Speaking to reporters at the UNP headquarters Monday June 03 morning, Bandara also claimed that neither opposition leader Sajith Premadasa nor National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake have spoken against his proposal.

“I have made no statement that’s undemocratic. My statement was in line with provisions of the constitution,” the former UNP parliamentarian said.

He quoted Section 86 of Chapter XIII of the constitution which says: “The President may, subject to the provisions of Article 85, submit to the People by Referendum any matter which in the opinion of the President is of national importance.”

Sections 87.1, 87.2 also elaborates on the matter and describes the parliament’s role, said Bandara.

“I spoke of a referendum and parliament’s duty. Neither of this is antidemocratic or unconstitutional. As per the constitution, priority should be given to ensuring people’s right to life,” he said.

“Some parties may be against what I proposed. They may criticse me. But what I ask them is to come to one position as political parties and make a statement on whether they’re ready to continue the ongoing economic programme,” he added.

Bandara claimed that, though thee has been much criticism of his proposal for a postponement of the presidential election, President Wickremesinghe’s rivals Premadasa and Dissanayake have yet to remark on the matter.

“I suggested that [Premadasa] make this proposal in parliament and for [Dissanayake] to second it. But I don’t see that either Premadasa nor Dissanayake is opposed to it. To date, I have not seen nor heard either of them utter a word against this. I believe they have no objection to my proposal which was made for the betterment of the country,” he said. (Colombo/Jun03/2024)

“Within the Colombo Municipal Council city limits, there are 100,000 trees. Of these, around 300 are considered high risk,” Tennakoon told reporters at a media conference to raise awareness about the current disaster management situation.

Not all trees required to be cut down he said. “We can trim some of the branches and retain them.”

The problem was that buildings in the vicinity of the tree had cut branches on one side, causing it to become unbalanced, the minister said.

New laws would be brought in so provincial/municipal institutions could strengthen enforcement of building codes.

“We don’t have a single institution that can issue a warning about a tree. Not one to tell us what trees can or cannot be planted near a road.

“Trees should be suitable for the area. Some trees have roots that spread and damage roads, buildings. When the roots can’t go deep, they tend to topple over.

“Now Environment Day is coming up, and anyone can go plant a tree by the road. We have to take a decision about this. We have to enforce laws strongly in future.” (Colombo/June3/2024)

The Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) conducted by the Institute for Health Policy showed that, according to its Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (MRP) provisional estimates of presidential election voting intent, National People’s Power (NPP) leader Dissanayake and main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) lader Premadasa were now neck and neck while United National Party (UNP) leader Wickremesinghe had made some gains. A generic candidate for the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) had the support of 9 percent of the people surveyed, up 1 percentage point from March.

These estimates use the January 2024 revision of the IHP’s SLOTS MRP model. The latest update is for all adults and uses data from 17,134 interviews conducted from October 2021 to 19 May 2024, including 444 interviews during April 2024. According to the institute, 100 bootstraps were run to capture model uncertainty. Margins of error are assessed as 1–4% for April.

SLOTS polling director and IHP director Ravi Rannan-Eliya was quoted as saying: “The SLOTS polling in April suffered from a lower response rate owing to the New Year holidays, and we think this may have skewed the sample in favour of SJB supporters. The early May interviews partly compensated for this, and it’s possible that our June interviews may result in further revisions
to our model estimates.

Rannan-Eliya also noted that a number of other internet polls may be overestimating support for the NPP or its main constituent party the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) by about 10 percent.

“We’ve been asked about some other recent internet polls that showed much higher levels of support for the NPP/JVP. We think these over-estimate NPP/JVP support. SLOTS routinely collects data from all respondents on whether they have internet access, and whether they are willing to participate in an internet survey. These data show that NPP/JVP supporters are far more likely to have internet access and even more likely to be willing to respond to internet surveys, and this difference remains even after controlling for past voting behaviour. Our data indicates internet polls may overestimate NPP/JVP support by about 10 percent, and for this kind of reason we have previously decided that the time is not right to do internet polling,” he said.

