Sri Lanka’s rupee is expected to remain stable on a ‘very comfortable terrain’ in the coming years, with gross foreign exchange reserves forecast to exceed US $12 billion before capital repayments to creditors begin in 2029, according to the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (SLBA) Chief and Standard Chartered Sri Lanka CEO Bingumal Thewarathanthri. Despite potential
Since Sri Lanka’s selective default in April 2022, the country’s banking system, including the central bank and commercial banks, has repaid or built reserves amounting to 7.39 billion US dollars. This period marked a pivotal shift in policy as interest rates were hiked to end the inflationary policies that had previously kept rates artificially low.
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector continues to show positive momentum as of September 2024, with both visitor arrivals and earnings on the rise, despite a slight dip from the previous month. Recent data reveals that the country generated US$ 181 million in tourism revenue in September, a significant increase from the US$ 152.2 million earned in
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector saw a significant boost in foreign exchange revenue, reaching $181 million in September 2024, an 18.9% increase from $152.2 million during the same month last year, according to the Central Bank, citing data from tourism promotion authorities. For the first nine months of 2024, tourism revenue surged by 61.2%, totaling $2.35
Sri Lanka’s remittances surged by 10.3% to $566.8 million in July 2024, marking a significant rise from the previous year, thanks to increased use of official banking channels by expatriates. State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe announced on X (Twitter) that the total remittances for the first seven months of the year have reached $3.71
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved five companies to operate foreign exchange counters at Bandaranaike International Airport, according to Minister Bandula Gunawardana. Following a competitive tender process, the selected firms are Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, and Thomas Cook. The franchise agreements will be effective for three years.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board announced that exports of Ceylon Tea have successfully offset $60 million of the country’s fuel bill owed to Iran. Since 2011, Sri Lanka had accumulated arrears of $251 million for fuel imports from Iran. Chairman Niraj De Mel noted that this settlement was achieved as tea exports to Iran tripled