Page 27 - Sri Lanka

Lankan Speaker thanks India for help amid crisis, says 'you saved us'

Describing New Delhi as a "close associate" and a "trustworthy friend" of Colombo, Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday thanked India for the financial assistance it extended to the island nation when it reeled under an unprecedented economic crisis last year. Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. As the country struggled, locked in the throes of the crisis, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to it last year, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India's Neighbourhood First' policy. In his address at the gala dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress here, Abeywardena said that India "saved us" during the financial crisis otherwise, there would have been "another bloodbath for all of us". At the evening reception, the Speaker thanked India for

Sri Lanka's central bank reduces interest rates for second time in a month

Sri Lanka's central bank on Thursday announced a reduction in the interest rates aimed at enabling the cash-strapped island nation's economy to reach its potential and easing pressures in the financial markets. A statement from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said the deposit facility rate and the lending facility rates were reduced by 200 basis points to 11 and 12 per cent. This is aimed at enabling the economy to reach its potential and stabilising inflation at mid-single digit levels in the medium term while easing pressures in the financial markets, the statement said. Accordingly, the banking and financial sector is urged to pass on the benefits of this significant easing of monetary policy by the central bank to individuals and businesses, thereby supporting economic activities to rebound in the period ahead, the statement added. This is the second policy interest rate reduction as the central bank in early June brought down policy interest rates -- the first such in three ...

Sri Lanka gets parliamentary nod for domestic debt restructuring plan

A special session of Sri Lanka's Parliament on Saturday overwhelmingly approved the cash-strapped government's domestic debt restructuring (DDR) plan, a vital element in the bankrupt nation's bid for recovery from the worst economic crisis. Domestic debt restructuring (DDR) is a key condition in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, through which a bailout package of USD 3 billion was approved for Sri Lanka in March. The IMF programme unlocks more help from international funding agencies. Accordingly, the World Bank, earlier this week, approved USD 700 million in financing as budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis since it won independence from the British in 1948. The DDR plan won parliamentary approval with 122 lawmakers voting for it while 62 going against it. After a 10-hour marathon debate, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena opted to take the vote ending the debate at 7.30 pm. The approval of the DDR came as members fr

Boat service between Sri Lanka, India to be delayed further: Lanka Minister

The much-anticipated passenger boat service between India and Sri Lanka will be further delayed after New Delhi changed the port chosen for the boat service, a senior minister said here on Saturday. The boast service was to begin in April. Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said the commencement of passenger boat service between India and Sri Lanka will be delayed, Newsfirst Lanka reported. The minister said that India has changed the port it had chosen for the boat service. India has requested a few more days to increase the facilities at the Nagapatnam port in Tamil Nadu which has been selected for that purpose, the Minister was quoted as saying by the report. Earlier the minister said the ferry service between Karaikal in Puducherry and Kankesanthurai in port in Jaffna district in Sri Lanka would begin on April 29. The construction of a 1,000 square metre passenger terminal for immigration and customs clearance of travellers who intend to use the

Sri Lanka's parl committee approves debt restructuring plan with amendments

Sri Lanka's parliamentary oversight committee comprising members from both government and opposition on Friday approved the proposed domestic debt restructuring (DDR) plan with certain amendments, as part of the efforts to revive the island nation's bankrupt economy. The majority of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) approved the resolution following the second day of deliberations which began on Thursday, an official release said Earlier, the Cabinet approved the debt restructuring plan on Wednesday after which it was referred to the public finance committee in parliament. The committee approved the resolution by a majority subject to certain amendments made at the committee meeting held, the release said. The COPF approval was the last of the formalities before the resolution is set to be discussed in parliament on Saturday. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, held a flurry of meetings with different sectors to apprise them of the DDR programme

Sri Lanka to spare banks in $19.8 bn local debt restructuring plan

Sri Lanka will spare banks from being part of its local debt restructuring plan because of the possible impact on deposits, while the bulk of the burden will be shared by the Central Bank and superannuation funds, officials said Thursday. Sri Lanka's Cabinet a day earlier approved a plan to restructure nearly half of its $42.1 billion local debt following a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund. A special Parliament sitting has been convened for Saturday to seek approval for the plan. The government has announced a bank holiday until next week to prevent any speculation-triggered bank run. Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said the treasury bills owned by the bank will be converted into treasury bonds with a longer maturity period and the same has been proposed to superannuation funds. If those funds are unwilling to be part of the plan they may have to pay a 30% tax instead of the 14% special treatment effective now. Sri Lanka is also seeking to reduce ..

