foundation for macroeconomic stability, and by reducing the risk of falling into another debt crisis, we can build a more resilient economy capable of withstanding external shocks, now gathering like storm clouds over the horizon as concerns grow over the shaky global economy.
Many countries that undergo debt restructuring often find themselves trapped in a cycle of recurring restructurings. We can break this pattern by addressing our domestic debt and establishing a sound platform for long-term fiscal discipline. 
However, restructuring domestic debt must be accompanied by responsible fiscal policies and a comprehensive plan to attract investment and improve credit ratings. By doing so, Sri Lanka can lower borrowing costs, enhance its creditworthiness, and regain access to global capital markets. 

Wood for the Trees:  income taxes and civil disobedience

Of course, we are all against corrupt governments, coddled and ineffectual bureaucracies and sinister business interests. Then why pay taxes to support this system? Most may envy Thoreau for his frugal and toiling, tranquil and deeply satisfying lifestyle in the great woods on Walden’s shores, nod our heads off to his critique of big, corrupt government and business interests, and applaud him for spending a night in jail for not paying his taxes.
His arguments On the Duty of Civil Disobedience resonate with us today, in an age and continent far removed from his own. However, he also believed in paying taxes (yes, really!) and waxed eloquently about commercial railroad companies and commerce and industry. He called the hypocrisy of officials employed by the state, suggesting there was no point noisily protesting corruption without vacating their jobs positions. Private citizens opposing taxes, Thoreau argues, are dutybound to express disobedience, but only by giving themselves up to be jailed. 
Wood for the trees, we say, and that brings us to Bellwether, our long-suffering columnist. We hope you enjoy the Bellwether column in this edition. While he does make a valid point about the dangers of progressive taxation, missing the nuances could lead to misleading conclusions. 
We quote Hayek, a venerated economist in our pantheon. He begins an impressive laborious censure of progressive taxation in his treatise The Constitution of Liberty with these words: Individual taxes, and especially the income tax, may be graduated for a good reason—that is, to compensate for the tendency of many indirect taxes to place a proportionally heavier burden on the smaller incomes, (and that) is the only valid argument in favour of progression. It applies, however, only to particular taxes as part of a given tax structure and cannot extend to the tax system as a whole. 

DDR: Handle with Care

According to a December 2021 IMF blog post co-authored by Peter Breuer, the current IMF Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and two other IMF staffers, restructuring domestic debt is like surgery: You only do it if you must, and you avoid it if it might do more harm than good!
Emerging markets have seen domestic debt increase from 31% of the total sovereign debt to 46% over the past 20 years; that means restructuring domestic debt is often an inescapable, or inevitable, eventuality for a country mired in a debt crisis. Restructuring external debt (altering the terms, such as the amount or repayment period) requires deft negotiation skills. Negotiations could last several years, denying access to international capital markets for the duration.  
On the other hand, domestic debt restructuring (or DDR) is very different. It is far easier because a government can alter the terms by changing domestic laws. By doing so, they can avoid far costlier consequences of external restructuring, like losing access to international capital markets. However, the downside is that domestic debt tends to be held by local creditors - banks and superannuation funds like the EPF - and the sovereign malaise spreads to the rest of the economy.
DDR can surely help negotiations with external creditors, but securing the stability of the domestic economy and its financial system remains the state's prerogative, argue the IMF staffers. In other words, DDR may be necessary, but not if it causes more problems. The Sri Lankan government recently called for voluntary domestic debt optimization.

Local government elections and the endgame

we need timely elections: to defend our collective idea of what a democracy should be and place in power a group of people we believe to be credible, who we can trust to eradicate corruption and revive the economy. 
Some people are overly offended by the blatant delaying of local government elections as an erosion of our democratic rights in defence of a corrupt cabal that pushed this country to the brink. They anxiously wait, in rapt suspense, to vote for the change they so desire. 
What happens once the local government elections return a near-unanimous decision? Would the victorious politicians, and their ground troops, agitate for an expeditious general election? Very likely. Should the general election return a similar outcome, what then? 
How would the next government approach economic reforms: by continuing with the present reforms programme, turning back the clock, or setting the timer? 
While the upcoming elections are about voting for change, does that include economic reforms? If so, what do we mean by economic reforms? Would it be market economics, social market economics, communism, or socialism? There is an ideological rift to consider and breakaway radical groups that honed their skills during the Aragalaya. How would the different factions of the Aragalaya (those who started it and those who hijacked it) respond if their party leaders (or preferred party leaders) do not find a majority? Or worse, they are in power but assume a reform programme contrary to their expectations? How would decent manifest itself and be dealt with? As a species, we are prone to jack-boot idealogical decent.

