Sri Lanka to lift remittance constraints for overseas payments

Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardana today (6) said that Sri Lanka has decided to gradually relax some restrictions on changing rupees to foreign currencies for overseas remittances.

The revised guidelines will be submitted to parliament for approval, Minister Gunawardana added.

Starting in mid-2020, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) restricted the ability of Sri Lankan citizens to transmit money for investments abroad, unless specific requirements were met.

During the weekly cabinet briefing, Minister Gunawardana mentioned that “Sri Lanka’s reserves have gradually improved and limits will be increased under the guidance of the central bank.”

With depreciating currency, skyrocketing inflation, and limited foreign reserves, the nation of 22 million people is slowly regaining from the worst financial crisis in decades, the Minister noted.

As of the end of 2023, Sri Lanka’s official reserves were $4.4 billion, up 22%, according to the CBSL. A swap in Chinese yuan worth makes up about USD 1.5 billion of the reserves.