Category: Economy
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 […]
15-pct food price increase in a single month; Advocata
Advocata’s Bath Curry Indicator (BCI) , which tracks the monthly changes in the retail price of food, recorded an increase of 15% from November 2021 to December 2021. Much of this increase is driven by rising prices of vegetables. 100g of Green Chillies at Rs18 increased to Rs 71. This is a 287% increase in […]
‘s Foreign Minister
Trade and investment, political cooperation, defense initiatives, tourism and labour issues dominated the discussion in Seoul, Republic of Korea between Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Chung Eui-yong. Minister Prof. Peiris paid tribute to the multi-faceted relationship which had developed between the two countries during their 44-year relationship, and its present robust character. Minister Peiris […]
Opinion: Government heavy-handedness to blame for our currency woes
By Vinuja Singharachchige: Much is being said nowadays about the pressures the Sri Lankan Rupee is facing, but it is important that we understand the mechanics and greater economic context. Currency crises have been common in our modern history with countries facing sudden devaluations to the point where we can predict the patterns. There was […]