Category: Economy
Renewable energy can be a solution to SL’s energy crisis
Sri Lanka is currently facing an acute energy crisis, primarily due to the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuel. The solution to this is for the country to move on to more renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, bio-gas, biomass and hydro power. Renewable energy also presents a host of other benefits both […]
Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Strengthens Trade Ties with the Maldives
A Memorandum of Understanding signed recently between the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) will enhance opportunities for bilateral trade, investment and tourism, giving new impetus to a proposed trade agreement between Sri Lanka and the Maldives, State Minister for Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya announced. Speaking at […]
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Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CC’, from ‘CCC’. Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks or apply modifiers for sovereigns with a rating of ‘CCC’ or below. Related: S&P downgrades Sri Lanka; Central Bank disputes
Sri Lanka’s Sovereign Foreign Debt: To Restructure or Not?
By Dr. Dushni Weerakoon: Sovereign debt restructuring can be pre-emptive or post-default. A default is inherently costly as it can result in a sustained loss of access to capital markets. That leaves pre-emptive restructuring when a country deems itself unable to service outstanding debt. The complex creditor landscape of today though makes governments reluctant to […]
S&P downgrades Sri Lanka; Central Bank disputes
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank says that S&P’s assessment to downgrade the rating has clearly failed to recognise the recent progress made by the Government and the CBSL in securing foreign exchange inflows to meet the government’s forthcoming debt obligations. Standard and Poor’s has downgraded Sri Lanka to ‘CCC’ from ‘CCC+’ with the outlook negative.
Opinion: Repay foreign debt or finance essential imports
By Chair of our Academic Programme and former Economic Adviser at the World Bank, Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, and our Senior Research Fellow, and former Director of CBSL, Dr. Roshan Perera The available foreign reserves of the country can be used to either repay foreign creditors or to finance imports of essential goods and services required […]
ADB is ready to provide funds to restructure several SOEs in Sri Lanka, VP informs President
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President Shixin Chen stated that the Bank is ready to provide funds to restructure several state-owned enterprises. Vice President Chen made these remarks when he met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, today (10). He further said that the Bank will support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector […]
Relief package supports SL economic recovery but compounds govt’s fiscal challenge: Moody’s
The fiscal relief package recently introduced in Sri Lanka reduces the scope for fiscal and debt consolidation at a time when fiscal flexibility is already severely limited by the large share of interest payments in government revenue, Moody’s said in a recent analysis. According to Moody’s, this funding package with reallocations from the budget in […]
Not mandatory for worker remittances to convert into LKR; CBSL asks banks to strictly adhere to rules
Central Bank emphasizes that it is not mandatory for Sri Lankans working abroad to convert their remittances into LKR and migrant workers who channel their earnings through Licensed Banks and other formal channels may even hold such funds in foreign exchange at any commercial bank. Releasing a statement, the bank said that the recent rules […]
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 […]
Daraz reinvents: A new perspective for SL’s e-commerce
Daraz is entering a new phase of its journey towards creating exceptional user experiences and developing a digitized ecosystem. Embarking on an exciting initiative to relaunch its brand, Daraz hopes to reaffirm its position in the lives of e-commerce users across the region. Alongside tech leaders across the globe, Daraz hopes to add a new […]
National single window: Paving way for paperless trade
By Mithara Fonseka and Kavishka Indraratna In 2016, Sri Lanka ratified its Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) with the WTO and in 2017 a Secretariat was established for the National Trade Facilitation Committee to drive much needed trade reforms in the country. Currently, the rate of Sri Lanka’s implementation commitments under TFA stands at 34.9% with […]