Author: Gayan Chandrasekara
Gold reserves down by 54-pct in December; USD 3.1bn reserves include Chinese swap: CBSL
Sri Lanka’s official reserve assets were 3.1 billion US dollars (USD 3,137.6 mn) by the end of December, up from 1.6 billion US dollars in November, the latest Central Bank data showed. Accordingly, the official reserves include the swap facility signed with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) of RMB 10 billion (equivalent to approximately […]
Central Bank adds Thai Baht to list of designated foreign currencies
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has included the official currency of Thailand, the Thai baht to the list of designated foreign currencies under the Off-Shore Banking Business Scheme. The Central Bank said in a banking act order that this order replaces the earlier order issued on 27 October 2011. Designated Foreign Currencies under the New Banking […]
Sri Lanka’s official reserves down to USD 4bn by end May; YTD rupee depreciation 6.7-pct
Sri Lanka’s official reserves were 4 billion US dollars (USD 4,018.1mn) by the end of May, down from 4.5 billion US dollars in April, the latest Central Bank data showed. By the end of May, the foreign currency reserves were 3,530.7 million dollars while the reserve position in the IMF was 69.1 million dollars. Special […]
Sri Lanka surpasses USD 1Bn exports in March 2021 after six months
Sri Lanka surpassed US$ 1 billion in exports in March 2021 after a lapse of six months period, the Export Development Board said. As per the Customs statistics, earnings from merchandise exports recorded double-digit growth of 62.47% in March 2021 on y-o-y comparison – the March figure being US$ 1,066.1 Mn. Earnings from merchandise exports […]
I ask you to be confident; ongoing negotiations will produce results soon: CBSL Governor
Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, Professor W D Lakshman requests people to be confident as ongoing negotiations with overseas agencies will produce results within one and a half months time. Speaking to journalists in Colombo yesterday (12), the Governor emphasized that in spite of the doomsday predictions, they will continue to maintain the country’s […]
‘s foreign currency reserves fall below foreign debt obligations
Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves which were at USD 5.7Bn as of December 2020, have now marginally fallen below the foreign debt obligations for the first time in the recent past as foreign currency reserve cover falls below 1.0x. Official reserve assets of the country stood at USD 5,665Mn as of 31 December 2020 while […]
Central Bank expects payment receipt facility for SL from payment providers like PayPal
Jan 04, 2021 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has already commenced discussions with international payment service providers, such as PayPal, to enable payment receipt facilities for Sri Lankan residents, Governor W D Lakshman said. Introducing the monetary and financial sector policies for 2021, Governor said that he expects positive outcomes in this regard in […]
Kasturi Wilson to succeed Steven Enderby as CEO of Hemas
Jun 25, 2020 (LBO) – Hemas Holdings announced the appointment of Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson as Group Chief Executive Officer, effective 1st October 2020, succeeding Steven Enderby. As part of a planned succession, Kasturi will take on the role of Deputy CEO and be appointed to the Board of Hemas Holdings PLC, effective 1st July 2020. […]
‘s Bank introduces multiple loan schemes in line with government direction
Jun 22, 2020 (LBO) – The Chairman and Board of Directors together with the management of the People’s Bank in accordance with the direction of the Government, has introduced a number of new loan schemes along with special concessionary interest rates for sectors with most of the loan schemes offering single-digit interest rates. According to […]
‘s Central Bank
Jun 21, 2020 (LBO) – Former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera says that he is defending the actions of the Central Bank as the Bank has done what was required of them in response to the crisis. In an open letter to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former Finance Minister has pointed out that the responsibility […]
Central Bank increases funding for businesses affected by COVID-19
Jun 16, 2020 (LBO) – Central Bank has decided to provide funding to Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) at the concessionary rate of 1.00 percent against the pledge of a broad spectrum of collateral, on the condition that LCBs, in turn, will on-lend to domestic businesses at 4.00 percent. According to the Central Bank, this is […]
ICTA denies alleged irregularities alluded to by Dr. Weerawarana
Jun 01, 2020 (LBO) – ICTA categorically denies the alleged irregularities alluded to by Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana and is considering what actions it should take in this regard. There has been a great deal of speculation subsequent to his blog post, dated 30th May 2020, both in the mainstream and social media, as to the […]