- Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki to visit SL on 9th Jan’24 to meet President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss debt restructuring: in Nov’23, SL & a group of bilateral creditors reached a “basic agreement” on “deferring debt repayments and cutting interest rates”: analysts point out that SL has been totally unsuccessful in negotiating a “hair-cut” of a single dollar out of it’s bi-lateral loans although the IMF Report of March’23 had assumed a “hair-cut” of 60% of the bi-lateral loans.
- A CID team records a statement from former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella at his residence over the controversial sub-standard Immunoglobulin import issue: so far, several high profile arrests have been made in connection with this issue.
- National Water Supply Board says 95,241 customers who have not paid their bills up to Oct’23, have had their water connections disconnected: the Board reportedly supplies water to 3,000,240 water consumers across the country daily.
- SJB MP S M Marikkar says the Presidential election will be held between 16th Sept and 16th Oct in 2024: claims President Ranil Wickremesinghe will not contest the upcoming Presidential election.
- Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says SL is paying higher rates to renewable power developers than India: also says this is due to several reasons, including a risk premium after the “sovereign default”: asserts investors account for the country risk when looking at investing in any country.
- Senior hotelier says SL’s hotel industry is currently coming out of the financial struggles as at least 70% of the hotels are paying off their loans: also says only about 30% are still struggling with the repayment of their loans that were granted a moratorium.
- Authorities of the Réunion Island of France repatriate 14 SL nationals to SL by air on 22nd Dec: the group was reportedly apprehended as they were attempting to migrate to the Réunion Island illegally by sea.
- Stock of loans in default of the Non-bank Financial Institutions at the end of the Quarter ending 30th Sept’23 stands at 19.99% compared to the all-time high of 20.36% in the Quarter ending 30th June’23.
- Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainable Development Chairman Ajith Mannapperuma says SL’s ornamental fish exporters have claimed that many species of marine ornamental fish endemic to the SL sea areas have become extinct and many small fish species have become emaciated, after the X-Press Pearl ship tragedy.
- World Athletics year-end overall rankings lists 3 SL sprinters led by Aruna Dharshana in the Men’s 400 metres category: this is the first time that three 400 metres sprinters are in such an year-end overall ranking.