According to the IHP, its SLOTS MRP methodology first estimates the relationship between a wide variety of characteristics about respondents and their opinions – in this case, ‘If there was a Presidential Election today, who would you vote for?’– in a multilevel statistical model that also smooths month to month changes. It then uses a large data file that is calibrated to the national population to predict voting intent in each month since October 2021, according to what the multilevel model says about their probability of voting for various parties (‘post-stratification’) at each point in time. The multilevel model was estimated 100 times to reflect underlying uncertainties in the model and to obtain margins of error, the institute said. (Colombo/Jun03/2024)

The report, supported by the Women in Work programme, a partnership between IFC and the Australian government, also highlights Sri Lanka’s leadership in board-level gender diversity, with women holding 27 percent of board positions, compared to 20 percent in Nepal and 14 percent in Bangladesh.

The IFC said in a statement on Monday June 03 that the report, Women’s Advancement in Banking in Emerging South Asian Countries, aims to optimise opportunities that enable women to advance to senior roles in the banking industry across South Asia. The multi-country study, among the first of its kind in the region, focuses on private-sector commercial banks in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, where women constitute 30 percent of the banking workforce compared to the global average of 52 percent, the IFC said.

Research conducted across seven leading private commercial banks in Sri Lanka, representing 41 percent of the market share, formed the basis of insights on Sri Lanka.

“While Sri Lanka’s banking industry is close to achieving parity in hiring women and is considerably ahead of other countries in terms of women’s share in the workforce, women’s progression does not match their career aspirations or progression rates for men. Representation drops from 40 percent at entry-level to 27 percent in middle management and further to 20 percent in senior management roles,” the IFC said in its statement.

IFC’s Regional Director for South Asia Imad N Fakhoury was quoted as saying that investing in the potential of women leaders isn’t just about equality, it’s about unlocking the full spectrum of talent and driving sustainable growth–exactly what Sri Lanka needs for a resilient economic recovery.

“Addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by female bankers requires comprehensive and collective action, rather than isolated interventions. We must tackle these barriers—whether policy, process, or culture–related—in a targeted manner, creating an inclusive banking sector and driving greater economic growth,” he said.

The report underlines how barriers such as lack of fair evaluations, sociocultural constraints and non-conducive work environments curtail women’s growth prospects in the Sri Lankan banking industry. While banks and policymakers have initiated several steps to improve women’s participation and career progression, stronger commitment from leadership is essential to create inclusive workplaces. According to the IFC, the report reveals skepticism among many employees, including senior leaders and more than 50 percent of middle managers, regarding the importance of female leadership for businesses to be competitive.

Previous research indicates that commercial banks with at least 15 percent of women in senior management achieve up to 33 percent higher return on equity. A growing body of evidence further links an increase in women’s representation in organisations to better performance on business metrics, the study found.

“This comprehensive, data-based report is a strong starting point for the banking sector to improve long-term policies allowing women and men to achieve their potential. The sector – as well as other organisations – should take note of findings that show an increase in women’s representation in senior manager or higher roles delivers higher returns and stronger business outcomes,” Australian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Paul Stephens  was quoted as saying.

The report also recommends targeted efforts in Sri Lanka to bolster women’s participation and advancement in commercial banking. These include establishing organisational commitment and accountability for gender diversity, building equitable and safe workplaces, and developing supportive ecosystems, networks, and professional development opportunities. These findings and recommendations aim to guide industry actors—C-suite leaders in commercial banks, policymakers, industry bodies, and investors—towards increasing women’s representation in leadership in the banking industry, the IFC said. (Colombo/Jun03/2024)

SG Holdings, the parent company of Expolanka Holdings Plc, announced on March 1 it was delisting the company from the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Some minority shareholders have filed a case challenging the delisting of Expolanka Holdings PLC before the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka.

The court is scheduled to hold a further hearing on June 6.

“By reason of the aforesaid and by reason of the many requests received by Foreign shareholders and representatives of deceased shareholders requesting additional time, the Company has taken the decision to extend the Exit Offer till 4.30 PM on Monday, 10th June 2024,” Expolanka said in a stock exchange filing.

“The Payments for the Offer received from 4th June 2024 to 10th June 2024 hall be made on or before, 28th June 2024.

“The timelines as set out in the original Exit Offer too shall continue to remain.” (Colombo/June3/2024)

A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 was quoted up at 9.75/85 percent from 9.80/95 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.09.2027 was quoted at 10.40/50 percent from 10.40/55 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2028 was quoted stable at 10.80/90 percent.

