Sri Lanka crisis: $3bn IMF bailout for struggling economy

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will return to the island nation next week after fleeing in July amid mass protests, local broadcaster Newsfirst reported on Wednesday, citing a former ambassador.

Udayanga Weeratunga, a former Sri Lankan envoy to Russia who is related to Rajapaksa, said he will arrive in Sri Lanka on Aug. 24, Newsfirst reported.

Rajapaksa, the first Sri Lankan president to quit mid-term, is temporarily sheltering in Thailand, after fleeing Sri Lanka on a military plane to the Maldives and then spending weeks in Singapore.

He resigned from office soon after arriving in Singapore, facing public anger over his government’s handling of Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Rajapaksa has made no public appearances or comment since leaving Sri Lanka. Reuters was not able to immediately contact him or Weeratunga.

The office of Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who suggested last month that the former president refrain from returning to Sri Lanka in the near future, did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

“I don’t believe it’s the time for him to return,” Wickremesinghe told the Wall Street Journal in an interview on July 31. “I have no indication of him returning soon.”

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144636/world

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled abroad after mass protests in July, has returned to the country.

Mr Rajapaksa had been staying in Thailand on a temporary visa and flew back home via Singapore.

Some Sri Lankan ministers are reported to have met him at the airport.

Sri Lankans blame his government for the island's worst economic crisis in history. A collapse in foreign currency led to dire shortages of food and fuel.

Protests began in April, following a sharp increase in food and fuel costs.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life and all communities took part in the largely peaceful protests demanding the resignation of Mr Rajapaksa and his elder brother Mahinda, the then prime minister who quit in May.

In July thousands of people stormed his official residence, and the disgraced president then fled on a military plane first to the Maldives and then to Singapore, from where he sent in his resignation. That paved the way for veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe to become president.

Mr Rajapaksa's return is a sensitive issue for the new government which does not want more protests and will need to ensure his security.

"We are not opposed to the return of Mr Rajapaksa. Any Sri Lankan citizen can return to the country," Father Jeewantha Peiris, a prominent protest leader, told the BBC.

"People came to the streets because of the alleged corruption against his government. We don't have any personal enmity against him."

Other protesters say they will oppose any attempt by Mr Rajapaksa to rejoin politics or the government.

"After he returns, we need to take legal action against him for the mistakes he committed as president and also file cases against his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa," another activist Rajeev Kanth told the BBC.

Sri Lankan media reports say the government has identified a house in central Colombo for Gotabaya Rajapaksa but it's not clear whether he will go straight there or to a secure military facility first.

A defence ministry spokesman told the BBC that Mr Rajapaksa "would be given security as a former president".

After Mr Wickremesinghe took over the presidency, rights groups accuse the government of carrying out a crackdown on protesters. Dozens have been detained by police in recent weeks, with most since released on bail.

Three student union leaders, who led the protests, have been in detention under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Protesters accuse President Wickremesinghe of lacking legitimacy and public support and also of protecting the Rajapaksa family. The government says it's taking action only against those who are suspected of breaking the law.

Troops destroyed the protest camp in front of the president's secretariat in Colombo in the third week of July. Protesters also left the Galle Face area on Colombo's sea front last month.

In the past few weeks, the government has streamlined fuel supplies with a pass - only registered vehicles with a QR code can buy fuel at petrol stations. But fuel is still in demand with queues outside some filling stations.

Key food items are available in shops, but prices are high as inflation is hovering around 65%.

Earlier this week the government reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a $2.9bn (£2.52bn) loan. It would be dependent on lots of conditions, including fiscal reforms and restructuring Sri Lanka's $51bn debt with its creditors.

The government also faces challenges in convincing people about privatising key public sector units as part of its efforts to boost revenue. Trade unions may strongly oppose any job losses as a result of privatisation.

Sri Lanka's opposition politicians say the situation is deceptively calm at the moment and if the fuel and food supplies are interrupted again then further protests cannot be ruled out in the coming months.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka's top court has granted permission for proceedings against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the rights group which filed the case against him said in a statement on Friday.

The court also agreed to allow proceedings against the country's former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, its former finance minister and two of its former central bank governors.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Bankrupt Sri Lanka Clears Budget, Securing Twice-Delayed IMF Bailout

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's parliament today approved President Ranil Wickremesinghe's 2023 budget, vital to raising government revenue and securing a twice-delayed IMF bailout.

