World’s leading credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded Bank of Ceylon’s (BOC) Foreign Exchange Ratings from CC to ‘Restricted Default’ (RD).
BOC was the local commercial bank with the highest international reputation for letters of credit (LCs) in importing goods to Sri Lanka.
Once known as the ‘Bankers to the Nation,’ the BOC’s fate today is a result of the decision made by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to declare a forex debt default.
MIAP
Minister Dhammika Perera speaking to a political programme aired on TV Derana said he took over the Ministry of Investment Promotion with the intention of spending Rs. 50 million a month on personal wealth to expedite its affairs.
“One thing, I must say. If I was to work by calling in tenders, it will take a lot of time. Therefore, I took over this ministry with the intention of spending Rs. 50 million a month on personal wealth as well. So, I will be able to do anything with an amount like that. I sat on this chair by allocating a budget as such for me. Otherwise, I have no intention of owning the government’s money. I am donating Rs. 50 million a month on my personal wealth for the people. Dhammika Perera is not somebody who waits for three months by calling in tenders for affairs. If I want it now, I want to collect it by evening. You cannot collect the government’s money by evening, can you? That being said, private monies are spent. So, I sat on this chair in preparation for everything.”
MIAP
The Two Nande’s will bury Sri Lanka soon.
The big Nande President Gotabaya destroyed a healthy country and economy that was doing reasonably ok despite the pandemic by refusing to go to the IMF for emergency financial assistance , Get assistance from the G20, killed the agriculture industry and finished the reserves by defending the LKR. However he refuses to step-down. Though every other Rajapakse has gone home. The unscrupulous people made use of it and according to market sources converted their LKR and made super profits when LkR was devalued some months later. His business cronies made huge money and now stay out of the radar.
Then another Nande came in the form of a Governor of the CBSL and defaulted on the loans without consulting the creditors or parliament. Sri Lanka now is next to Sudan and Venezuela . He doubled interest rates and destroyed the small businesses for ever. He has no clue how the tourism industry works. He wants them to shut down or start again. This is the only industry that will help the country to recover. He has shut down the open account. Refusing to gazette the 10 essential items in the open account. He does not care about a food shortages. He refuses to allow fuel imports on the open account to ease the oil crisis. When the public finally realizes the damage Nande’s causing to the ordinary people and the country. Whilst it will be too late for the country. He will either have to run away back to his home country in Australia or face the same fate Mahinda Rajapakse faced on the 9 th of May.
The Governor’s actions are causing serious consequences for the public and
the government. He just does not have the practical experience or knowledge to lead the economy during crisis times. President Gotabaya again shows no concern for the public as demonstrated throughout his tenure, by allowing Nande to run a-mock without taking any action.
Adolf
Fuel will be supplied only to vehicles attached to essential services, with effect from midnight today (27), said Minister Bandula Gunawardena.
The restriction will stand in effect till July 10, the Minister noted, speaking to the briefing held in announcing Cabinet decisions today.
Accordingly, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) will supply diesel and petrol only to essential services such as ports, health sector, essential food distribution, and transportation of agricultural products, he added.
The Minister also noted that the government will implement a mechanism to provide a continuous supply of gas and fuel after July 10.
Inter-provincial transport services will be temporarily halted due to the limited availability of fuel, Gunawardena noted.
MIAP
Sri Lanka is now facing unprecedented fuel and food crisis paralysing the whole country and the people will have to starve as a result of the break down in the supply chain with in the next few weeks, traders and food commodity transporters claimed.
With only a few container transporters in operation, the food commodity stock transportation has become stand still due to shortage of diesel and priority should be given to this sector in providing diesel that is vital in resuming transportation of food commodity stocks between the port and the export zones as well as key markets countrywide.
The All Island Container Transport Owners Federation Chairman Sanath Manjula noted that for about several weeks there has been an acute shortage of diesel as a result of which only a few 0 of their container transporters are in operation in the Western province specially Colombo at present.
He noted that currently they are operational only within Colombo since they do not have any fuel available outside of the commercial capital.
Fuel distribution has become stand still except the supply to Ports , Ceylon Electricity Board , SL Army and bus depots .
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is now not in a position to meet the daily diesel demand of 6000 MT and 3500 MT of Petrol, official sources confirmed.
The current balance stock of fuel at Kollonnawa and Muthurajawela storage terminals was 10,000 MT of diesel and 1000 MT of 92 octane petrol and 4000 MT of 95 octane petrol and 11 fuel distribution centres of Ceypetco have been keeping closed.