Women without Rights

While we are preoccupied with securing our democratic right to hold provincial council elections - so we can sooner reset the economy, fast-track the debt-restructuring process, and decisively  overhaul the ineffectual public while restoring law and order and governance) -  blessed by Koalemos forever and ever, amen, and touched by his divine hands, we are perpetually comatose to far more vital matters. For instance:
Sri Lankan women put up with tremendous injustices. They have fewer rights than men. They have fewer rights than women in Rwanda, Liberia, Tanzania, Zambia, Saudi Arabia, Angola,
Congo (Dem. Rep.), Ethiopia, Uganda, Sierra Leone and South Sudan, and more than 126 other countries, the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law (WBL) Index 2022 reveals. 
The annual index analyses legal and regulatory differences between women and men in 190 countries across eight economic indicators: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pensions. Sri Lanka has an overall score of 67.5, which means a Sri Lankan woman has less than 70% of a man's rights. 
She stands on level ground in mobility and marriage, but in the workplace, she has 75% of the rights of a man. She does not have three-quarters of a man's rights around pay and half the rights to a pension. She finds only limitations and restrictions to building a career after having children because laws deny her 80% of the parental rights available to men. She has fewer rights than a man to hold assets (80/100) or start a business (75/100), the WBL Index shows, and this is just the tip of the iceberg (and mind, the wisdom is in the simile!).

We are all complicit!

For decades (some) economists have been exhaustive in their prescient warnings about the twin deficit problem. However, their prophesies about this economic crisis went unheeded, as if they were under an Apollonian curse.
There was never an urgency to deal with the problem, and today Sri Lanka is a defaulter with a junk credit score that cannot manage its affairs. In this, we are all complicit.
After all, the zeitgeist has only recently manifested its reprehension of politicians and their ilk, corruption, nepotism, cronyism, and waste. Have not the citizens let themselves be held to ransom by a bloated, coddled, and egregiously inefficient public sector? The gradual reversal of trade reforms of the late 70s ruined our prospects for FDI and export growth. Instead of striving to lift all the boats, have we not pursued policies that only sank Sri Lanka deeper into serfdom (in a profoundly Hayekian sense)? We produce several graphs (please see pages 22 to 26) that tell an important-yet-banal story people are tired of hearing. However, looking at these graphs, at which point should we have launched an Aragalaya to get off the aimless and senseless economic ride post-independence? What do you think?
Even as we mark the 75th year of independence, we are worse off because of our individual choices, as the economists featured in this edition point out. 

In the 30 months from the onset of the Covid pandemic to the end of 2022, Sri Lanka printed almost Rs2.5 trillion. Between February 2020 and September 2022, Sri Lanka’s domestic debt stock (t-bills, bonds) increased by 96% to Rs13.3 trillion. Some of the increase was due to Sri Lanka’s inability to access the foreign commercial market resulting in rupee-denominated debt replacing maturing foreign currency-denominated loans. Total debt (including all foreign currency debt) also increased by 89% to Rs25 trillion. Because the currency collapsed by 80% in the second quarter of 2022, the rupee value of the foreign debt increased by an equal amount. 
It takes incredible incompetence and/or arrogance to oversee the near-doubling of a country’s public debt in 30 months without anything to show for it. Surely, no public servant went without a salary in that time, and people paid less tax, but with devastating consequences now.
Impacts of the debt orgy on asset prices pale in comparison to the pain and lost hope. But the debt, combined with lower interest rates, remains a primary reason for the run-up in prices of equity and debt. After several years we have a climate without easy money, and in this Investor’s Guide, we discuss how to navigate portfolios through this crisis.

Grand corruption, the theft of Sri Lanka’s national wealth by kleptocratic leaders and their cronies is again in the public eye following the elevated civic consciousness after the aragalaya that overthrew a government. The amounts pilfered by politicians and their cronies is anyone's guess given that most of this wealth is stashed away overseas. 