The island nation has been reeling from more than a year of severe shortages and runaway inflation, prompting protests that ousted Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.

Parliament voted overwhelmingly to sign off on Wickremesinghe's plan to raise overall tax revenue by nearly 70 percent and privatise loss-making state enterprises after a month-long debate.

Wickremesinghe, a six-times prime minister, has already sharply raised taxes and increased fuel, water and electricity tariffs and rationed petrol and diesel in a bid to stabilise the economy.

His moves followed the government declaring bankruptcy in mid-April and defaulting on its $46-billion foreign debt for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948.

But the main opposition said Wickremesinghe's first full budget was unrealistic and warned that the economic crisis could worsen next year.

"This is a failed budget," opposition legislator Eran Wickramaratne said on Thursday. "The numbers in the budget are unrealistic."

The budget expects a 69-percent increase in tax revenue next year and projects a narrowing of the budget deficit to 7.9 percent of GDP in 2023, down from 9.8 percent this year.

The central bank had initially expected a $2.9-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund to materialise by August.

The bank later said it hoped a deal could be concluded by early December, but now say talks could drag onto early next year.

An agreement with all external creditors, including China which accounts for 52 percent of Colombo's bilateral debt, is a pre-condition to drawing down any IMF support.

Beijing has made no public statements on Colombo's pleas to "restructure," a euphemism for a debt haircut, but officials say talks are still underway.

Japan and India are the other two major bilateral creditors owning 19.5 percent and 12 percent of Sri Lanka's bilateral debt respectively.

Much of the foreign debt is in international sovereign bonds (ISBs) held by private investors and talks with them are also ongoing, officials said adding that a deal was yet to be struck.

The IMF has said Sri Lanka's foreign debt must be "sustainable" to unlock any new external funding and the country should also restructure its myriad loss-making state enterprises.

Wickremesinghe has proposed the sale of the country's loss-making national carrier, Sri Lankan airlines, and several other entities to raise foreign exchange and boost the country's external reserves.

Official figures show that major state businesses, including Sri Lankan airlines, lost $2.38 billion in the first four months of this year alone.

The World Bank has warned that the economy could shrink by 9.2 percent this year, worse than the 8.7 percent contraction the central bank of Sri Lanka had forecasted.

NDTV

 

[daytrader]

Sri Lanka's anti-government protests have gone silent - for now

Long gone are the throngs of protesters who occupied an area around the president's office for months during Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis since independence.

Instead a slew of carollers sang to the public from across the heavily-guarded fences of the Presidential Secretariat. Next to the building rose an 80 ft (24m) Christmas tree, the signature piece in a landscape dotted with décor, food stalls and musical shows. And as fireworks ushered in the new year, a massive crowd flocked to the oceanfront promenade known as Galle Face Green.

It was all part of a festive zone planned by the government as a year-end tourist attraction in the central business district of Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital.

But for many locals, who used the site as their "ground zero" for Occupy-style protests from April to August and demanded their leaders resign, there is little to celebrate.

"It's disgusting," says Swasthika Arulingam. "It's an indecent display of wealth that this country does not have, and of resources this country is denying to the weakest sectors of our population."

...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64142694

 

[ex-q-zit]

"Only Option We Have...": Sri Lanka President On Economic Recovery

In the face of unprecedented economic hardship in Sri Lanka, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the only option for the island nation to emerge from this crisis is to seek the support of the global lender International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"We are well aware that the economy of the country has collapsed. So I know the difficulties faced by the country. We witnessed a drop in the number of employments. Inflation has especially increased the cost of living. Hence, people's lifestyle is changing," said Wickremesinghe during a meeting with the trade union representatives at the President's Office held on Friday afternoon, as quoted by his media division.

He said the facilities that Sri Lankans enjoyed earlier are diminishing, as the dire economic situation in the country has affected every field including education and health.

"These are the repercussions of this economic collapse. It is useless to talk of the root causes for these issues as they have already happened. The only option we have now is to seek the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Otherwise, we cannot recover," he added.

Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed that he is attempting to reinvigorate the country's collapsed economy with the help of a debt restructuring program.

