SL mulls issuing Samurai bonds before elections

Sri Lanka is exploring the possibility of issuing 10-year Samurai bonds under the provisions of the Active Liability Management Act (ALMA) before election cycle begins.

“We are going to Tokyo later this month to explore the possibility of issuing Samurai bonds,” the Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said.

He noted that the Central Bank will decide on the issue depending on the tenure, yields and the conversion cost.

The CB was earlier planning to raise US$250 million from Samurai bonds and another US$250 million from Panda bonds. 

He stressed that Sri Lanka will not go for a Samauri Bond issuance which has a tenure less than 10 years. 

Dr. Coomaraswamy also ruled out dollar denominated ISB issuance in the remainder of the year after two successful issuances, while noting that the government would also consider domestic financing sources as well. 

The parliament recently approved the provision to borrow up to Rs. 480 billion under the ALMA.