However in the last decade or more attitudes have changed with the growing view of corruption as one of the main causes of poverty. Global institutions including NGOs that offer practical help to track down the loot have emerged. Most notable among them is the joint UN-World Bank project, the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative. 

National legal regimes too are evolving. Even within a country  a criminal prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt before action for asset recovery can commence. This is a difficult task. However several countries have introduced a system called non conviction based recovery where you go after the property, and not the perpetrator. Anyone unable to provide a plausible explanation risks having the assets confiscated for good after an investigation. 
In our December issue a panel of experts discuss the future of corruption and how Sri Lanka should get about recovering stolen assets in the country and overseas.

What’s special about special economic zones

The history of special economic zones (SEZ) isn’t all runaway successes. On paper, they create within an area with physical boundaries, a zone where everything that’s investor unfriendly is suspended or blunted. Often such areas will include better infrastructure, lower taxes and tariff and regulatory incentives unavailable in the rest of the county. Two types of SEZs exist, those oriented towards manufacturing and the second type geared toward services. Sri Lanka’s Free Trade Zones were designed to host manufacturing firms whereas its Colombo Port City is an SEZ designed for services. SEZs offer an opportunity to experiment with a new regime and tweak it before rolling out its best parts to the rest of the country. 

China’s creation in 1980 of its Shenzhen SEZ is the poster boy for potential after its success in transforming a landscape of small fishing villages into one of the world's most dynamic economies. However, not all SEZs are Shenzhen-type successes. In the shadows of the runaway successes including the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, South Korea and now the Philippines, two other categories of SEZs exist. They are a large number of marginally positive zones and the vast number of outright failures.

Sri Lanka’s Free Trade Zones are only marginally successful. The tariff and other FTZ benefits are available across the county. Most new manufacturing ventures don’t find an attractive investment environment in the zones. 

Colombo Port City’s designers aim for its international financial centre, to attract global businesses to establish their regional offices here due to the ease with which they can operate and transact. To avoid the mediocrity of Sri Lanka’s FTZs, the designers of the Port City face several challenges. For our cover story, we brought together a panel of experts to discuss these.

The hype cycle in wearables

Around 2013/14, the hype around wearable technology reached a crescendo. People who purchased the first-generation products were universally disappointed due to their lack of utility, clunkiness and unreliability.

Several factors prevent the widespread adoption of wearable tech devices besides being relatively expensive. There are three reasons often cited, the exception being the smartwatch which does much more than tell the time.    
First, many wearable devices are unable to function without a nearby smartphone. Second, they are far from cool for mass appeal. Today’s wearables are generally clunky, can unexpectedly malfunction and are often considered a fashion faux pas. Third, they don’t yet have the ‘killer app’, for instance, like in a smartphone which is a great tool to connect with people far away. 

Now that the hype is over, clear-eyed investors are chasing narrower opportunities. Today they have the benefits of a decade of tech development, manifested in far faster internet, miniaturized computer chips and mechanical devices and powerful smartphones that can wirelessly connect to wearable tech.

Our cover story features the successes of Twinery, the innovation unit of MAS Holdings, one of Sri Lanka’s largest apparel manufacturers.

Justice in Sri Lanka is notoriously slow, and its reform equally so 

The rule of law depends not just on judges, but on an entire ecosystem including police, lawyers and prisons. Updated laws and regulations for civil, criminal and commercial are also required for justice to be done. Of course, trials are getting fairer and the basic rights of defendants, like the presumption of innocence and provision of a defence lawyer, have been tenets of the justice system for a long time.  

However, the chronic delays and outdated laws, are reasons for the inability of the justice system to keep up with the demands of a modern economy and a transforming society.

Sri Lanka’s fight against corruption has also faltered, due in part to its inability to bring to justice those responsible. Politicians, even when they are brought to trial for corruption, remain untouchable by the justice system. The weakness of the rule of law has a direct consequence on the country’s investment climate too. Serious investors, the type who will fund world-class firms, overwhelmingly prefer the rule of law, efficient judicial infrastructure and up-to-date laws suitable for modern commerce. Sri Lanka's judicial system is a discussion of a roundtable titled ‘Future-proofing Sri Lanka’s legal system’ starting on page 88.

Governments’ fondness for interventionism and its consequences

Data compiled by three economists tracking 30 European countries listed 1,160 privatizations in Europe compared to only 61 nationalizations in the decade ending in 2016. Productivity gains from previously poorly managed resources are a source of economic growth in Europe and other countries. 