The Colombo Stock Exchange opened down. The All Share Price Index was down 0.03 percent at 12,103, the S&P SL20 was down 0.14 percent at 3,563. (Colombo/June3/2024)

“The session will evaluate Sri Lanka’s economic policies and reform progress,” State Minister for Finance Shehan Semasinghe said.

“We look forward for continued support of all countries for a successful review to unlock the third tranche, which will further enhance economic stability, growth, and reform efforts.”

The Article IV consultation and second review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka are on the IMF Board meeting agenda for June 12. The session will evaluate Sri Lanka's economic policies and reform progress. We look forward for continued support of all countries… pic.twitter.com/EGE4UfWgcO

— Shehan Semasinghe (@ShehanSema) June 3, 2024

Sri Lanka is currently finalizing MOUs with official creditors and are also in talks with the IMF.

The Executive Board will consider both the program review and Article IV consultation. (Colombo/June04/2024)

In the first 30 days of May Sri Lanka has welcomed 108,656 tourists up 30 percent from 83,309 a year earlier but down from 148,867 in April.

A controversial deal with VFS Global which led foreigners and outsourced workers manning immigration point at the main airport, also resulted in a user-unfriendly website, as well as visas rising to 107 dollars from 51.

Though a fight back by Tourism Minister Harin Fernando against the deal led to a 50-dollar visa being re-introduced, the problems with a user-unfriendly website compared to the earlier easy-to-us one remain, with complaints continuing in online forums.

A controversy has also blown up between Sri Lanka and Maldives after VFS Global started charging fees from Maldives visitors.

Sri Lanka has a reciprocal visa exemption arrangement with the Maldives and there are fears that VFS style fees may be slapped on Sri Lankans who may also face the hassle of getting VFS-style visa.

At the moment Maldives only requires online disembarkation information to be filled when a Sri Lankan visits.

Sri Lanka risks foreign retaliation over VFS visa deal

“Following the announcement of a new e-visa system in Sri Lanka, the Ministry has been engaged in discussions with Sri Lankan counterparts to ensure a smooth transition for Maldivian travellers,” Maldives’ Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“For those Maldivians who are already in Sri Lanka and require a visa extension may contact the Maldives High Commission in Colombo.”

“The Ministry is committed to establishing a visa process that reflects the current visa agreement between the Maldives and Sri Lanka and ensures reciprocity for Maldivian travellers.

“Discussions with Sri Lankan authorities are ongoing to address any remaining concerns.”

Amid the controversy over VFS charges, Maldives was listed as the second largest source of tourists to Sri Lanka in the first 30 days of May with 7,984 tourists, overtaking British visitors at 7,844.

Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion authorities also revised up April numbers saying it was to reflect new visa categories introduced within the month, without giving details.

Related Sri Lanka revises up April tourist arrivals amid visa crisis

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals topped 200,000 in the first quarter growing around 100 percent.

In April, considered the start of the off-season arrivals were 148,867, but still up 41 percent from last year.

In May there were 108,665 growth has faltered to 30 percent, with numbers barely above last year in the final week.

Travel officials say the difficult website as well a minimum room rate could be contributing to faltering arrivals.

Sri Lanka’s hard goods exports were 877.6 million US dollars in April, up from 848.6 million US dollars a year ago, in a holiday month which usually has a 20 percent downturn.

Remittances were 543.8 million US dollars, up from 454 million last year.

Tourism income was estimated at 225.7 million US dollars for April, which is from a survey and may not be as reliable as import export data from customs or remittances data from banks.

Gross services which include tourism was 558 million US dollars.

Foreign exchange earned by Sri Lankans from exports, remittances and gross services were 1,977 million US dollars in April 2024.

Merchandise imports were only 1,435 million US dollars, leaving a surplus of 542 million dollars.

Sri Lanka’s central bank has started to release more service data in 2024 giving a broader picture beyond the Merchandise trade account.

Turning in their graves?

In Sri Lanka there is a strong belief in the trade deficit.

Macro economists also dangle the ‘current account deficit’ as an excuse for monetary instability after printing money to enforce rate cuts, dredging up doctrine from the days of classical mercantilism in the 17th century, and dressing it up with a new label (the current account deficit vs the commercial balance).

Economic textbooks may be directly to blame for the revival of Mercantilism as well as the bureaucratic policy rate, analysts say.

