Sri Lanka has no plans whatsoever for reforms going forward, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told a room full of the country’s top private sector business leaders yesterday but instead would be thinking bigger and bolder in terms of its growth agenda.
Net credit to the private sector fell for the fifth consecutive month in October reflecting the depth and the breath of the economic contraction, which is impacting businesses and individuals alike after the economy....
As Sri Lanka awaits with bated breath to experience some sense of relief from the ongoing crisis that has been brought about by severe economic mismanagement, the country is only at the beginning of a very arduous and painful journey, an ex-Central Bank Governor cautioned.
Sri Lanka needs to listen more to what its people are saying, instead of paying heed to only technocrats, said senior economist Prof. Shantha Devarajan. By not paying attention to the call of citizens, the real problems of the national economy will not be solved, he cautioned.
Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday made an open call to the foreign investor community to take investment positions pertaining to Sri Lanka, as the country is about to enter the recovery path, leaving behind the worst of the ongoing economic turmoil.
The new Central Bank Act will soon see passage through the Cabinet and Parliament as the final draft remains ready as part of a broader package of things to be met as prior actions required to unlock the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal to pull the country out of its current economic mess.
Although the prevailing high interest rate regime may discourage investments, Central Bank (CB) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe asserted that curtailing inflation is more critical for the survival of businesses over low interest rates and to avert a Zimbabwe-like scenario.
The Central Bank forewarned that it would be compelled to bring in administrative controls such as deposits and lending rate caps unless the markets adjust their interest rates to reflect the easing inflation and improvement in money market liquidity.
Amid growing public pressure, the Central Bank (CB) this week said it stands ready to name and shame the exporters who fail to provide adequate reasons within next two weeks for falling behind to convert their export earnings to rupees within the mandated time periods.
Outlining the main policy thrust underlying Budget 2023 that was unveiled last week, Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana said it was designed with the intention of contributing to the economic stabilisation path, which the country had already embarked on, while laying the platform for rebooting growth.
In an effort to prevent the children of the estate sector from falling deeper into the socio-economic crisis faced, the relevant authorities must look at introducing new programmes that expand the earning capacity of adults, so that the school-going age group is kept away from seeking employment, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) said.
State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe yesterday said the government up to now has not taken any decision to restructure the domestic debt, though speculation is rife that ultimately Sri Lanka will be compelled to restructure domestic debt.
The Central Bank believes that interest rates may have reached their highest levels after inflation peaked in September and showed a slight deceleration in October amid the ultra-tight monetary policy and higher taxes brought in to reduce demand in the economy.
Staging strong defence against those who sought preferential tax treatment on foreign exchange earning companies, Central Bank Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday questioned whether the decades-long practice of taxing the exporters and others who earn in foreign currency lower had delivered the country the desired objectives.
With an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal yet to be sealed, Budget 2023 presented to Parliament yesterday stuck with the reform path Sri Lanka had embarked upon after the economy crashed in April, as a result of bad economic policies followed for decades.
The upcoming 2023 national Budget must entail policies, which automatically links tobacco taxation rises with the size of the economy and inflation, the Colombo-based think tank, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) said.
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