The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development
Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha corrected Opposition claims about Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves, citing Central Bank figures showing reserves of about USD 6.12 billion at end-December 2024 and around USD 6.065 billion at end-January 2025, rather than a fall from USD 6 billion to USD 5.7 billion. He said “usable” reserve qualifications and banking arrangements also existed under the previous administration, and argued that reserves fluctuate with imports and debt servicing. He stated that the Government aims to build reserves sustainably through export promotion, particularly services exports, and foreign direct investment, targeting USD 15 billion.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, I must correct a point raised by the Opposition about reserves when President Ranil Wickremesinghe exited after defeat. It was claimed that reserves were around USD 6 billion and now reduced to USD 5.7 billion. That is incorrect. As per the Central Bank, as at 31 December 2024, reserves were USD 6.12 billion; end-January, USD 6.065 billion; end-February, around the same. So the stated data was wrong.
¶ 02 On “usable” amounts and overlays such as the People’s Bank arrangements—those existed then as well; it is not peculiar to now. Reserves are by nature balances that can go up or down—temporarily higher if imports are curbed or debt service deferred; as imports and debt service resume, they adjust. Hence, we aim to build them sustainably via export promotion, especially services exports, and FDI, targeting USD 15 billion. Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 28 February 2025 ·No. 1741927369029372 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 28 February 2025. No. 1741927369029372. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/26293