The second tranche of the USD 2.9 billion IMF bailout for cash-strapped Sri Lanka would be finalised within the next month, central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Friday. The government is expecting around USD 330 million as the second tranche of the USD 2.9 billion 4-year bailout, following the first one that was extended … Read more
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. File | Photo Credit: ANI Sri Lanka on October 11 welcomed China’s tentative agreement to a debt restructure, as the island nation works to restore its ruined finances after suffering its worst-ever economic crisis. The government defaulted on its $46 billion debt last year at a time when months … Read more
Chandrika Kumaratunga. File Photo | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY Despite possessing enviable social indicators at the time of Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka, at 75, is a “failed state”, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said on Sunday. “Seventy-five years is a long time for a nation to achieve considerable progress. Even after 450 years of … Read more
Image used for representative purpose only. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Sri Lanka began a fresh austerity drive on Monday, freezing government recruitment as new taxes and higher electricity prices kicked in with authorities trying to secure an IMF bailout. The Indian Ocean island nation needs to achieve debt sustainability as a precondition to a … Read more
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, once considered a “war hero” by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority for crushing the LTTE and ending the nearly 30-year civil war, is now detested by the same people who dramatically stormed his official residence over Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis following which he fled the country in the middle of the night. The … Read more
NEW DELHI: Worries over Sri Lanka operations, which accounted for 17 per cent of FY22 sales, have weighed heavily on shares of recent debutant . While analysts do see the issue to impact the profitability of the non-exclusive franchise of YUM! brands (in India and Sri Lanka) in the short term, they are finding comfort … Read more
India and Japan will provide food relief supplies worth millions of dollars to Sri Lanka which is grappling with its worst economic crisis, leading to nationwide protests over the government’s mismanagement. The Indian High Commission said here on Friday that an Indian ship laden with urgent relief supplies like rice, medicines and milk powder for … Read more
Key foreign envoys to Sri Lanka and rights groups have expressed concern over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa‘s decision to declare a state of emergency for the second time in about 5 months, fearing that the security forces might use sweeping powers against peaceful protesters amid the country’s worst economic crisis. However, India was yet to issue … Read more
Sri Lanka’s state-owned petroleum corporation on Thursday re-introduced fuel rationing for vehicles, as the worst economic crisis in decades roils the country with massive public protests against the government. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation head Sumith Wijesinghe said that now motorcycles and other two-wheelers can purchase fuel up to worth Rs 2,000 per visit to a fuel … Read more
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka announced on Tuesday it would sell long-term visas to attract desperately needed foreign currency after the island nation ran out of dollars to pay even for food and fuel. Foreigners who deposit a minimum of $100,000 locally will be granted permission to live and work in Sri Lanka for 10 years under … Read more