A case in point is Romania. In 2005, it established Fondul Proprietatea, a closed-ended fund, to take over 90 state-owned ventures, including its hydroelectricity and coal power plants. In the years since, Fondul, and its private sector asset managers, have been successful at generating a steady stream of returns through dividends and asset sales for the government. The Romanian state's ownership of the fund has dwindled to 6%. Romanian pension funds and portfolio investors are now the fund's largest shareholders. 

Dividend and divestment income has funded Romanian public spending and welfare.   

Expanding the welfare state without targeting benefits was a major weakness in Sri Lanka’s public finances. Packaging subsidies with commercial operations of state ventures are fraught with conflicts of interest. 
States intervening in multiple areas of the economy, monopolistic control, and crowding out funding rarely serves the long-term interest of taxpayers who fund these. Sri Lankan managers of state ventures have demonstrated a general lack of capacity, alignment with objectives and poor governance, which can indeed lead to disaster. 

Many states have unravelled the state's interest in the need to run commercial ventures successfully during the last three decades. Romania is just one example. Sri Lanka is not short of examples to follow.

Modern monetary theory: Keynesianism in another name

In a public lecture, W.D Lakshman, the then governor of the central bank appointed to the role in November 2019, said he doesn't see any relationship between money and inflation. Facing a large budget deficit due to a sweeping tax cut in early 2020 followed by a slowing economy due to Covid, Sri Lanka resorted to printing money. Since the then governor of the central bank no longer believed printing money would lead to inflation, the printing presses worked over time.

Its proponents, including governor Lakshman, suggested that modern monetary theory (MMT) was the magic bullet to fund infrastructure, provide social safety nets and usher in a new era of prosperity. MMT is another way to describe printing money, eschewed by classical economists due to its inflationary impact. MMT was Keynesianism in different drab.   

Sri Lanka’s inflation has now spiralled out of control. After the departure of governor Lakshman, the central bank increased interest rates to record levels. Economists who were part of Echelon’s Reboot Everything Festival suggest that taming inflation and navigating the economy to growth won’t be as straightforward as raising interest rates. 

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Intelligent Storytelling

The one thing that will define the Echelon magazine will be the quality of the storytelling. Echelon,published monthly, will cover in depth Sri Lanka’s most successful businesses, examine their winning strategiesand profile their leaders in immersive stories. Great stories are also never limited to words, and our approach includes rich photography, bold graphics and leading edge design which together will make for a compelling read.

But business doesn’t start and end in a boardroom;it extends to the golf club greens, to international travel and to pursuits that blurthe lines between commercial venture and sheer passion. The Echelon team will present the best in business and lifestyle coverage that will appeal to an exclusive and affluent readership: an otherwise hard to reach demographic.

Content will be developed by one of the most experienced and proven teams of editors, financial journalists, photographers and designers in the country.This team has already raised the bar for powerful and expertly crafted business news. Shamindra Kulamannage, will lead the editorial team.

The reputation of Echelon is being built on the separation between editorial and advertising. However we are also looking for the most creative and impactful new formats that can be applied in our magazines, iPad app as well as website to help our clients reach our audience. We are flexible and creative and we will have a solution for every single advertiser who wants to reach our audience.

We are passionate about creative results and about working with our advertisers to help them create bespoke multi platform creative solutions with our in house creative team and of course our sales team.

Echelon will be a great place to show off the products and capabilities of our clients because they will be surrounded by an editorial product that is expertly crafted, full of integrity and intelligence.

1. Du godtar at bruken av Magzter.com, applikasjonen og dens tjenester er på egen risiko. Verken Magzter.com eller dets samarbeidspartnere eller ansatte eller tredjeparts innholdsleverandører garanterer at tjenesten vil være fullstendig uavbrutt eller feilfri eller vanntett mot ondsinnede aktiviteter. De garanterer heller ikke at du vil få de nøyaktige resultatene som forventet eller lovet av nettstedet eller produktet.