The Mercantilist doctrine of the commercial balance was comprehensively refuted by classical economists including Smith, Hume, Mill, Thornton, and Torrens in particular who had micro-knowledge of note-issue operations.

In the last century German-Austrian and Swedish economists directly challenged Keynes but the doctrine has persisted among Anglophone academics in particular as inflationism worsened from the 1960s with Fed activism.

In countries with inflationary central bank operations, large numbers of perfectly sane people believe that goods can be imported indefinitely without dollars being earned (the seller not getting any dollars), triggering a chronic merchandise ‘trade deficit.

They also believe that it is a ‘problem’ or that the trade deficit contributes to external instability or currency depreciation.

The obsession with the trade deficit seems to be driven by a belief that hard goods were ‘superior’ to services.

Students of history say similar attitudes were seen in the writings of nationalists who criticized the shift to coconut which was a commercial crop in areas like Kurunegala during British rule.

Sri Lanka’s central bank however has not discriminated against any hard work done by the people, or suggested that services workers were inferior.

Sri Lanka has a private savings rate of around 30 percent of GDP, which also broadly applies to those earning foreign income.

Savers may directly invest in assets, or put money banks as deposits either after conversion to rupees or as dollars in forex accounts.

Banks in turn will give them as investment credit to borrowers, which will turn into imports or build up dollar balances by investing them abroad.

Sri Lanka’ central bank in April collected about 420 million US dollars from the banking system, creating rupee liquidity.

Domestic Operations

When private credit is weak – or when money is not printed to enforce a policy rate claiming that inflation is low with statistics defeating economic principles – the central bank can sell sterilization securities into banks (in the current case Treasury securities in its portfolio) mop up the liquidity and build fx reserves, East Asia style, through deflationary domestic operations.

The government can also borrow rupees through Treasury bills, buy dollars and settle foreign loans and end up with a rupee debt instead of a dollar debt, as happened before potential output targeting and flexible inflation targeting, preventing the build-up of dollar debt and an eventual default.

At the moment large volumes of excess liquidity remain in the banking system, which can be used up as private credit recovers, pressuring the exchange rate unless the dollars that created the liquidity is sold (unsterilized intervention).

The central bank can also prevent imports from being generated through investment credit by steadily selling its securities portfolio if it wants to keep the reserves.

Imports can also increase when foreign aid resumes and the government re-starts infrastructure projects. Sri Lanka government’s net foreign borrowings, except in stabilization years, is usually positive.

After re-structuring loans, Sri Lanka’s debt repayments will reduce, and only interest will have to be paid for several years. (Colombo/June01/2024 – Recast with revised data to show gross services which include tourism. Gross services data only available for two months)

On Vesak Day a newly built Danasala (refectory) and kuti (lodging) for monks were opened adding to the other buildings including the Main Hall, which were build earlier.

Villagers were associated in the opening ceremony officiated by the Vietnam Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ho Thi Thanh Truc.

Young people in the area and students are also closely involved with the temple.

“When we first started the monastery, it was the children who came to see what this was about,” Venerable Dhammaloka Thero said.

“They helped me plant trees. The parents came later and got involved in temple activities.”

The monastery conducts English classes and Vietnamese classes for children and adults.

“We had a 70 year old lady who came to study Vietnamese as well,” he says.

Venerable Vietnam Dhammaloka thero came to Sri Lanka 10 years ago to study at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA Campus) in Pallekelle.

When Vietnamese groups visited Sri Lanka, they were asking whether there was a Vietnam temple in the island, he said. At the time he was planning to go to London to read for a Master’s degree.

But also at the time there were five young Vietnamese monks studying at several Pirivenas in Sri Lanka. Out of consideration for them he abandoned plans to go to London did his Master’s in Buddhist Studies and Pali language at the Kelaniya University in Sri Lanka.

He then started to make plans to set up a Vietnam temple.

The two-acre land for Truc Lam Monastery was donated by Venerable Ilwane Ananda Thero, the chief incumbent of Sri Sugatha Thapowana Temple in Digana, where the Vietnamese monk had stayed while studying for his degree.

“There were a lot of bamboo trees in the land,” the monk recalls. “Truc Lam means forest of bamboo.”

The main hall was built first. Benefactors from Vietnam and others helped him.

