EDB Chair overserves ICT role in growth of service exports

Fact Check

Chairperson of the Export Development Board (EDB) Mangala Wijesinghe claimed that Sri Lanka’s service exports grew by 69% in 2023, driven primarily by growth in the ICT, logistics, transport, and construction sectors.

To verify this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the Export Performance Report of the EDB and the balance of payments statistics reported by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).

The EDB reports only a subset of the service exports—for only 5 out of the 12 sectors covered by the CBSL (see Additional Note 1).EDB’s report shows that these services exports increased by USD 1.306 billion—from USD 1.889 billion in 2022 to USD 3.195 billion in 2023. This is a growth of 69%. Therefore, the chairperson’s claim is correct based on the EDB’s reported data.

Of the service sectors mentioned by the EDB chairperson, the largest contribution to growth came from Transport & Logistics with a growth of USD 874 million (67% of the total increase). This was followed by Construction Services with USD 346 million (26%), and ICT/BPM accounted for USD 115 million (9%).

The ICT/BPM sector had a relatively low contribution to growth in services, even though the EDB chairperson gives it the highest importance in the order in which he mentions sectoral contribution. However, this does not overly compromise his main claim.

Therefore, we classify the EDB Chairperson’s statement as TRUE.

Additional Note 1: The additional sectors covered by the CBSL and international organisations, such as the World Bank and World Trade Organisation, but not included in the EDB report, include travel (tourism), insurance and pension services, manufacturing services, maintenance and repair services, charges for using intellectual property, as well as personal, cultural, and recreational services.

Including these additional categories, Sri Lanka’s services exports rose from USD 3.1 billion in 2022 to USD 5.4 billion in 2023, marking a 77% growth—exceeding the figure cited by the chairperson. The top sectors contributing to this growth of USD 2.354 billion were Travel Services, which grew by USD 932 million (40% of the total growth), and Transport & Logistics, which added USD 874 million (37%).

Additional note 2: Despite substantial growth in 2023 compared to 2022, Sri Lanka’s services exports have yet to return to their pre-crisis (2019) levels. This holds true when examining services exports through both the EDB and the CBSL definitions.

Exhibit 1: CBSL and EDB Service Exports Figures

n.i.e – not included elsewhere

*In 2019, deviating from usual practice, the official EDB services figure included Wellness Tourism along with ICT/BPM, Construction, Financial Services, and Transport and Logistics. However, Wellness Tourism has not been included in the figures for subsequent years. Excluding Wellness Tourism, the EDB services figure for 2019 is only USD 3,708 million.