25 percent of power generation is still being carried out using thermal power generators and the public transportation has become near standstill.
Paddy harvesting of Batticaloa and Ampara paddy fields is ready to commence but harvesting machines cannot be operated without diesel as there was no supply to these areas up to now, several agrarian officials said.
Prof. Nedalagamuwe Dhammadinna Thero who is accused of being involved with the attack on former Minister Prasanna Ranatunga’s house during a series of attacks awakened throughout the country on May 09 has turned himself in to the Police.
The Thera is a professor of the University of Kelaniya and was accused of involvement by Ranatunga in Parliament recently.
Upon recording a statement, the Thera will be produced before the Gampaha Magistrate Court, the Gampaha Police said.
MIAP
The United States has agreed to provide technical assistance for fiscal management in Sri Lanka.
Kelly Keiderling, Deputy Secretary of State for South and Central Asia at the U.S. State Department, who arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday, held a discussion with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today (27).
The US Diplomatic Group also stated its support for the ongoing talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund.
Robert Kaproth, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Asia in the United States and H.E. Julie Chung, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, also participated in the discussion held at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In addition, Secretary to the Prime Minister Saman Ekanayake and Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr. R.H. Samaratunga was also present.
Prime Minister’s Media Division
27th June 2022
The US delegation arrived in Sri Lanka to look into providing assistance to the island nation has commenced discussions with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. These discussions primarily involve the crises befallen the country.
The US delegation includes the country’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Asia Robert Caproth and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Kelly Kiederlan.
MIAP
Due to the lack of fuel to transport containers carrying essential food items from the Port to the country, the distribution has been limited to the Western Province only, revealed President of the All Ceylon Port Container Carriers’ Forum, Sanath Manjula, speaking to a YouTube channel.
Accordingly, should the Ports Minister and the authorities fail to provide fuel by any means necessary, the launching of a continuous strike action would be inevitable, he pointed out.
The Forum leader further said that there was already a shortage of food items in all parts of the country except the Western Province, warning that there may be a severe shortage of food items in the country this week, have they agreed to launch such a strike action.
MIAP
In a devastating move against the island nation, China has resolutely held back its assistance to avert the man-made economic crisis , despite being Sri Lanka’s single biggest bilateral investor and a consistent and unreserved supporter in the UN Human Rights Council.
China’s humanitarian aid of $76 million during the current crisis turns into insignificance in comparison with India’s humanitarian aid.
Sri Lanka urgently needs foreign exchange support and material aid, but China has been advising Sri Lanka to follow an “independent” foreign policy, by which it means that it should break off from India, the IMF and the West, and hitch its wagon to China.
The Chinese have also been insisting that Sri Lanka should set its economic house in order and make it more hospitable to Chinese investments.
Sri Lanka should also use the infrastructure built with Chinese loans and enter into a Free Trade Agreement with China.
. In March 2022, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said that Beijing is considering a fresh loan of $1 billion and a credit line of $1.5 billion in lieu of rescheduling repayment of the existing loans.
However, the promised loan and buyers’ credit did not materialise . They are apparently tied to the signing of the FTA which has been pending since 2015. But FTAs have been anathema for Sri Lankan governments.
China has suspended this US$1.5 loan and credit line as the country’s foreign reserves has dropped to$1.92 billion which is very much less than 3 months of imports, one of the main conditions in the the loan agreement.
China has not given consent to Sri Lanka’s rerquest to change the loan condition.
Reflecting Wang Yi’s view, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijiang, said on June 8 that Sri Lanka should “boost its own effort, protect the stability and credibility of the investment and financing partners and ensure the stability and credibility of the investment and financing partners and ensure the stability and credibility of its investment and financing environment.
But what Sri Lanka urgently needs is not advice on how to run the economy, but financial and material aid to meet the basic needs of the people. But this has not been forthcoming. President Gotabaya says China has lost interest in South Asia and is concentrating on South East Asia and Africa.
But Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe differs and says that Beijing has significant stakes in Lanka and that efforts are being made to make China amend the conditions attached to its loans.
Meanwhile, the IMF is expecting Beijing to join in its efforts to get Lanka’s loan repayment schedule restructured because China is a major lender.
According to Finance Ministry statistics, China’s Public and Publicly Guaranteed loans to Sri Lanka at the end of 2021 constituted 19.9% of the total PPG loans. And the debt service on that debt stock was 20% of the total PPG debt service.
It has been observed that when Sri Lanka suspended the repayment of foreign loans totalling $26.4 billion on April 12 this year, the Chinese component amounted to $7.1 billion
