Srilanka, Jan. 30 -- Sri Lanka must focus on developing an export-oriented industrialisation policy rather than relying on bailouts and handouts for economic recovery, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday.

With the island nation slated to begin its restructured sovereign bond repayment in the next couple of years, ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono stressed the need for a structured policy shift that will ensure the country does not have to resort to new borrowings. Drawing from South Korea's economic transformation he highlighted how consistent leadership and policy direction, regardless of regime changes, played a key role in their success-an approach, he opined Sri Lanka too can learn from.

"The Korean g...