Sri Lanka's Central Bank says economy on track despite political uncertainty  

 
Despite political uncertainty and policy confusion, the Central Bank is confident of managing the economy and a massive US$4 billion debt servicing next year - raising funds through prudent financial instruments, its Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy told a media conference in Colombo on Wednesday.
 
He revealed that the country’s foreign debt repayment would double to a record $ 4 billion in 2019 from last year’s level.   
 
Central Bank officials and high officials of five commercial banks recently visited West Asia on a mission of raising foreign funding and conducted negotiations relating to currency swaps with central banks of Qatar and Oman.
 
He noted that a senior official of Central Bank will meet counterparts of the Central Bank of Qatar for further negotiations on a currency swap of $750 million to $1 billion and it will be invested in Sri Lanka development bonds.
 
Another $650 million is lying in a Central Bank account as the balance money of Hambantota Port Deal of $1.12 billion after paying previous loan installments out of it, he disclosed.
The Central Bank is working towards a panda and samurai bond issuance before the end of the year.
 
According to the Governor, the meeting with the People’s Bank of China which is their Central Bank was evidently encouraging towards raising funds.
 
The Sri Lanka Parliament passed the resolution to raise Rs. 310 billion by way of loans in or outside Sri Lanka for Active Liability Management recently, he disclosed.
 
The bank hopes to raise over $ 4 billion by the end of the year and after the balance of payment, the country’s entire reserve is expected to increase up to $7.8 billion, he said adding that it is a reasonable amount in terms of price stability and external viability. (Bandula)