11. TJENESTEN OG ALLE PUBLIKASJONER LEVERES PÅ EN «SOM DEN ER»- OG «SOM TILGJENGELIG»-BASIS. MAGZTER, DETS TILKNYTTEDE SELSKAPER, LEVERANDØRER, LISENSGIVERE OG AGENTER FRASKRIVER SEG UTTRYKKELIG ALLE GARANTIER AV ENHVER SLAG, ENTEN UTTRYKKELIGE ELLER IMPLISITTE, INKLUDERT MEN IKKE BEGRENSET TIL DE IMPLISITTE SELGERGARANTIENE, EGNETHET FOR SPESIFIKKE FORMÅL OG IKKE-KRENKELSE. UTEN Å BEGRENSE DET OVENNEVNTE GARANTERER VERKEN MAGZTER ELLER DETS TILKNYTTEDE SELSKAPER, LEVERANDØRER, LISENSGIVERE ELLER AGENTER AT (I) TJENESTEN VIL INNFRI DINE KRAV, (II) TJENESTEN VIL VÆRE UFORSTYRRET, RETTIDIG, SIKKER ELLER FEILFRI (III) INFORMASJONEN SOM KAN FÅS FRA BRUKEN AV TJENESTEN ELLER SOM KAN VÆRE I PUBLIKASJONENE VIL VÆRE NØYAKTIG ELLER PÅLITELIG, ELLER (IV) KVALITETEN PÅ EVENTUELLE PUBLIKASJONER ELLER TJENESTEN VIL INNFRI DINE FORVENTNINGER. DU ER ALENE ANSVARLIG FOR Å SKAFFE OG VEDLIKEHOLDE EN PÅLITELIG INTERNETTILKOBLING OG ENHETEN DIN. MAGZTER ER IKKE ANSVARLIG FOR DIN MANGLENDE EVNE TIL Å LASTE NED INNHOLD. ALT MATERIALE SOM LASTES NED ELLER PÅ ANNEN MÅTE FÅS VIA BRUK AV TJENESTEN, GJØRES PÅ DITT EGET ANSVAR OG DIN EGEN RISIKO, OG DU STÅR ALENE ANSVARLIG FOR EVENTUELLE SKADER PÅ DITT DATASYSTEM ELLER DIN MOBILE ENHET ELLER TAP AV DATA SOM OPPSTÅR FRA NEDLASTING AV SLIKT MATERIALE. INGEN RÅD ELLER INFORMASJON, VERKEN MUNTLIG ELLER SKRIFTLIG, FÅTT AV DEG FRA MAGZTER ELLER VIA ELLER FRA TJENESTEN SKAL UTGJØRE NOEN FORM FOR GARANTI.

2. Du skal vedlikeholde og umiddelbart oppdatere denne informasjonen for å holde den sann, nøyaktig, oppdatert og fullstendig. Du er ansvarlig for å opprettholde konfidensialiteten til kontoen din og passordet ditt, for å begrense tilgangen til datamaskinen din, og du godtar ansvaret for all aktivitet som skjer på kontoen din, inkludert valg og bruk av alt innhold og tjenester.

3. Under ingen omstendigheter vil Magzter.com eller noen person eller enhet eller tredjepart som er involvert i opprettelsen, produksjonen og distribusjonen av innholdet på nettstedet og applikasjonen være ansvarlig i kontrakt eller juridisk for eventuelle skader, inkludert og ikke begrenset til, direkte, indirekte, vilkårlige, spesielle og følgevirkninger som påføres deg mens du bruker Magzter.com. Ved å registrere deg på nettsiden eller laste ned applikasjonen godtar du at bestemmelsene nevnt i denne delen skal gjelde for all bruk av og innhold på nettsiden og applikasjonen.

3. Uten skriftlig eller autorisert tillatelse fra Magzter på forhånd, må du ikke modifisere, kopiere, distribuere eller selge noe innhold hentet fra Magzter, for alt publisert her tilhører Magzter eller dets lisensgivere. Siden slik uautorisert bruk også kan bryte gjeldende lovverk, inkludert lover om opphavsrett og varemerker, forbyr Magzter dette på det sterkeste og vil avslutte tilgangen din og slette kontoen din hvis slik ulovlig aktivitet blir bevist eller oppdaget. Du blir også holdt ansvarlig for skader forårsaket av disse uautoriserte aktivitetene. Med unntak av det som er tillatt av utgivelsens lovlige eier, erkjenner du at du ikke får noen eierskapsrettigheter ved å laste ned utgivelser som du får tilgang til via tjenesten. Med unntak av det som er eksplisitt påkrevd i henhold til lov om opphavsrett eller tillatt av funksjonene i tjenesten, kan du ikke modifisere, reversere, publisere, overføre, vise, delta i overføringen eller salget av, lage avledede verk av, eller på noen måte kommersielt utnytte eller levere innholdet i appen, utgivelsene eller deler av dem til en tredjepart uten uttrykkelig tillatelse fra Magzter og eieren av slikt innhold. Vi gir deg ingen lisenser, uttrykt eller implisitt, for de immaterielle eiendelene til Magzter eller Magzters lisensgivere.

