Mahinda Siriwardena Archives

International Monetary Fund Source:Dailymirror The staff level agreement between Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was arrived at on September 1 last year, was to be approved by the IMF Executive Board yesterday and the government has expressed confidence that Sri Lanka will receive the first tranche of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) under the agreement which is a 48-month arrangement. The country which declared bankruptcy due to its inability to repay the foreign loans in April last year is totally depending now on the bailout package of the IMF for the economic recovery. In spite of the recent appreciation of rupee for a brief period in early March, the country is still facing a severe shortage of foreign exchange to repay its foreign loans which run into around US$50 billion and to import essential items such as fuel and life-saving drugs and ingredients for local industries. ...

Grace period to deposit undeclared foreign currency Source:Sundayobserver The Finance Ministry has decided to give a one-month grace period to deposit in licensed commercial banks any amount of undisclosed foreign currencies including US Dollars and UK Sterling Pounds earned by Sri Lankan citizens through various channels without any legal impediment or restrictions. Finance Ministry sources said this measure was referred to President and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s approval on Friday, August 5. An opportunity will be given to people to deposit any amount of foreign currencies earned through foreign employment, tourism, various other programs and overseas training and workshops and which they still have in their possession during this grace period. However, they will not have to disclose how they came into possession of such foreign currency and there will not be any penalties for not declaring them earlier. ...