“We focus on meditation,” Venerable Dhammaloka explains. “Everyday in the evening from 5 to 6 pm many locals come to our temple to do meditation.

“Every Sunday we have mindfulness meditation for adults and foreigners. On Poya Days we conduct a meditation program for children. I have been to many Dhamma schools in Sri Lanka to teach meditation to children.”

The monk has also taught meditation to children at several local Tamil language schools.

“At the Truc Lam Monastery we make no distinction between ethnic groups or religions ,” explains the Thero.

“Everybody is welcome. Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Tamil and Sinhalese and foreigners come here.”

It took four years from 2020 to build the Main Hall, Budu Geya, the Main Gate, as well as the Danasala and Kuti which were the latest buildings to be opened on Vesak day 2024.

The Covid pandemic was a tough time for the villagers who are considered the family of Truc Lam Temple.

“We provided rice and dry rations for those in need,” recalls the Chief monk. The Temple also helped dig wells in the Ambakote village and the school.

On Poya days food is still distributed to some needy people.

Then a scholarship program was set up for students. Each student in the program now gets 5,000 rupees and 10 kilograms of rice per month.

The Truc Lam scholarship program was also extended to students who went to university with a 10,000 rupee stipend. One student is in Jaffna university, one in Peradeniya and one in the Open University.

They are sponsored by the Chief monk and benefactors in Vietnam.

The temple is also helping some elderly nuns, who are around Kandy. “They are very old and cannot support themselves,” the monk explains. (Colombo/June02/2024)

Auction prices have gone up 20 percent from 62,958 on May 02.

The highest price was 79,900 rupees for 1,000 nuts at the May 30 auction, down from 80,100 rupees a week ago, while the lowest was 65,000 up from 62,500.

A total of 316,756 coconuts were offered at the auction and 248,938 nuts were sold.

Wholesale prices were 95 to 110 rupees for large nuts and 85 to 90 rupees for small nuts in the week
to April 17.

Farmgate prices in Kurunegala were 72,000-75,000 per 1,000 nuts.

Coconut oil was 570,000–610,000 rupees per metric ton.

Coconut shells were 32,000–34,000 rupees per metric ton. (Colombo/June1/2024)

Sri Lanka’s hard goods exports were 877.6 million US dollars in April, up from 848.6 million US dollars a year ago, in a holiday month which usually has a 20 percent downturn.

Remittances were 543.8 million US dollars, up from 454 million last year.

Tourism income was estimated at 225.7 million US dollars for April, which is from a survey and may not be as reliable as import export data from customs or remittances data from banks.

Gross services which include tourism was 558 million US dollars.

Foreign exchange earned by Sri Lankans from exports, remittances and gross services services were 1,977 million US dollars in April 2024.

Merchandise imports were only 1,435 million US dollars, leaving a surplus of 542 million dollars.

Sri Lanka’s central bank has started to release more service data in 2024 giving broader picture beyond the Merchandise trade account.

Turning in their graves?

In Sri Lanka there is a strong belief in the trade deficit.

Macro economists also dangle the ‘current account deficit’ as an excuse for monetary instability after printing money to enforce rate cuts, dredging up doctrine from the days of classical mercantilism in the 17th century, and dressing it up with a new label (the current account deficit vs the commercial balance).

Economic textbooks may be directly to blame for the revival of Mercantilism as well as the bureaucratic policy rate, analysts say.

The Mercantilist doctrine of the commercial balance was comprehensively refuted by classical economists including Smith, Hume, Mill, Thornton, and Torrens in particular who had micro-knowledge of note-issue operations.

In the last century German-Austrian and Swedish economists directly challenged Keynes but the doctrine has persisted among Anglophone academics in particular as inflationism worsened from the 1960s with Fed activism.

In countries with inflationary central bank operations, large numbers of perfectly sane people believe that goods can be imported indefinitely without dollars being earned (the seller not getting any dollars), triggering a chronic merchandise ‘trade deficit.

They also believe that it is a ‘problem’ or that the trade deficit contributes to external instability or currency depreciation.

The obsession with the trade deficit seems to be driven by a belief that hard goods were ‘superior’ to services.

Students of history say similar attitudes were seen in the writings of nationalists who criticized the shift to coconut which was a commercial crop in areas like Kurunegala during British rule.