5. Du erkjenner spesifikt at Magzter.com ikke er ansvarlig for noen form for ærekrenkende eller støtende eller ulovlig oppførsel fra andre brukere eller tredjeparter eller deres innhold, og at risikoen for skade fra det ovennevnte ligger helt hos deg.

8. Magzter forbeholder seg alle rettigheter til å overvåke innholdet som publiseres og legges inn av deg for å avgjøre om du er i samsvar med disse vilkårene og betingelsene og andre driftsregler fastsatt av Magzter. Magzter har rett til å ta beslutninger om innholdet og slette dem etter eget forgodtbefinnende.

9. Magzter er distributør og IKKE utgiver av publikasjonene, og Magzter har derfor ingen redaksjonell kontroll over innholdet, inkludert meninger, råd, uttalelser, tjenester, tilbud osv., som er representert i magasinene. Magzter vil ikke ta ansvar for nøyaktigheten eller påliteligheten for informasjon eller fakta gitt deri eller som er gjort tilgjengelig gjennom tjenesten, av andre enn autoriserte Magzter-ansatte som handler i henhold til deres offisielle embete. Følgelig har vi ingen redaksjonell kontroll over publikasjonene. Eventuelle meninger, råd, uttalelser, tjenester, tilbud eller annen informasjon eller innhold uttrykt eller gjort tilgjengelig av tredjeparter, inkludert de som er gjort i publikasjoner som tilbys av tjenesten, tilhører sine respektive forfattere eller utgivere og ikke Magzter. Magzter vil ikke være ansvarlig for tap eller skade forårsaket av at du stoler på informasjon innhentet gjennom tjenesten eller fra publikasjonene. Tjenesten kan inneholde koblinger til andre internettsider og tredjepartsressurser, og Magzter påtar seg ikke noe ansvar for kommunikasjon eller materiale som er tilgjengelig på slike nettsteder via koblinger. Disse koblingene er kun for din bekvemmelighet. Du er alene ansvarlig for å forstå eventuelle vilkår og betingelser som kan gjelde når du besøker eller legger inn en bestilling gjennom en tredjepartsside.

Detaljer om det støtende innholdet, inkludert koblingen dens på plattformen vår

Last ned favorittitlene dine og les dem offline, når og hvor som helst

Gi dine kjære et Magzter-gavekort umiddelbart og gi dem friheten til å lese favorittmagasinene og -avisene sine fra tusenvis av bestselgende titler.

Gi dine kjære et Magzter-gavekort umiddelbart og gi dem friheten til å lese favorittmagasinene sine fra tusenvis av bestselgende titler.

Gi dine kjære et Magzter-gavekort umiddelbart og gi dem friheten til å lese favorittmagasinene sine blant {{magCount}} bestselgende internasjonale titler.

Girish Ramdas er medgründer og administrerende direktør for Magzter, en New York-basert oppstartsbedrift som har laget oppstyr i den globale digitale publiseringsvirksomheten. Magzter har nådd 80 millioner brukere siden oppstarten i 2011 fra mer enn 150+ land med tusenvis av magasiner, aviser og bøker fra mer enn 4500 utgivere over hele verden. Han har mer enn 25 års erfaring innen publisering på tvers av plattformer, inkludert trykk-, mobil- og webutvikling. I løpet av denne perioden har han vært med å grunnlegge og drive tre vellykkede oppstartsbedrifter. Han har gjort det mulig for magasinbedrifter å bli digitale og hjelper dem med å tjene penger på innholdet i den digitale verden. Girish' omfattende bransjeerfaring innen nett-, mobil- og publiseringsøkosystemer har gjort ham til en ekspert på anskaffelse, markedsføring og inntektsgenerering av digitalt innhold på tvers av globale plattformer.

I tilfelle du kommer over støtende innhold på plattformen vår, har vi innført retningslinjer for klagehåndtering for å behandle henvendelsene dine.

