• Margin Deposit Requirement against the Importation of Selected Non-Essential/Non-Urgent Goods made under Letters of Credit and Documents against Acceptance Terms with Licensed Commercial Banks and National Savings Bank

    The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 08 September 2021, decided to impose a 100 per cent cash margin deposit requirement against the importation of selected goods of non-essential/non-urgent nature made under Letters of Credit and Documents against Acceptance terms with Licensed Commercial Banks and National Savings Bank, with immediate effect. The decision to impose the cash margin deposit requirement is expected to support the ongoing efforts to preserve the stability of the exchange rate and foreign currency market liquidity, particularly by discouraging excessive imports of speculative nature.

    A summary of product categories that are subjected to cash margin deposit requirements, along with information on import expenditure under each category in 2019, 2020 and thus far in 2021 (provisional), is given in the Table below.

  • Concessions Further Extended for Businesses and Individuals Affected by COVID-19

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) wishes to inform the public that licensed commercial banks and licensed specialised banks (licensed banks) have been requested to consider extending the concessions granted previously (until 31.08.2021) to borrowers affected by COVID-19 up to 31.12.2021, considering the new surge in the pandemic and the resultant difficulties to the borrowers. Licensed banks have also been requested to offer additional concessions to affected borrowers, at their request, in a way that the overall benefits to the borrowers are not less than those specified by CBSL.

  • Government of Sri Lanka calls for Request for Proposals for the Foreign Currency Term Financing Facility

    The links to the Request for Proposals (RFP) published on the Foreign Currency Term Financing Facility for the Government of Sri Lanka 2021, in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) website and the External Resources Department (ERD) website are as follows:

  • CCPI based Inflation increased to 6.0 per cent in August 2021

    Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2013=100), increased to 6.0 per cent in August 2021 from 5.7 per cent in July 2021. This was driven by monthly increases of prices of items in both Food and Non-food categories. Subsequently, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 11.5 per cent in August 2021 from 11.0 per cent in July 2021, while Non-food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 3.5 per cent in August 2021 from 3.2 per cent in July 2021.

    The CCPI, measured on an annual average basis, increased marginally to 4.3 per cent in August 2021 from 4.2 per cent in July 2021.

  • Sri Lanka receives Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Allocation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Initial Disbursements under the Currency Swap Arrangement with the Bangladesh Bank

    During August 2021, Sri Lanka received its share of the global SDR allocation by the IMF and the initial disbursements under the bilateral currency swap arrangement between the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Bangladesh Bank.

    The SDR allocation received by Sri Lanka was equivalent to US dollars 787 million while a sum of US dollars 150 million was received under the swap arrangement with the Bangladesh Bank.

  • NCPI based Inflation increased in July 2021

    Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2013=100), increased to 6.8 percent in July 2021 from 6.1 per cent in June 2021. This was driven by the monthly increases of prices of items in both Food and Non-food categories. Accordingly, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 11.0 per cent in July 2021 from 9.8 per cent in June 2021 and Non-Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 3.2 per cent in July 2021 from 2.9 per cent in June 2021.

    The NCPI, measured on an annual average basis, remained unchanged at 5.4 per cent in July 2021.

  • Use of Electronic Fund Transfer Cards (EFTCs) for Payments in Foreign Exchange

    It has been brought to the attention of the Central Bank that messages are being circulated stating that credit card, debit card and other stored value card holders are restricted/prohibited from making certain payments in foreign exchange, to persons resident outside Sri Lanka using such cards.

    The public is informed that the Central Bank has not introduced any new restrictions on the use of EFTCs, i.e., credit cards, debit cards and other stored value cards, and holders of such cards are permitted to use them to make payments to persons resident outside Sri Lanka in respect of current transactions of personal nature. However, it is observed that some banks have introduced certain limits on use of EFTCs for transactions in foreign exchange to avoid misuse of such cards and to prioritize transactions in line with foreign exchange positions of such banks.

  • The Central Bank of Sri Lanka tightens its Monetary Policy Stance

    The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 18 August 2021, decided to increase the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 50 basis points each, to 5.00 per cent and 6.00 per cent, respectively. In addition, the Monetary Board decided to increase the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) applicable on all rupee deposit liabilities of licensed commercial banks (LCBs) by 2.0 percentage points to 4.00 per cent, with effect from the reserve maintenance period commencing on 01 September 2021. These decisions were made with a view to addressing the imbalances on the external sector of the economy and to preempt the buildup of any excessive inflationary pressures over the medium term, amidst improved growth prospects.

  • Licensed Banks have not been asked to “Devalue” the Sri Lanka Rupee

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has observed messages being circulated claiming that licensed banks have been officially asked to devalue the Sri Lanka rupee with immediate effect.

    The general public is hereby informed that there is no basis whatsoever for such claims, and the CBSL has not made any change to its stance or the operational arrangements on the determination of the exchange rate.

    The public is also advised not to rely on false and misleading information that is being circulated through social and conventional media. Any official statement issued by the CBSL will be made by the Governor, Deputy Governor or any other authorised official of the CBSL identified by name and designation.

  • Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index - July 2021

    Purchasing Managers' Indices for both Manufacturing and Services activities expanded in July 2021.

    Manufacturing PMI increased further in July 2021 recording an index value of 57.8 with an increase of 7.4 index points compared to June 2021.

    Signaling a further expansion of Services activity, Services PMI increased further to an index value of 55.7 in July 2021.

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