“People can do their own trading at any place,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s economy may grow at a record pace next year and inflation will probably stay at the ‘mid-single digit’ level, stated the Central Bank before the budget announcement yesterday (Nov.21).

Gross domestic product may increase 8.5 percent to 9 percent in 2012, from an estimated 8.3 percent this year, according to Central Bank data. A 9 percent growth rate would be the fastest since 1950, when the monetary authority started collating data for GDP, Bloomberg said.

“Low inflation and high economic growth achieved by the Sri Lankan economy need to be sustained in order to safeguard macroeconomic stability and policy credibility,” the Central Bank said.

“We should view this budget in the context of the prevailing uncertainty due to the current global economic turmoil,” Bloomberg reported quoting Samantha Amerasinghe, a Colombo-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc.

“The government will try to create an enabling environment for the private sector to engage in the economic development process,” said Amerasinghe who anticipated tax cuts on commercial banks, exporters and tourism companies in the new budget.

“The fiscal stimulus will help shield Sri Lanka’s economy as Europe’s debt crisis threatens to hurt the global recovery”, he said.

The Central Bank left interest rates unchanged last week for a 10th straight month, keeping its reverse repurchase rate at 8.5 percent and the repurchase rate at 7 percent.