The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning
The Minister responded to the Leader of the Opposition’s SO 27(2) question of 7 October 2025, explaining that reserve money comprises currency in circulation and commercial banks’ deposits with the Central Bank, and that foreign exchange swaps are not included in its calculation. He reported reserve money of Rs. 1,712 billion at end-August 2025 and Rs. 1,695 billion in September, tabling monthly data from January 2024 to August 2025. He also stated that total public debt at end-September was Rs. 30.9 trillion, comprising Rs. 11.3 trillion in foreign debt and Rs. 19.6 trillion in domestic debt, with further details in the Mid-Year Fiscal Report submitted to Parliament.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I have two Ministerial Statements to present. First, I will answer the SO 27(2) question raised by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition on 07 October 2025.
¶ 02 1. On reserve money as the monetary base: It comprises currency in circulation and commercial banks’ deposits with the Central Bank, serving as the base for money creation. Foreign exchange swap transactions undertaken by the Central Bank are not included in reserve money calculations. As at end-August 2025, reserve money was Rs. 1,712 billion; in September it was Rs. 1,695 billion. I table a monthly table from Jan 2024 to Aug 2025. I will not read it; I table it.
¶ 03 2. On total debt as at end-September: total debt is Rs. 30.9 trillion. The Mid-Year Fiscal Report also sets out debt; it has been submitted to Parliament. Of this, foreign debt is Rs. 11.3 trillion and domestic debt Rs. 19.6 trillion.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 11 November 2025 ·No. 22786 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 11 November 2025. No. 22786. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/11898