Sri Lanka’s central bank however has not discriminated against any hard work done by the people, or suggested that services workers were inferior.

Sri Lanka has a private savings rate of around 30 percent of GDP, which also broadly applies to those earning foreign income.

Savers may directly invest in assets, or put money banks as deposits either after conversion to rupees or as dollars in forex accounts.

Banks in turn will give them as investment credit to borrowers, which will turn into imports or build up dollar balances by investing them abroad.

Sri Lanka’ central bank in April collected about 420 million US dollars from the banking system, creating rupee liquidity.

Domestic Operations

When private credit is weak – or when money is not printed to enforce a policy rate claiming that inflation is low with statistics defeating economic principles – the central bank can sell sterilization securities into banks (in the current case Treasury securities in its portfolio) mop up the liquidity and build fx reserves, East Asia style, through deflationary domestic operations.

The government can also borrow rupees through Treasury bills buy dollars and settle foreign loans and end up with a rupee debt instead of a dollar debt, as happened before potential output targeting and flexible inflation targeting, preventing the build-up of dollar debt and an eventual default.

At the moment large volumes of excess liquidity remain in the banking system, which can be used up as private credit recovers, pressuring the exchange rate unless the dollars that created the liquidity is sold (unsterilized intervention).

The central bank can also prevent imports from being generated through investment credit by steadily selling its securities portfolio if it wants to keep the reserves.

Imports can also increase when foreign aid resumes and the government re-starts infrastructure projects. Sri Lanka government’s net foreign borrowings, except in stabilization years, is usually positive.

After re-structuring loans, Sri Lanka’s debt repayments will reduce, and only interest will have to be paid for several years. (Colombo/June01/2024 – Recast with revised data to show gross services which include tourism. Gross services data only available for two months)

This is for the University to make pre-arrangements before commencing academic studies in January 2025.

Successive governments’ efforts to open private medical faculties have ended with strong protests from leftists and Marxists.

SAITM and before it the North Colombo University in Ragama were forced to close after such protests.
Later, the North Colombo University was incorporated as the medical faculty of state-run University of Kelaniya. (Colombo/May31/2024)

“Despite declaring the objects of the proposed Act to be “allowing open competitive procurement of new generation capacity including renewable energy”, the body of this Act states the complete opposite,” the IESL said.

“The present practice of procuring renewable energy projects at higher prices through negotiated deals and at feed-in-tariffs that never decrease, has been further strengthened by incorporating it into the main electricity legislation in the country, when most countries have given up such practices long ago to make way for competition.

“The proposed Act does not have clauses that bring any relief to Sri Lanka’s electricity customer, burdened with prices almost double that of competitor countries in the region.

“Similarly, procurement of transmission capacity can be non-competitive…”

Privately owned transmission can also be procured without competition, the IESL said.

India’s Adani is expected to build a transmission line apparently without competitive tender.

It is also building the largest renewable plant in the island so far without competitive tender.

Related India’s Adani to build Sri Lanka transmission line with wind plants

The IESL said the powers of the Public Utilities Commission would also be watered down through the new law.

“This Council and the Minister have been bestowed with powers to decide on electricity tariff policy and approval of the long-term power generation and transmission plans, too, making a mockery of these highly technical functions so far handled by the PUCSL,” the IESL said.

“Instead of strengthening the existing regulatory functions and capacity of PUCSL, this Act makes PUCSL an agency that merely implements what the Minister and his Council decides.

“The worldwide best practice is otherwise: a stronger, highly professional and fiercely independent regulator implements the law and the policy, through licensing.”

The full statement is reproduced below:

The Proposed Sri Lanka Electricity Act 2024

The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) is the apex body representing over 25,000 professional engineers. IESL has closely followed the developments in the electricity supply industry, making constructive recommendations to ensure customers receive a reliable electricity supply at a regionally competitive price. Sadly, both the above conditions have not been fulfilled owing to actions or inaction of governments and sector institutions. The electricity sector has been moving from one crisis to another. In the ongoing efforts to reform the sector, IESL made several representations to the government since 2022. Sadly, the proposed Act tabled in Parliament in April 2024 does not reflect most necessary recommendations of IESL and other stakeholders who value meaningful reforms, thus failing to bring solutions to several serious shortcomings in the sector.

