COLOMBO (Reuters) -Monetary policy transmission to the real economy in Sri Lanka is still incomplete, the governor of the country's central bank, Nandalal Weerasinghe, said at a LSEG FX Community Event on Monday. Weerasinghe said he would like to see private sector interest rates come down further and at a faster pace, adding that the domestic debt restructuring is the most important focus for the debt-laden country in the near-term. "Given the downward inflation trajectory we see room to further loosen policy rates."
Sri Lanka is asking foreign investors in its international sovereign bonds to take a 30% haircut and is seeking similar concessions from holders of its other dollar-denominated bonds as it seeks to restructure its massive debt, its central bank governor said on Thursday. The government will also exchange treasury bills into long-term bonds as part of a domestic debt restructuring programme, Nandalal Weerasinghe told a press conference as he unveiled details of the long-awaited plan, which will cover part of the island nation's $42 billion domestic debt. Sri Lanka is struggling with its worst financial crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948 after the country's foreign exchange reserves hit record lows and triggered its first foreign debt default last year.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe had earlier given the same assurances on the stability of the banking system and public deposits. Weerasinghe said the government had decided to restructure local debt in parallel to the ongoing restructuring of the external debt.
Sri Lanka is already facing an economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial mismanagement, especially during Gotabaya Rajapaksa's presidency. He granted an unprecedented tax benefit to big companies soon after the election. As a result, the government lost a lot of revenue due to government coffers.