Bloomberg – Sri Lanka was sued in the US by a bondholder after the South Asian nation defaulted on its debt for the first time in history while struggling to stop an economic meltdown. Hamilton Reserve Bank Ltd., which holds more than $250 million of Sri Lanka’s 5.875% International Sovereign Bonds due July 25, filed…
Recognising the need to implement a comprehensive cross border transactions and domestic foreign currency transactions monitoring system as a key national priority, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has implemented a new data collecting system known as the International Transactions Reporting System (ITRS) with the participation of Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) and Licensed Specialised…
The overall rate of inflation as measured by the National Consumer Price Index on Year-on-Year basis is 45.3% in May 2022, according to Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics. The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) on Tuesday released the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) and the inflation rate for the month of May…
Korean SPA Packaging (Pvt.) Ltd. (KSPA), recently signed an agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) with respect to the resumption of the operation at the defunct Embilipitiya Paper Mill, which had discontinued its production since 2012. The project, which is a USD 16 Million-investment in its first phase, aims at manufacturing industrial grade papers…
The Board of Directors of John Keells Holdings PLC (“JKH”; the “Company”) resolved to raise the equivalent of USD 75 million of foreign direct investment by way of a private placement of Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) denominated unlisted Convertible Debentures (the transaction herein referred to as the “Proposed Private Placement”) to certain controlled affiliates of…
The U.S. government announced a third tranche of new funding today to address the immediate needs of people hardest hit by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. This humanitarian assistance, totaling $5.75 million, will provide cash assistance, short-term jobs, and agriculture supplies such as seeds directly to crisis-affected people to meet their basic needs. This…
A new publication from the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) calls for a legally binding master plan for public transportation in Sri Lanka, whereby urban transport will become a fully integrated system instead of a collection of projects. The study notes that despite a broad planning context, the progress made in public…
The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) directed its focus on the use of information technology by the Department of Import and Export Control and other government institutions that can contribute more towards government revenue. Attention on this regard was drawn at the Committee on Public Accounts which met under the chairmanship of Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna,…
Reuters – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team began bailout talks in Sri Lanka on Monday, with police called to escort a top government official to the negotiations after protesters angry about the economic crisis blockaded the finance ministry. Economic mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic have left Sri Lanka battling its worst financial problems in…
By Prof. Samitha Hettige A person less than 18 is considered a child (UN convention on the rights of the child). Children of one small pre-school in China donated their day’s pocket money (approx 5 million SL rupees) to help SL children suffering in the crisis. Those Chinese children may be too small to know…
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