Magzter Inc. («bedrift», «vi», «oss» eller «vår/våre») vet at du bryr deg om hvordan personopplysningene dine brukes og deles. Les følgende personvernregler («retningslinjer») for å lære mer om personvernpraksisen vår. Ved å besøke noen av nettstedene som drives av selskapet, og eventuelle underdomener derav, eller ved å bruke noen av våre mobilapper og andre metoder for innholdsdistribusjon (samlet omtalt som «tjeneste»), erkjenner du at du godtar praksisen og retningslinjene skissert i disse retningslinjene, og du samtykker herved til at vi samler inn, bruker og deler informasjonen din på følgende måter.

Magzter Inc. er verdens største og raskest voksende selvbetjente digitale aviskiosk på tvers av plattformer med over 80 millioner brukere siden oppstarten i 2011 og med tusenvis av magasiner og aviser på tvers av 40+ kategorier og 60+ språk. Med hovedkontor i New York, har Magzter lokal tilstedeværelse i Amsterdam, London, Mexico by, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru og Singapore, og vi vil snart utvide til andre land. Magzter ble grunnlagt av de globale entreprenørene Girish Ramdas og Vijay Radhakrishnan i juni 2011, og gjør det mulig for magasin- og avisutgivere over hele verden å lage og levere digitale utgaver av titlene deres for globale forbrukere.

Magzter er forpliktet til å tilby en trygg og sikker plattform til våre brukere. Vær oppmerksom på at Magzter bare er en plattform der utgivere kan distribuere innholdet sitt. Vi kontrollerer eller støtter ikke innholdet som publiseres på plattformen vår. Vi kan ikke holdes ansvarlige for handlingene til våre utgivere eller deres innhold.

Magzter er ikke ansvarlig for å kompensere noen part som har lidd skade eller pådratt seg kostnader på grunn av innhold, eller deler av innholdet, som krenker deres rettigheter. Magzter er ikke ansvarlig for noen rettslige skritt i sivilrett for brudd på rettigheter forårsaket av innhold, eller deler av innholdet, som krenker rettighetene til en tredjepart.

Magzter tilbyr verdens største {{allyoucanread}} abonnementstjeneste kalt {{gold}}, som gir digitale lesere ubegrenset tilgang til 9000+ magasiner og aviser for en månedlig abonnementspris. Magzter har også det største antallet historier i verden med sin revolusjonerende ezRead 2.0-funksjon for appene sine, som lar smarttelefon- og mobilbrukere med små skjermer nyte magasininnhold slik det var ment å bli lest, med artikkeltekst som er lett å lese og med fantastiske videoer og bilder i høy oppløsning.

Magzter tilbyr verdens største «alt du kan lese»-abonnementstjeneste kalt Magzter GOLD som gir digitale lesere ubegrenset tilgang til 9000+ magasiner og aviser for en månedlig abonnementspris. Magzter har også verdens største antall historier revolusjonerende ezRead 2.0-funksjon for appene sine, som gjør det mulig for smarttelefonbrukere og mobilbrukere med små skjermer å nyte magasininnhold, med artikkeltekst som er lett å lese og ledsages av fantastiske videoer og bilder i høy oppløsning.

Navn

Merk: Dette vil bare dele omslaget og utgivelsesinformasjonen, men ikke innholdet.

Fyll ut dette skjemaet hvis du trenger hjelp til å publisere innholdet ditt på Magzter

Før Magzter var han president for Dot Com Infoway (DCI) og Galatta Media. Hans oppgaver inkluderte strategisk markedsføring, partnerskapsutvikling og inntektsgenerering av innhold globalt. DCI vokste fra et lite team på 3 i 2000 til 300 innen 2011 og drev med utvikling av web, programvare og apper for kunder over hele verden.

Siden vi lanserte har Magzter vært forpliktet til å samarbeide med globale organisasjoner for å tilby best mulig aviskiosk-teknologi og -service til kundene våre. Enten du ønsker å tilby magasinabonnement til kundedatabasen din eller bare ønsker å finne ut mer, er Magzter forpliktet til å hjelpe bedriften din å vokse. For å finne ut mer fyll ut spørreskjemaet nedenfor:

DMCA tillater oss å gjenopprette det fjernede innholdet hvis parten som sender inn det opprinnelige DMCA-varselet ikke går til rettssak mot deg innen ti virkedager etter å ha mottatt kopien av innsigelsen din.