SL's domestic debt restructuring plan approved by special cabinet meeting

Sri Lanka's special cabinet meeting on Wednesday unanimously approved the government's Domestic Debt Restructuring (DDR) plan under which the cash-strapped government aims to restructure USD 17 billion out of the total USD 41.5 billion external debt over five years. The proposed Domestic Debt Restructuring programme proposed by the Finance Ministry has been approved by the special cabinet meeting, a statement by the President's Office said. "All government MPs were notified a short while ago at the presidential secretariat. Next, the proposal will be submitted at the next parliament session for discussion, the statement said. The plan will now be referred to the public finance committee in Parliament ahead of Saturday's parliamentary session. Earlier, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the minister of finance, explaining the DDR programme said the government aims to restructure USD 17 billion out of the total USD 41.5 billion external debt over five years. Today's meeting

Govt to not allow SL to be used as base for any threats against India: Prez

Assuring that Sri Lanka will not be utilised as a base for any threats against India, Wickremesinghe emphasised that his nation is a neutral one

Lankan parl to hold special session on Sat to discuss debt restructuring

It was earlier reported that Parliament would be convened on Saturday and Sunday to get the approval for the domestic debt restructuring process

World Bank extends $500 mn budgetary support to cash-strapped Sri Lanka

The government said on Tuesday that funding from the lender will come in two tranches

Wouldn't allow to be used as base for threats against India: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka would not be allowed to be used as a base for any threats against India, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, asserting that the island nation remains "neutral", having no military agreements with China. Wickremesinghe, who was on an official visit to the UK and France, made the comments during an interview with France's state media on Monday. In an interview with France24, Wickremesinghe said, "We are a neutral country, but we also emphasise the fact that we cannot allow Sri Lanka to be used as a base for any threats against India." Responding to a question about China's perceived military presence in Sri Lanka, the president said that the Chinese have been in the country for about "1500 years and, so far, there has been no military base". Wickremesinghe asserted that the island nation has no military agreement with China and said, "There won't be any military agreements. I don't think China will enter into one." The president said there were no issues of military u

Sri Lanka to halt decision of exporting 100,000 endangered monkeys to China

Sri Lanka has decided to halt its decision to export 1,00,000 endangered Toque Macaque monkeys to China, the country's Attorney General on Monday told the Court of Appeal, amidst protests from environmental groups against the deal. A privately-owned Chinese company connected to Zoological Gardens which are animal breeders had made the request to the island nation's agricultural ministry a few months earlier. Sri Lanka, RARE Sri Lanka, Justice for Animals and others in the Court of Appeal pursuant to the statement made by Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said there were plans being made to export toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to China. The petitioners sought the Court of Appeal's intervention to issue an order to prevent the proposed export of toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to China. When the case was taken up today the Attorney General stated in open court that they had received instructions from the Department of Wildlife and Conservation that they will not

Lanka declares special bank holiday on Jun 30 to set in debt restructuring

Sri Lanka's Central Bank on Monday declared a special bank holiday on Friday to ensure a continuous five-day cooling-off period after the government's announcement on the domestic debt restructuring (DDR) process as part of the efforts to revive the cash-strapped economy. According to government sources, the DDR plan would be announced on either Wednesday or Thursday, with Parliament expected to take it up over the weekend. Governor of the central bank, Nandalal Weerasinghe, said that June 29 to July 3 would be continuous bank holidays with the Colombo Stock Exchange also observing a holiday on June 30. We have now reached the stage of announcing domestic debt optimisation. For this, we need some time (and) space to discuss the plan in the cabinet, discuss at the finance oversight committee in Parliament, and finally present it in Parliament for approval," Weerasinghe said, adding that a minimum of five days would be required for the entire process. On Thursday, Sri Lanka will ...

Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 133 runs in World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe

Sri Lanka ended Ireland's hopes with a massive 133-run win in a Super Six match in the ICC World Cup qualifier, here on Sunday. The result also clinched a place in the Super Six for Scotland and Oman, who were in action at the same time. Dimuth Karunaratne had enjoyed knocks of 52 and 61 not out in wins over the UAE and Oman, and produced his best performance with 103 as Sri Lanka made 325 after being invited to bat. In a tournament where big chases have come thick and fast, Wanindu Hasaranga (5/79) again made the difference with the ball, collecting a third five-wicket haul in as many matches in the 133-run win. Ireland were all out for 192. In the other game of the tournament, Brandon McMullen began this tournament with a five-wicket haul, and he now has a maiden ODI hundred after firing Scotland to a 76-run win over Oman. Brief Scores: Sri Lanka: 325 all out in 49.5 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 103, Sadeera Samarawickrama 82; Mark Adair 4/46, Barry McCarthy 3/56) Ireland: 192 a

Ex-prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa accused of destroying records of mass graves

Sri Lanka's former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reportedly destroyed police records of a mass grave discovered in the country when he was the military coordinator during the Marxist rebellion of 1988-89, an international rights group has alleged. The report titled Mass graves and failed exhumations in Sri Lanka', authored by four organisations Centre for Human Rights Development (CHRD), Families of the Disappeared (FOD), International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) was released on Thursday. The mass graves were discovered in the Matale district of central Sri Lanka in 2013. The report aims to analyse shortcomings in the Sri Lankan exhumations which include 155 bodies at Matale, and at Mannar where 81 bodies and 318 skeletons were exhumed. The report said that Rajapaksa's alleged action was a prime example of political interference. The report advocated that the Sri Lanka state should take action against Rajapaksa under Article 12

Sri Lankan Navy arrests 22 Indian fishermen, seizes their boats

The Sri Lankan navy arrested 22 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in their waters. The fishermen were arrested from near Neduntheevu late on Wednesday

Lanka grants over 100 electric vehicle import permits to migrant workers

Sri Lanka's Labour said on Sunday that it has granted 111 electric vehicle (EV) import permits under a new programme designed to facilitate Sri Lankan migrant workers in remitting

Change in China's stance on debt restructuring for SL in 2023 unlikely

The official statement released after the meeting only mentioned that China will give maximum support to Sri Lanka to recover from the economic crisis

Sri Lanka's economy shrinks by 11.5% in first quarter amid financial crisis

Sri Lanka's economy shrank 11.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 from the previous year, government data showed on Thursday, even as the cash-strapped island nation struggles to overcome the economic crisis. Sri Lanka is currently facing the worst economic crisis in the history of the island nation. The GDP for the first quarter of 2023 at the constant price has declined to Rs 3,114,187 million from Rs 3,519,400 million in the first quarter of 2022. The year-on-year GDP growth for the first quarter of the year 2023 has been reported as 11.5 per cent of negative growth rate, the statistics department said in a statement. While the agricultural sector had expanded by 0.8 per cent, the industry and service sectors had declined by 23.4 per cent and 5 per cent respectively during this quarter, it added. In 2022, the economy had contracted by over 7 per cent as the economic difficulties forced people to take to the streets with protests across the island nations that also led to the

Asia Cup to be held in hybrid model from August 31 to September 17: ACC

Ending months of speculation around the Asia Cup, the the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday announced that the tournament will be staged in a hybrid model with four games in Pakistan and nine in Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17. The deadlock over the staging of the 50-over tournament was broken last week when Jay Shah-led ACC accepted to host Pakistan Cricket Board's hybrid model of conducting four non-India games in Pakistan. The hybrid model was proposed as the BCCI had made it clear that it won't send its team to Pakistan due to the longstanding geo political tensions between the two countries. "We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from 31st August to 17th September 2023 and will see the elite teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal, compete in a total of 13 exciting ODI matches. "The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches bein