Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 01 We will continue policy discussions on governance improvements.

¶ 02 Gross Official Reserve Situation and Loss of Foreign Exchange through Foreign Payment Gateways: Statement by Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 03 1. The provisionally estimated Gross Official Reserves (GOR) at end-April 2026 are USD 6.8 billion. There is no standard “usable reserves” definition; Net International Reserves (NIR) = GOR minus CBSL liabilities (including outstanding FX swaps and IMF-EFF 2016 liability).

¶ 04 NIR (USD mn): - 2023: -404 - 2024: 2,487 - 2025: 4,285 An increase of USD 1,798 million (73%) from 2024 to 2025.

¶ 05 2. GOR breakdown (USD mn): - End-Dec 2025: Official reserve assets 6,838; FX reserves 6,747; IMF reserve position 4; SDRs 1; Gold 86; Other reserve assets 0. - End-Mar 2026: 7,026; 6,800; 4; 1; 222; 0. - End-Apr 2026 (prov.): 6,759; 6,505; 4; 32; 219; 0. SDRs rose from USD 1 mn (2025) to USD 32 mn (2026). Gold rose from USD 86 mn to USD 219 mn.

¶ 06 Swaps: - PBoC bilateral CNY swap: principal ~USD 1.4 bn; valid to Dec 2027; annual rollover Dec 2026; current all-in cost zero on the drawn CNY. - RBI special swap: principal USD 2.6 bn as of Oct 2023; valid to Dec 2026; to be fully paid by Sep 2026. - Domestic bank forex swap maturities as at 30 Apr 2026: 2026: USD 1,814 mn; 2027: 501; 2028: 25; 2029: 3; total 2,342.

¶ 07 GOR is immediately deployable except PBoC swap proceeds and the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance Fund’s forex balance. CBSL applies no spread/fee/margin on USD transactions with GoSL; no profit is realized.

¶ 08 Audit: Under Section 101 of the CBSL Act, No. 16 of 2023, the Auditor-General appoints an external audit firm to audit CBSL; the AG issues the opinion, which is published with CBSL annual financial statements and tabled to the Minister within four months of year-end. Monthly balance sheets are reviewed under SLSRE and published. The AG may seek clarifications, and CBSL responds.

¶ 09 6. Under Section 47(2) of the CBSL Act, all transactions between residents must be in LKR unless otherwise authorized under the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017. CBSL noted instances of resident-to-resident FX transactions (e.g., Daily Mirror, 30.12.2025). The Department of Foreign Exchange has taken measures, including a press release on 12.02.2026, to raise awareness of the legal framework and consequences of such transactions without approval.

¶ 10 7. CBSL does not collect data on losses through foreign payment gateways.

¶ 11 8. Under the 2013 Payment Cards and Mobile Payment Systems Regulations (under the Payments and Settlements Systems Act, No. 28 of 2005), service providers must be licensed by CBSL to facilitate card payments as financial acquirers. Terms and conditions are annexed and tabled.