"We are currently carrying out a debt restructuring program. We have already completed the negotiations with Japan, which is one of the three main countries, Japan, China, and India from whom we have obtained loans," he added.

Additionally, Wickremesinghe noted that the economic growth in Europe and America is now slowing down. "Under such a situation, our export market may drop by next year and we have to develop our tourism industry," he added.

During Friday's meeting, government, semi-government and private sector trade union leaders and representatives participated to discuss the corrective measures that could be taken to find solutions to the economic and financial crisis existing in the country.

He further stated that the government has succeeded in making the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund more successful by being able to build trust as a country.

Stating that the country's economy is expected to improve after the first quarter of this year, the President expressed his confidence in achieving better economic progress in 2024. The Sri Lankan President pointed out that not only the public sector but the private sector should also be strengthened to provide relief to the people while continuing with the country's development programs.

President Wickremesinghe further said that he is aware of the hardships the people are going through today and added that he would somehow provide relief to the public.

NDTV

 

[daytrader]

Sri Lanka’s Chinese-built port city stirs white elephant fears
Sri Lankans are questioning the feasibility of Port City Colombo as their country faces its worst economic crisis.

Colombo, Sri Lanka – As far as many residents of Sri Lanka’s capital are concerned, the last thing their island nation needs in the midst of its worst-ever economic crisis is another beach – the island nation’s 1,340km coastline is blessed with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Yet, Port City Colombo (PCC), a vast new Chinese-built reclaimed commercial zone in Colombo, recently unveiled an artificial beach facing the Laccadive Sea.

“The artificial beach is just greenwashing to attract international investors – sustainability is a convenient buzzword,” Priyangi Jayasinghe, a researcher at Colombo’s Munasinghe Institute for Development, told Al Jazeera.

...
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2...se-built-port-city-stirs-white-elephant-fears

 

[daytrader]

$3bn IMF bailout for struggling economy

Sri Lanka has secured a $3bn (£2.4bn) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it faces its worst economic crisis since independence.

The deal has been nearly a year in the making and a lifeline for the country that has billions of dollars in loans.

Foreign minister Ali Sabry told the BBC the government will raise funds by restructuring state-owned enterprises and privatising the national airline.

However, analysts warned Sri Lanka still faces a tough road ahead.

The country's economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, rising energy prices, populist tax cuts and inflation of more than 50%.

A shortage of medicines, fuel and other essentials also helped to push the cost of living to record highs, triggering nationwide protests which overthrew the ruling government in 2022.

...
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65010560

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka's central bank has laid out the extent of the country's worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.

In its annual report, the bank outlined how last year wages failed to keep up with the soaring cost of everything from food to fuel.

"Several inherent weaknesses" and "policy lapses" helped to trigger the severe economic problems that engulfed the South Asian nation, the bank says.

The bank now expects the economy to return to growth next year.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka forecast the economy will shrink by 2% this year, but expand by 3.3% in 2024.

The prediction is more optimistic than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which forecast a contraction in 2023 of around 3% and growth of 1.5% next year.

The central bank's report also outlined how headline inflation reached almost 70% in September as prices of fresh fruit, wheat and eggs more than doubled.

At the same time the cost of transportation and essential utilities such as electricity and water rose even faster.

Last year, the economy shrank by 7.8% and the country defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time since independence from the UK in 1948.

Defaults happen when governments are unable to meet some or all of their debt payments to creditors.

This damaged its reputation with lenders, making it even harder to borrow money on the international markets.

"The Sri Lankan economy faced its most onerous year in its post-independence history," the report said.

An "unsustainable" economic model "steered the country towards a multifaceted disaster," it added.

Sri Lanka owes about $7bn (£5.7bn) to China and around $1bn to India. In February, both countries agreed to restructure their loans, giving Sri Lanka more time to repay them.

Last month, the IMF agreed to lend Sri Lanka $3bn. That was on top of a $600m loan from the World Bank last year.

Sri Lanka's government is currently negotiating its debt repayments with bondholders and creditors before the IMF reviews the situation in September.

BBC

 

[FearlessRoar]

China reached a tentative debt agreement with Sri Lanka, front-running separate talks the International Monetary Fund and other creditors are holding with the South Asian nation and catching them by surprise.

The deal between Export-Import Bank of China and Sri Lanka was reached late last month, China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, without providing details of the pact.

