Sri Lanka is taking several steps to boost up the foreign reserves, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said at the Monetary Policy Review Press Briefing yesterday
He said that though foreign reserves are at USD 2.6 billion, there are instruments in place to boost this. “We are expecting USD 1.5 billion swap from the Public Bank China and are in talk with other countries and banks to look at similar ‘options’
He said that so far Sri Lanka has paid USD 6 billion for debt servicing this year and the future debt obligations too would be met.
He also said that with countries opening up and successful vaccination drives are in place, not only Sri Lankans but foreign tourists and investors also have confidence towards Sri Lanka. “We expect tourism and FDI to pick up as well,” he said.
“Reserves are expected to improve with the measures that are being pursued by the Government and the Central Bank to attract other fresh foreign exchange inflows by way of utilising unutilised assets and through other financial instruments.”
Earnings from exports marked a notable improvement and recorded over USD 1 billion for the third consecutive month in August.
“Indicators and projections suggest that the real economy will grow by around 5 per cent in 2021, and gradually traverse to a high and sustained growth trajectory over the medium term, following near-term stabilisation measures that are being put in place by the Government and the Central Bank.” Consumer price inflation in most countries increased significantly, reflecting the impact of pandemic related supply-demand mismatches and the surge in commodity prices, compared to their low base from a year ago. “The surge in global commodity prices like LPG Gas, Milk power prompted the Government to remove maximum retail prices on several essential commodities,” he said.
