• Willful Mutilation, Alteration and Defacement of Sri Lanka Currency Notes

    Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in considering the immense requests from the general public and the difficulties that the general public is facing in exchanging willfully defaced currency notes at Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs), has decided to extend the time period for such exchange of currency notes at LCBs up to 31 March 2018.

    Mutilation, alteration or defacement of currency notes is an offence under the Monetary Law Act (MLA) No. 58 of 1949, and is punishable by imprisonment or fine or both. Under the Regulation E of MLA, no claim in respect of the willfully mutilated or altered notes shall be entertained and such notes shall be retained by the CBSL.

    The holder of these currency notes will have to suffer the loss of face value of such notes effective from 1 April 2018.

  • External Sector Performance - October 2017

    The external sector exhibited a significant improvement in October 2017, with a notable decline in the trade deficit and continued inflows to the financial account of the Balance of Payment (BOP). Higher export earnings, which recorded a double digit growth for the fourth consecutive month, and a deceleration in import expenditure resulted in a significant year-on-year decline in the trade deficit in October. However, earnings from tourism increased moderately, while workers’ remittances further declined, owing to adverse economic and geopolitical conditions prevailing in the Middle Eastern region. Inflows to the financial account of the BOP continued during the month amidst increased foreign investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the government securities market.

  • Monetary Policy Review - No. 8 of 2017

    Considering recent macroeconomic developments, the Monetary Board, at its meeting held on 27 December 2017, was of the view that the current monetary policy stance is appropriate and decided to maintain the policy interest rates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka at their present levels. However, the Central Bank will continue to cautiously monitor the developments in the economy and take necessary policy actions, if warranted.

    The key sectoral developments considered in arriving at the decision by the Monetary Board are discussed below.

  • Proceeds from China Merchant Port Holdings Co. Ltd Received on Account of Handing Over of Operations of Hambantota Port

    Subsequent to the agreement signed between Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the China Merchant Port Holdings Co. Ltd., US $ 292.1 mn has been credited to the US Dollar account of Government of Sri Lanka maintained at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

  • Inflation in November 2017

    Inflation, as measured by the change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) (2013=100), which is compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), decreased to 8.4 per cent in November 2017 from 8.8 per cent in October 2017, on year-on-year basis.

    The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis increased from 7.1 per cent in October 2017 to 7.5 per cent in November 2017.

  • SL Purchasing Managers’ Index Survey - November 2017

    The Manufacturing Sector PMI recorded 58.8 in November which is an increase of 4.0 index points compared to October 2017. This indicates that the Manufacturing activities expanded at a higher pace in November compared to October 2017. This was mainly driven by the New Orders and Production sub-indices owing to the increase in manufacturing of food, beverages and tobacco related activities in line with the seasonal demand. Further, Employment and Stock of Purchases sub-indices also expanded at a higher pace during the month compared to October 2017. Meanwhile, the Suppliers’ Delivery Time sub-index lengthened, albeit at a slower rate, compared to previous month. Overall, all the sub-indices of PMI recorded values above the neutral 50.0 threshold signalling an overall expansion in November 2017.

  • Financial Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka Entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Sri Lanka Police

    In terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sri Lanka Police on December 13, 2017 at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to share information/intelligence in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions on money laundering, terrorist financing and other related offences.

  • Ban on Willfully Mutiled, Alterated and Defaced Sri Lankan Currency Notes

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has drawn attention of the general public for implementation of its Clean Note Policy and regulation on the willfully mutilation, alteration or defacement of Sri Lanka currency notes. The Clean Note Policy has been introduced by CBSL aiming at maintaining the quality standards of the currency notes and thereby helping to distinguish between genuine notes and counterfeits. It is also expected through this policy to enhance image of the country and promote the efficiency of processing currency notes.

  • SAARCFINANCE Coordinators’ Meeting held in Colombo on 1 September 2016

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka hosted the 24th SAARCFINANCE Coordinators’ Meeting at the Central Bank premises, Colombo, on 1st September 2016. The 24th SAARCFINANCE Coordinators’ Meeting was attended by SAARCFINANCE Coordinators and Focal Points from the Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in the SAARC region.

    The broad objective of SAARCFINANCE is to promote cooperation among Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in SAARC Member States to forge closer cooperation on macroeconomic policies of Member States and to share experiences and expertise within the region. 

  • External Sector Performance - June 2016

    Sri Lanka’s external sector performance remained moderate in June 2016 with a widening trade deficit and relatively low growth in workers’ remittances and tourist earnings. The trade deficit which showed gradual improvements in the first four months of the year deteriorated in May and June with weak performance in both exports and imports. Earnings from tourism recorded a low growth in June compared to previous months of the year while growth in workers’ remittances also moderated. However, inflows to the financial account elevated with the receipts of the first tranche of the IMF Extended Fund Facility (IMF-EFF) and a syndicated loan facility. As a result of these inflows to the financial account and developments in the global economy with further rate hikes by the United States Federal Reserve still to materialise, foreign investments in the government securities market rebounded.

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