The IMF, Paris Club members including Japan, and other lenders like India are expected to hold talks this week in Morocco on a debt restructuring plan. China, which isn’t part of that official group even though it’s one of Sri Lanka’s biggest creditors, has been pursuing bilateral negotiations with the South Asian nation instead.

Peter Breuer, senior mission chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, said while it was aware discussions were taking place with creditors, “we have not yet been informed about any specific agreements.” The multilateral lender would need to “assess the entire package of agreements in its totality to assess consistency with IMF debt targets,” he said.

Officials from two creditor nations, who asked not to be identified, said they weren’t informed about the terms and details of the China deal.

The preliminary pact is not expected to change efforts by the official creditor committee to try to reach a debt deal in Marrakech, which would include safeguards to prevent favorable payment terms to China, one of the people said.

An Indian official involved in the debt discussions said New Delhi has been pushing for equal and fair treatment in the restructuring plan and hopes that all creditors are transparent in their approach.

Sri Lanka owes about 40% of its bilateral debt to China and 16% to India, according to estimates from the IMF. Reaching a deal quickly with its creditors will allow Sri Lanka to keep tapping funds from its $3 billion bailout program with the multilateral lender.

Sri Lanka’s central bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Junior Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe are in Marrakech this week at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings. Semasinghe met with Robert Kaproth, deputy assistant secretary for the US Treasury, he said in a post on social media platform X, with the two discussing the IMF program and the debt restructuring process.

Creditors were aiming to sign a memorandum of understanding with Sri Lanka at the Marrakech meeting without the participation of China, Bloomberg News reported last month.

The Exim Bank deal comes a week before China hosts its third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, a flagship program by President Xi Jinping that has faced criticism for burdening developing nations like Sri Lanka with debt.

Source: Bloomberg

 

[FearlessRoar]

Sri Lanka hopes to complete debt restructuring talks with a range of bilateral creditors by the end of the year, the country's junior finance minister said on Tuesday.

The island nation of 22 million people has to secure assurances of debt restructuring from bondholders and key bilateral lenders as part of the terms of its $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.

It was reported earlier in September that some members on the committee of Sri Lanka's official creditors are pushing to reach a deal to restructure the nation's debt without the participation of China.

BUDGET 2024

Sri Lanka's government projected a lower-than-anticipated budget deficit for 2024 on Monday on the back of a significant jump in revenues which are crucial to keep its bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund afloat.

The government set a fiscal deficit target of 2.85 trillion Sri Lankan rupees ($8.73b) in 2024, or 9.1 per cent of GDP, higher than the revised 8.5pc of GDP in the current year. The original target for this year was 7.9pc.

Next year's deficit target, however, is smaller than the 12pc backed by the IMF, after the fund warned of revenue shortfalls when reviewing the country's finances as part of the $2.9bn bailout package.

The government also projected total tax revenue at 4.1tr rupees for 2024, sharply higher than 2.85 trillion rupees in the current year, with the biggest jump coming from the goods and services tax receipts, the budget document showed.

"This is a budget to build the foundation of Sri Lanka's recovery. We cannot continue as a people who depends on others," President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the island nation's finance minister, told the parliament.

"To ensure that Sri Lanka does not collapse again we have to renew and recreate our economic and political systems."

Sri Lanka's economy contracted 7.8pc in 2022, forcing it to default on its foreign debt in its worst financial crisis since Independence in 1948.

Budget expenditure has been set at a record 6.98tr rupees in 2024, an increase of nearly 33pc compared to 2023, with capital expenditure more than doubling and 450bn rupees reserved for bank recapitalisation.

"The budget deficit is lower than anticipated but if we add the allocation for bank recapitalisation the deficit increases," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Research.

The island will allocate 3tr rupees to repay international sovereign bonds in 2024 after ongoing debt restructuring talks with bondholders are finalised, Wickremesinghe said, proposing to raise Sri Lanka's debt ceiling by 3.45tr rupees to 7.35tr rupees.

The central bank expects growth of 3.3pc in 2024, when the country will hold presidential elections.

The cabinet had already approved raising Value Added Tax (VAT) by 3pc from Jan 1 and broadening collection.

