SL’s CB call to expatriates for help with dollars

The Central Bank (CB), to combat the forex crisis, is actively looking for ways to source dollars from Sri Lankan expatriates, officials said. This came on the back of the newly appointed Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe telling reporters on Wednesday that he has corresponded to all political parties including the President, that if no political stability were achieved in the next couple of weeks, he would tender his resignation from the post of Governor.

“The times are really tough. We have about one million Sri Lankans working abroad. If they can send at least US$500 to Sri Lanka we can manage with the imports of essential items for the time being till we try to get the International Monetary Fund bailout,” a senior CB official told the Business Times on Thursday.

Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe told a news conference that the regulator will guide the banks daily to determine the interbank exchange to attract more transactions by exporters and importers through official channels. Currently due to the disparity in the official rate and the grey market rate trade financing and other forms of transactions are done outside the financial system. This will help to minimise the volatility in the exchange rate and forex market and allow for a realistic rate for all players, he added.

He also said that it was extremely tough to resuscitate an economy in a country where law and order are not maintained and stressed that political stability is imperative.

He said if the current political quagmire continues in the next two to three days with no government in place, things could get worse with protracted power cuts for about 10 to 12 hours, massive shortages of fuel, and other basic items.

A legitimate government with a Prime Minister, Cabinet, and finance minister needs to be in place for Sri Lanka to be able to proceed with debt restructuring and IMF negotiations.

He warned that the usable foreign reserves were barely enough to finance one week of imports.

A legitimate government with a Prime Minister, Cabinet, and finance minister needs to be in place for Sri Lanka to be able to proceed with debt restructuring and IMF negotiations.