News
Lanka debt talks with India, China, Japan helped by investment projects: President
ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka has been moving forward in bilateral debt negotiations by talking to individual creditors despite a clearly defined process for dealing with Paris Club and other creditors, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had said last week.
Sri Lanka was following a ‘debtor led’ strategy by reforming the economy and also aiming at a ‘highly efficient green economy’, which was going to increase financing needs, Wickremesinghe told a financing summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris.
“What else helped us was that Sri Lanka had ongoing negotiations with Japan, India and China and separately regarding further trade integration and also regarding some of the development programs for the future,” President Wickremesinghe said. “This assisted our process.”
Sri Lanka was supported by the International Monetary Fund and also India who gave about four billion US dollars in 2022 he said when all other funding dried up.
Sri Lanka’s currency crisis intensified in 2022 after central bank open market operations depleted forex reserves and float (full suspension of convertibility) of the currency failed due to a surrender rule leading to the collapse of the rupee from 200 to 360 to the US dollar.
India had supported Sri Lanka with about four billion US dollars in the worst time, Wickremesinghe said.
Sri Lanka went through a period of ‘reserve graduation’ with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank making the country eligible for concessionary funding.
After a staff level agreement was signed with the IMF there was no clearly defined path to follow in bilateral debt restructuring with some lenders outside the Paris Club, the president said. Ninety percent of the menu options in the IMF program was agreed, he added.
The lack of a clearly defined path was a problem but a ‘common framework’ for middle income countries may also not help, because such efforts tended to move at the pace of the slowest creditor, he said.Under an ‘ad hoc’ arrangement, India and several countries had come to work with the Paris Club and China was an observer.
“We are able to work with the most committed creditors, raising the general quality and efficiency of the process,” Wickremsinghe said. “We are still frustrated by the lack of progress.”
Wickremesinghe said a new debt negotiation framework was needed since geopolitical tensions played a part, which cannot be solved by the debtor countries.
“The mistrust between US and China and the growing tensions has to be address by you all, not merely Sri Lanka and the country concerned,” Wickremsinghe said. “If you do not resolve it, Asia and Africa we will get caught into another situation not of our making. Restructuring is needed. But it has to move fast, otherwise LIC or MIC, the countries will not have much hope.”
A number of countries with highly unstable, depreciating, soft-pegged (flexible exchange rates) who had engaged in inflationary open market operations and covid monetary re-financed funding, are now in the brink of default.
Many of the countries had loaded up of sovereign debt as bond buyers went on a yield seeking spree as reserve currency quantitative easing (money printing) kept interest rates artificially low and China also busted some of its reserves on the Belt and Road project.
News
Sun directly overhead Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon today (07)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (07) are Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon.
By Norman Palihawadane
The CID recently found that former SLPP Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, better known as ‘Choka Malli’, had left for Thailand when the Supreme Court imposed an overseas travel ban on him last Friday.
The CID discovered that Jayasekara had left Sri Lanka on August 31, while authorities were taking steps to enforce the travel restriction imposed by the Supreme Court. The Department has subsequently informed the Attorney General’s Department of the development.
The Supreme Court last Friday ordered Jayasekara, and two other men, to appear before court on October 21, and imposed a ban on their overseas travel.
The orders were made as the Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the acquittal of the three men in connection with the 2015 murder of Shantha Dodangoda, also known as D.G. Sunil Perera.
The appeal was filed by Dodangoda’s wife against a decision of the Court of Appeal to acquit and release Jayasekara and the two other accused, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court.
Dodangoda was killed in a shooting in Kahawatta town, in the early hours of January 5, 2015, while a group of people were putting up decorations for an election rally in support of then common Opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.
Two others, Karunadasa Weerasinghe and Mohamed Ilfan, were seriously injured in the shooting.
Following the incident, the Ratnapura High Court convicted Jayasekara, former Chairman of the Kahawatta Pradeshiya Sabha Wajira Darshana de Silva, and former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council member Nilanta Jayakody, sentencing all three to death.
The Court of Appeal subsequently acquitted the three men and ordered their release.
The victim’s wife later challenged the acquittal before the Supreme Court.
The appeal was taken up before a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Gihan Kulatunga.
During the proceedings, Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara requested that the court impose overseas travel restrictions on Jayasekara and the other respondents.
The Supreme Court subsequently ordered all three to appear before the court on October 21 and imposed travel bans on them.
President’s Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetty, President’s Counsel U.R. de Silva and President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne appeared for the respondents. President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris represented the aggrieved party.
Police sources said that the discovery that Jayasekara had already left for Thailand, on August 31, has raised concerns over the timing and enforcement of the travel ban.
Sources said that the CID had notified the Attorney General’s Department and was taking further action in relation to the development.
By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon
The number of deaths from dengue fever in Sri Lanka has risen to 73 this year, with 96,228 cases reported across the country so far, according to the Dengue Control Unit.
The latest figures indicate that dengue continues to pose a significant public health concern, with 737 new cases recorded during the first four days of September alone.
Dengue infections peaked in July, when 29,964 cases were reported, according to the latest data. June recorded the second-highest monthly total, with 21,533 cases, while 10,155 cases were reported in August.
Earlier in the year, 8,590 cases were recorded in May and 7,866 cases in January.The Western Province remains the worst-affected area, accounting for more than half of all dengue cases reported nationwide. A total of 50,851 cases have been recorded in the province, representing 52.84% of the country’s total.
The Southern Province has recorded 13,950 cases, followed by the Central Province with 8,818 cases and Sabaragamuwa Province with 7,925 cases.
Sun directly overhead Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon today (07)
Showers above 50 mm are likely at some places in the Uva and Eastern provinces.
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