The government has projected a primary account deficit of 0.6pc of GDP, slightly smaller than 0.7% in 2023, with the IMF requiring the nation to reach a primary surplus of 2.3pc by 2025 and reduce its debt to GDP to 95pc by 2032.

The debt to GDP ratio stood at 113.8pc as December-end.

Source: Reuters

 

[BouncerGuy]

Sri Lanka records first growth after default

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economy grew in the September quarter, the central bank said on Saturday, its first expansion since a foreign exchange shortage forced a debt default last year.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said the economy had grown by a modest 1.6 per cent in the quarter ending September, up from a contraction of 11.5pc a year earlier.

The latest growth was due to improvements in the transport, services and agriculture sectors, the bank said in a statement.

Despite the positive data, overall figures from the first nine months of the year showed a contraction of 4.9pc. The International Monetary Fund has forecast Sri Lanka’s full-year GDP growth in 2023 at negative 3.6pc.

The IMF, which on Tuesday released a second tranche of $337m as part of a four-year, $2.9bn bailout for the island nation, said Sri Lanka had shown signs of economic stabilisation but was not yet out of the woods.

Its economy had shrunk for nine consecutive quarters since the third quarter of 2021.

The country of 22 million people defaulted on its $46bn external debt in April last year after running out of foreign exchange to finance imports of food, fuel, medicine and other essentials.

At the height of last year’s economic crisis, civil unrest forced the ouster of then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, when protesters stormed his residence.

His successor Ranil Wickremesinghe has doubled taxes, withdrawn generous energy subsidies and raised prices of essentials to shore up state revenue.

Sri Lanka announced last month it had struck an “agreement in principle” with its lenders, including China, to restructure nearly $6bn in bilateral loans, a key prerequisite for sustaining the ongoing IMF programme.

Sri Lanka records first growth after default

The latest growth was due to improvements in the transport, services and agriculture sectors, central bank says.

www.dawn.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Sri Lanka picks Marxist-leaning Dissanayake as president to fix economy​

Sri Lanka elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as its new president on Sunday, putting faith in the 55-year-old's pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following its worst financial crisis in decades.

Dissanayake, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of ballots, knocking out incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa to become Sri Lanka's 10th president.

The election was also a referendum on Wickremesinghe, who led the heavily indebted nation's fragile economic recovery from a meltdown in 2022 but the austerity measures that were key to this recovery hindered his bid to return to office. He finished third with 17% of the vote.

Dissanayake polled 5.6 million or 42.3% of the votes, a massive boost to the 3% he managed in the last presidential election in 2019. Premadasa was second at 32.8% after the first round of counting of ballots on Sunday.

It was the first time in Sri Lanka's history that the presidential race was decided by a second round of counting after the top two candidates failed to win the mandatory 50% of votes to be declared winner.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sri-lankas-marxist-leaning-dissanayake-early-lead-become-president-2024-09-21/

 

[JaDed]

Great Another pro Chinese on the border, have to say China is completely involved in Lanka with all parties.

This guy is is pro Chinese but anti-IMF yet he wants IMF bailout.

 

[Red-Indian]

Great Another pro Chinese on the border, have to say China is completely involved in Lanka with all parties.

This guy is is pro Chinese but anti-IMF yet he wants IMF bailout.

Bit of a blow for India as well. China's really flexing it's muscles in the subcontinent - Pakistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh and now Sri Lanka all are now under governments/juntas strongly influenced by China.

Despite recent improvements, we just don't have the financial wherewithal or diplomatic dexterity to compete with China in aid, investment and of course behind the scenes money. Just in the case of Sri Lanka for example, China's outstanding debt is $4.7B while India's $1.7B and this is separate from non-governmental investments

We're not without influence and none of these countries can afford to completely alienate us but it's obvious this phase of influence building has been a failure. For now, we'll have to closely ally with the Quad to contain Chinese power and bide our time hoping for China to get distracted and our own capacity to build.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Great Another pro Chinese on the border, have to say China is completely involved in Lanka with all parties.

This guy is is pro Chinese but anti-IMF yet he wants IMF bailout.

I've said for a while that Indian foreign policy in the region has been a complete and utter disaster.

 

[JaDed]

I've said for a while that Indian foreign policy in the region has been a complete and utter disaster.

