Courtesy Outlook The IMF-Sri Lanka discussions focused on fiscal sustainability, monetary policy, exchange rate regimes, financial sector stability and structural reforms. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has assessed Sri Lanka’s public debt as “unsustainable” and has said it requires “sufficient assurance” from that Sri Lanka will restore debt sustainability during the debt restructuring process, according […]

Courtesy The Daily News India and Japan have agreed to work together on assisting crisis-hit Sri Lanka, the Japanese Government said, following a recent meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. Modi and Kishida met on May 24 on the sidelines of the Quad summit and held bilateral talks on close […]

Courtesy The Island President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the 27th International conference on ‘Future of Asia’, yesterday, called upon the international community to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis. Addressing the virtual summit, the President said that it was no secret that the last several months had been extremely difficult for Sri Lanka. We are […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka is looking to fast-track talks with the International Monetary Fund and agree on a loan by mid-June so that it can then approach other lenders for urgently needed funds. The bankrupt nation will slash its budget expenditure to bare bones” and hopes to break even or post a primary surplus of […]

Courtesy Hiru News IMF staff has concluded their virtual mission to SL & state “IMF staff will  engage with the authorities to formulate concrete measures under an IMF-supported program to support a timely resolution of the crisis. We reaffirm our commitment to support Sri Lanka at this difficult time, in line with the IMF’s policies”. […]

Meera Srinivasan  Courtesy The Hindu Motorists waiting to buy fuel from Lanka IOC fuel station in Colombo on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: AFP Govt. tells non-essential staff to work from home to save fuel; social media saw many accounts of families being unable to access emergency medical care due to the lack of fuel Sri […]

Courtesy Mint An IMF bailout would depend on the country fixing its economy. High school teacher S. Jeeva spent two days in the hot sun lining up for cooking gas in Sri Lanka’s capital. He’s been standing with thousands of others waiting for a delivery that so far hasn’t come. Many of his students have […]

Courtesy CNA COLOMBO/LONDON: Sri Lanka has hired heavyweight financial and legal advisers Lazard and Clifford Chance as it prepares for the difficult task of renegotiating its debts, a trio of sources told Reuters on Monday (May 23). The move is the latest development in Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 […]

Courtesy Pakistan Observer President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik Sunday urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work out timely bail out package to put defaulting Sri Lanka, a financially crumbled country, on track. Talking to a delegation of women entrepreneurs led by Noreen Asim Siyal-an emerging youtuber, he said that […]

Courtesy MailOnLine +1View gallery A woman sits beside liquefied petroleum gas cylinders on a street in Colombo. Fuel is in short supply across Sri Lanka Sri Lanka’s inflation hit a seventh consecutive record high in April as a petrol shortage worsened and food prices rose sharply, official data showed Monday. The National Consumer Price Index […]

Anne-Marie Gulde  Courtesy IMF Bulgaria’s latest stabilization program, which included the introduction of a currency board, marked the end of a period of economic turmoil and near-hyperinflation. What accounts for its success? After several failed stabilization attempts, Bulgaria introduced a currency board on July 1, 1997. Controversial and difficult to implement because of Bulgaria’s serious […]

IMF A currency board combines three elements: a fixed exchange rate between a country’s currency and an “anchor currency,” automatic convertibility, and a long-term commitment to the system, often made explicit in the central bank law. The main reason for countries to consider a currency board is to demonstrate that they are pursuing an anti-inflationary […]

By Dilini Madushanki Courtesy Ceylon Today The Sri Lankan economy is in a death spiral”, says world-renowned economist Steve H. Hanke, a professor of applied economics, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He said in a Twitter message that this was the first time Sri Lanka had defaulted on a debt. Hanke pointed out that […]

Courtesy Adaderana The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have jointly decided to support Sri Lanka’s response to the ongoing economic crisis. The three institutions announced their decision in a statement issued after the first joint coordinated meeting held on the 19th of May. All three institutions […]

Courtesy Scroll The island nation shut down schools and asked public authorities not to commute to work in an attempt to mitigate the fuel crisis. Sri Lanka’s newly elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday said that the crisis-hit island nation is likely to face a potential food shortage from August, NewsWire reported. The development came as Sri […]

