The Sri Lankan central bank expects the International Monetary Fund to raise its growth projection for the island nation, a top official said on Thursday.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal reiterated that he expects the economy to grow 7.5 percent in 2013, higher than IMF’s projection of 6 percent.

Cabraal was speaking to reporters in Mumbai on sidelines of a conference on attracting more investments into Sri Lanka.

Last week, the IMF painted a grim picture of the Sri Lankan economy due to risks from high inflation, lower tax revenue and slow structural reforms, and projected the economy to grow slower than the central bank’s forecast.(Reuters)