The external sector recorded a modest performance during August 2016 amidst the widening of the trade deficit while inflows from tourism and workers’ remittances grew at a healthy rate. Although exports recorded a considerable growth during August 2016, imports also grew resulting in a widening of the trade deficit. However, earnings from tourism and workers’ remittances grew, cushioning the impact of the trade deficit. Meanwhile, inflows to the financial account were supported by foreign investments to the government securities market and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and long-term loan inflows to the government in August 2016.
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 the Department of Inland Revenue on October 19, 2016 at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to exchange information in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions on money laundering and terrorist financing. Mrs. Kalyani Dahanayake, Commissioner General, Department of Inland Revenue and Mr. H. Amarathunga, Director, FIU signed the MOU on behalf of the respective institutions in the presence of Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, who is also the Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Coordinating Committee.