By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta Courtesy The Island Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday (19) said there was some political and social stability in the country and it would help the CBSL achieve some success in its endeavours. Dr. Weerasinghe said so responding to a question posed by a […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror o bring down the threshold to US$ 10, 000 from US$ 15, 000 Says move will enhance dollar liquidity in domestic forex market Says evidence suggests people hoarding large amount of forex in note form in their homes and offices As of now any individual can hold up to US$ 15,000 […]

Courtesy Reuters May 19 (Reuters) – An International Monetary Fund virtual mission to Sri Lanka is expected to conclude technical talks on a potential IMF loan program to the crisis-wracked South Asian country on May 24, Fund spokesman Gerry Rice said on Thursday. Rice, speaking to a virtual IMF briefing, said the IMF monitoring political […]

Courtesy Business Standard Regulatory nod only for State Bank of India’s term loan of $1 billion for island nation battling economic crisis. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved trade transactions between India and Sri Lanka to be settled in Indian rupee outside the Asian Clearing Mechanism. The approval is alongside a government-guaranteed $1 billion term loan from […]

Courtesy CNA Ratings agency Fitch on Thursday downgraded Sri Lanka’s rating to ‘RD’ from ‘C’ after the grace period expired on coupon payments that were due on Apr 18 on two international sovereign bonds. “We have affirmed Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency IDR at ‘CCC’, as the government has continued to service local-currency debt and we assume […]

Courtesy The Straits Times KOENIGSWINTER, GERMANY (REUTERS) – The Group of Seven economic powers support efforts to provide debt relief for Sri Lanka, G-7 finance chiefs said on Thursday (May 19) in a draft communique from a meeting in Germany after the country defaulted on its sovereign debt. The once-booming island country has suspended debt payments […]

Courtesy Borneo Bulletin COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka will take at least six more months to start repaying its debts, the central bank said yesterday as the government shut schools because of fuel shortages. Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said there will be no debt servicing until the country was able to […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 19 said that the government of India-backed $1 billion term loan granted to Sri Lank through the State Bank of India (SBI) for financing purchase of essential goods can be settled in rupee terms, outside the purview of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) […]

By Jorgelina do Rosario and Swati Bhat Courtesy FXEmpire By Jorgelina do Rosario and Swati Bhat (Reuters) -Running out of petrol, medicines and foreign reserves, once-booming Sri Lanka is in a mess. And the measures needed to pull its economy out of the unparalleled crisis are likely to bring even more pain.Advertisement 71% of retail […]

Courtesy Reuters LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. investment bank JPMorgan backed Sri Lanka’s crisis-hit government bonds on Wednesday, saying recent political changes in the country should gradually improve its strains and help its talks with the International Monetary Fund. Adding an ‘overweight’ – effectively a buy recommendation – JPMorgan analysts said: “political stability should […]

Courtesy The Daily Star Sri Lanka was expected to be placed into default by rating agencies on Wednesday after the non-payment of coupons on two of its sovereign bonds, while the energy minister said the country had run out of money to pay for fuel. An economic crisis unprecedented in the country’s history since independence […]

State of Sri Lanka’s Economy – Research Team Defaulting debt is a very complicated and painful matter. It is not a casual or frivolous matter. It is well known that various people had suggested to the Sri Lankan authorities at various times to default on its external public debt. They gave various reasons as to […]

WION Sri Lanka’s debt crisis is a warning to the world. The World Bank says a global debt storm is coming. It could engulf 70 developing countries & make their economies fall like dominoes. What are the threats they face? How can they be averted? Palki Sharma explains.

ByMary Izuaka Courtesy Premium Times The Indian Ocean Island nation faces its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. Sri Lanka’s newly appointed prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced Monday that the country has run out of petrol stock. Reuters reports that Mr Wickremesinghe disclosed this in an address to the nation amid uncertainties over fuel […]

State of Sri Lanka’s Economy – Research Team Since early 2020, the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government appeared to implement a plan with several components for the external sector. These components included securing of multi-lateral and bi-lateral loans, monetization of selected assets, obtaining Central Bank SWAPs, promoting Hambantota Industrial & Pharmaceutical Zones, Colombo Port City and other […]