Disse retningslinjene dekker selskapets behandling av personopplysninger («personopplysninger») og annen informasjon om deg og din datamaskin eller enhet som selskapet samler inn når du får tilgang til tjenesten. Vi kan samle inn personopplysninger fra deg, som forklart mer detaljert nedenfor, og vi bruker disse personopplysningene internt i forbindelse med tjenestene våre, inkludert for å tilpasse, tilby og forbedre våre produkter, tjenester, innhold og annonser, og for å tillate deg å sette opp en brukerkonto og profil, for å kontakte deg, for å oppfylle dine forespørsler om visse produkter og tjenester, og for å analysere hvordan du bruker tjenestene. I visse tilfeller kan vi også dele noen personopplysninger med tredjeparter, men bare som beskrevet i punkt 4.

Denne tittelen er inkludert i Magzter GOLD-abonnementet ditt

For å analysere kvaliteten på innholdet og gi passende tilbakemeldinger til utgivere

Vi har utpekt en klageansvarlig for å behandle eventuelle klager knyttet til støtende innhold.

Vi ber om at enhver klage relatert til støtende innhold sendes til klageansvarlig via e-post til den ovennevnte e-postadressen. Vi ber også om at du oppgir følgende detaljer når du sender inn en klage:

og appen som gir deg muligheten til å bestille, abonnere og motta levering av ulike magasiner, bøker, nyheter og magasin- og publikasjonsrelatert innhold (samlet kjent som «publikasjoner») og få disse digitale versjonene av publikasjonene levert til deg

c. Vi samler også inn informasjon knyttet til din bruk av applikasjonen for å gi personlige anbefalinger. Hvis du oppgir din brukertilgangen for tredjepartskontoer til oss, forstår du at noe innhold og/eller informasjon i disse kontoene («tredjeparts-kontoinformasjon») kan overføres til kontoen din hos oss hvis du godkjenner slike overføringer, og at tredjeparts-kontoinformasjon som sendes til tjenesten, dekkes av disse retningslinjene.

f. Med personopplysningene vi samler inn kan vi svare på dine forespørsler, forbedre produktene og tjenestene våre, tilpasse annonsene og innholdet du ser, og kommunisere med deg om nye produkter.

er verdens største og raskest voksende, selvbetjente digitale aviskiosk på tvers av plattformer med over 88 millioner brukere siden oppstarten i 2011 og tusenvis av magasiner og aviser på tvers av 40+ kategorier og 60+ språk. Med hovedkontor i New York, har Magzter sin lokale tilstedeværelse i Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, og vil snart utvide til andre land. Magzter ble grunnlagt av de globale gründerne Girish Ramdas og Vijay Radhakrishnan i juni 2011, og gjør det mulig for magasin- og avisutgivere over hele verden å lage og levere digitale utgaver av titlene deres til globale forbrukere.

n. Vi vil også bruke bruksinformasjon for å sikre at brukerne overholder våre bruksvilkår. For eksempel vil en brukers bruksinformasjon hjelpe oss med å bekrefte at en bruker bare laster ned magasiner eller annet innhold det tillatte antallet ganger eller til det tillatte antallet enheter.

som gir digitale lesere ubegrenset tilgang til 9000+ magasiner og aviser for en månedlig abonnementspris. Magzter har også det største antallet historier i verden med sin revolusjonerende ezRead 2.0-funksjon for appene sine, som lar smarttelefon- og mobilbrukere med små skjermer nyte magasininnhold slik det var ment å bli lest, med artikkeltekst som er lett å lese og med fantastiske videoer og bilder i høy oppløsning.

{{magzter}} er verdens største og raskest voksende, selvbetjente digitale aviskiosk på tvers av plattformer med over 88 millioner brukere siden oppstarten i 2011 og tusenvis av magasiner og aviser på tvers av 40+ kategorier og 60+ språk. Med hovedkontor i New York, har Magzter sin lokale tilstedeværelse i Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, og vil snart utvide til andre land. Magzter ble grunnlagt av de globale entreprenørene Girish Ramdas og Vijay Radhakrishnan i juni 2011, og gjør det mulig for magasin- og avisutgivere over hele verden å lage og levere digitale utgaver av titlene deres til globale forbrukere.

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