Sri Lankan Airlines in final debt negotiations: Deputy Minister

Final negotiations to restructure the debt of Srilankan Airlines is under way, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Harshana Suriyapperuma said. “Currently the SriLankan Airlines final debt negotiation is underway with the identified parties,” Minister Suriyapperuma told parliament Tuesday. “Once it is finalized we expect the rating assigned to Sri Lanka will be further improved.” […]

Sri Lankan Airlines back in the red in 2024

State-run SriLankan Airlines has lost 1,960 million rupees in the 7 months to October 2024, reversing 4,133 million profit posted a year ago, a Finance Ministry report said. SriLankan Airlines’ ‘net traffic revenue fell 14.9 percent to 152.32 billion rupees from April to October 2024, against 178,818 a year ago, the report said. To “safeguard […]

Sri Lanka Airlines to get Rs20bn to repay old debt and interest

State-run SriLankan Airlines will get 20,000 million rupees from tax payer funds to repay old debt and interest, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, presenting a budget for 2025. Attempts by previous administrations to sell the airline has failed due to no takers, he said. “Though funds are set aside to repay debt, there is will […]

Sri Lanka SOE boards to decide on future direction, private capital

The Boards of directors of state-owned enterprises will decide on whether they continue or whether reforms or private capital is required, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Harshana Suriyapperuma said. It was not a question of whether the government should be in business or not, but the need for the government to be in a […]

IMF says Sri Lanka’s SOEs could remain state-owned or privatized

Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) could be either state-owned or privatized, Peter Breuer, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission chief for the island nation said, as a move to restructure several loss-making SOEs has been resisted by the new government. Breuer’s comments come as President Anura Kumara Disanayake’s new government has been resisting the privatization or […]

Sri Lanka in discussion with IMF on SOE restructuring; says privatization is not first option

Sri Lanka’s new government led by ruling National People’s Power (NPP) is in discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the restructuring of state owned enterprises (SOE) and it will not opt for privatization as the first option, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said. Soon after the election of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, his interim […]

S&P keeps Sri Lanka rating at selective default on unfinished SriLankan Airlines bond

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said it was keeping Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating at selective default because a defaulted SriLankan Airlines bond has not yet been restructured, but has rated newly issued restructured bonds at CCC+. The 175 million dollar SriLankan Airlines bond is guaranteed by the government and remains in default. “We could raise our […]

Sri Lanka to pay Rs130bn to banks for CPC debt in Rs219bn supplementary estimate

Sri Lanka will present a 219 billion rupee supplementary parliament to allocate funds for several expenditure items including a 130 billion rupee interest subsidy to banks for debts taken over by tax payers. The supplementary estimate will be within the approved expenditure and debt limits for the year 2024, the statement said. Read more on […]

Sri Lanka CPC Iran debt down to US$191mn, profits fall 70-pct to June 2024

Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has made a profit of 20.7 billion rupees in the first half of 2024, as revenues fell due to other players, a Finance Ministry report said. The total import cost of oil by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation had fallen to 1,235 million US dollars up to June 2024 from […]

Sri Lanka SOE container terminal to get tax exemptions as ‘special project’

A container terminal built by Sri Lanka Ports Authority has been named a ‘special project’ by the cabinet to give tax benefits Minister Vijitha Herath said. Private terminals in the port are given tax benefits under a Strategic Development Project law. The excessive length of tax breaks as well as exempting senior official’s companies from […]

Policy decision on SriLankan Airlines restructure to be taken after elections

No decision on the restructure of state-run SriLankan Airlines will be taken until after elections bring a new government to office, Minister Vijitha Herath said. “In this interim period we will not go for any policy related decisions,” Minister Herath told reporters at weekly post-cabinet press briefing. “In a future government, which we will build […]

Sri Lanka private credit expands in July, SOE down

Sri Lanka’s private credit expanded in 60 billion rupees in July 2024, on top of a 74 billion rise in June, official data show, while credit to state enterprises fell. Banks loaned 82.7 billion rupees to the government in July (these include interest roll-overs which are effectively paper transactions) outside of central bank credit. Central […]

Sri Lanka government would be owed Rs656bn for CPC debt taken over by end 2024

There will be owed 656 billion rupees of debt taken over by Sri Lanka’s central government to be offset by taxes on fuel by the beginning of 2025, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. The Treasury took over 1,200 billion rupees of debt (3.4 billion US dollars) in 2022 and a 25 rupee tax was imposed […]

Sri Lanka delays Hilton building sale until after the elections

Sri Lanka has halted the sale of Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd, a state-run. company that owns the building housing Colombo Hilton, until elections are completed, the Finance Ministry said. The Finance Ministry statement said several social and mainstream media reports relating to the sale of Hilton hotel are not correct. A claim that the Government […]