Indian foreign policy doesn’t matter here, Lankans were way more anti-India before bailout, they are way more on middle now and almost dislike Chinese loans on ground but no populace will agree for austerity measures and that’s why this guy won.

Having said that Indian foreign policy actually has done amazing in middle east, balancing Russia-Ukraine, Palestine-Israel.

Nepal has calmed from so much from 2019, only issue is Bangladesh and honestly Hasina deserved to be thrown out(personal opinion), so that happens India bet on the wrong horse, although India did try to reach out to BNP before.

In terms of trade etc India is actually done way better with foreign policy, we kept oil and gas to such low prices its insane, literally got Pakistan to bankruptcy due to oil and gas

 

[JaDed]

Bit of a blow for India as well. China's really flexing it's muscles in the subcontinent - Pakistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh and now Sri Lanka all are now under governments/juntas strongly influenced by China.

Despite recent improvements, we just don't have the financial wherewithal or diplomatic dexterity to compete with China in aid, investment and of course behind the scenes money. Just in the case of Sri Lanka for example, China's outstanding debt is $4.7B while India's $1.7B and this is separate from non-governmental investments

We're not without influence and none of these countries can afford to completely alienate us but it's obvious this phase of influence building has been a failure. For now, we'll have to closely ally with the Quad to contain Chinese power and bide our time hoping for China to get distracted and our own capacity to build.

Exactly the money loaned out by Chinese is insane we can’t beat them, no one can with that money, US is having hard time what can India do.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Bit of a blow for India as well. China's really flexing it's muscles in the subcontinent - Pakistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh and now Sri Lanka all are now under governments/juntas strongly influenced by China.

Despite recent improvements, we just don't have the financial wherewithal or diplomatic dexterity to compete with China in aid, investment and of course behind the scenes money. Just in the case of Sri Lanka for example, China's outstanding debt is $4.7B while India's $1.7B and this is separate from non-governmental investments

We're not without influence and none of these countries can afford to completely alienate us but it's obvious this phase of influence building has been a failure. For now, we'll have to closely ally with the Quad to contain Chinese power and bide our time hoping for China to get distracted and our own capacity to build.

Exactly the money loaned out by Chinese is insane we can’t beat them, no one can with that money, US is having hard time what can India do.

I would call it blessing in disguise.

China is betting its future on the worst horses on the racecourse. All the countries you mentioned are doomed and China is never going to get an ROI from these bets. These are opportunities nations who have nothing to offer and will keep changing their masters based on whoever gives them more.

I would not want Bharat fall in this type of trap. Let China waste its time and resources. We are anyway preparing to land a punch on their face soon.

 

[aboveandbeyond]

I would call it blessing in disguise.

China is betting its future on the worst horses on the racecourse. All the countries you mentioned are doomed and China is never going to get an ROI from these bets. These are opportunities nations who have nothing to offer and will keep changing their masters based on whoever gives them more.

I would not want Bharat fall in this type of trap. Let China waste its time and resources. We are anyway preparing to land a punch on their face soon.

Bharat needs to worry about the millions who live in slums. Surely that would be a real act of humanity.

 

[Red-Indian]

Exactly the money loaned out by Chinese is insane we can’t beat them, no one can with that money, US is having hard time what can India do.

India will just have to bide it's time and stick to more limited objectives. Money aside, there's actually a fair bit to learn from Chinese foreign policy

- Focus on trade not political influence
- Don't ally too closely with any one political party or leader
- Keep a low profile
- No moral judgements

Nothing's permanent in international geo-politics but it'll take patience to rebuild these relationships.

 

[sweep_shot]

I would call it blessing in disguise.

China is betting its future on the worst horses on the racecourse. All the countries you mentioned are doomed and China is never going to get an ROI from these bets. These are opportunities nations who have nothing to offer and will keep changing their masters based on whoever gives them more.

I would not want Bharat fall in this type of trap. Let China waste its time and resources. We are anyway preparing to land a punch on their face soon.

Which horse should India bet on? Bhutan?

 

[Bhaijaan]

Bharat needs to worry about the millions who live in slums. Surely that would be a real act of humanity.

Not going to fall for this trap where you make some crap comment about Bharat and provoke a reaction and a distasteful comment at Pakistan.

I respect my Pakistani friends and we are all secure enough to understand the world.