The Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (FIU - Sri Lanka) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office of Singapore (STRO) on the basis of reciprocity and in the spirit of cooperation and mutual interest and within the framework of each Authority’s national legislation, to facilitate the exchange of information related to investigations and prosecutions of money laundering and terrorist financing on September 01, 2016. This MOU has been entered into by the FIU – Sri Lanka, in terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006.

As the second stage, commercial banks joined the Bloomberg electronic bond trading platform for government securities secondary market transactions with effect from 15.09.2016. Prior to this, all primary dealers joined the platform on 01.08.2016. Therefore, now all primary dealers and banks undertake trades among them in the platform and report all over-the-counter outright deals with investors of Rs 50 mn and above within 30 minutes. The Central Bank releases basic trade information on yields and volumes by each security traded to its website next day. During 32 market days from 01.08.2016 to 15.09.2016, a number of 1,816 outright transactions amounting to Rs. 218.7 bn took place in trade of the majority of securities in issue. In due course, the Central Bank will release such market information twice a day, at noon and close of the day. Accordingly, all stakeholders have now begun to yield the benefits arising from the transparency, price discovery and liquidity created through this trading platform in the market.