Instead of making the sector governance simpler and the government intervention smaller, the proposed Act creates a new institution called an Advisory Council. It duplicates some functions or transfers some functions of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) – the regulator, to the Council.

The proposed Act hands over the role of the government as the policy maker to the Advisory Council appointed solely by the Minister of Power and Energy. This Council and the Minister have been bestowed with powers to decide on electricity tariff policy and approval of the long-term power generation and transmission plans, too, making a mockery of these highly technical functions so far handled by the PUCSL. Instead of strengthening the existing regulatory functions and capacity of PUCSL, this Act makes PUCSL an agency that merely implements what the Minister and his Council decides. The worldwide best practice is otherwise: a stronger, highly professional and fiercely independent regulator implements the law and the policy, through licensing.

Despite declaring the objects of the proposed Act to be “allowing open competitive procurement of new generation capacity including renewable energy”, the body of this Act states the complete opposite. The present practice of procuring renewable energy projects at higher prices through negotiated deals and at feed-in-tariffs that never decrease, has been further strengthened by incorporating it into the main electricity legislation in the country, when most countries have given up such practices long ago to make way for competition. The proposed Act does not have clauses that bring any relief to Sri Lanka’s electricity customer, burdened with prices almost double that of competitor countries in the region. Similarly, procurement of transmission capacity can be non-competitive, and in addition this Act allows private transmission lines.

The proposed Act allows private investments in generation, transmission, and distribution. However, the authority to grant a license to conduct such a business, presently with PUCSL (which is the worldwide practice in power sector reforms), will now be transferred to the Minister by this Act. Such “political” approval of licenses for a commercial business, at a time when Sri Lanka embarks on the next phase of reforms by inviting private investments to transmission and distribution, will make the reforms meaningless.

With private ownership allowed into 100% of each generation and distribution entity, safeguards to prevent formation of monopolies are grossly inadequate.

Technical matters too, have not been addressed adequately. The grid and technical codes thereof have been defined to be “above 33 kV”, ignoring the need for a distribution code, in an era where distributed generation is growing and would eventually be the main supplier of generation. This not only brings an unregulated block of generation and power wheeling across distribution networks, without adequate technical safety and economic regulation. Serious control problems leading to brownouts or blackouts cannot be avoided.

IESL calls upon the government to seriously review these glaring shortcomings and amend the proposed Act to ensure the above and other serious deficiencies pointed out by our detailed report are rectified. Without revisions, this Act will further aggravate problems of governance, unreliability, and high costs, that have plagued the electricity sector for decades. The proposed Act, if implemented without these amendments, is designed to fail technically and economically, with excessive political interference at every turn.

Prices measured by the widely-watched Colombo Consumer Price Index fell 0.6 percent in the month of May. The index fell from 195.2 points to 194.1.

The food and non-alcoholic price index fell 1.2 percent to 232.6 points from 235.4 a month earlier.

Since September 2022 food prices are down 5.79 percent.

Sri Lanka’s central bank has been operating deflationary policy and also allowing the rupee to appreciate over the past year bringing down traded price in particular which some non-traded items continued to go up as the price structure adjusted to a collapse of the currency in 2022.

Educations, recreation and culture, while food, clothing and also transport seems to have finished inflating in response to the currency collapse.

Analysts have said that the monetary stability is coming from external anchoring (currency appreciation or stability amid deflationary policy) and the domestic anchor (triggering 5 to 7 percent inflation) is temporarily in abeyance.

Meanwhile growth recovered to 4.5 percent in the last quarter despite a foreign reserve build up in non-inflationary growth.

Singapore’s economic architect told then President J R Jayewardene to not to depreciated the currency and the country will be able to achieve non-inflationary growth.

Singapore does not have a policy rate to engage in money printing to suppress rates and trigger external instability. (Colombo/May31/2024)

Rodrigo is a banker with a track record of senior leadership roles across multiple industries and previously served as executive director/chief operating officer at Hatton National Bank.

He is the current Deputy CEO, and will assume the role of Director/CEO of Union Bank on August 16, subject to regulatory approvals. Rodrigo will spearhead the organization’s next phase of growth.

Wickramasinghe is an accomplished professional with a successful management career spanning over 35 years across local and multinational organizations in the FMCG and financial services sectors.

He has held numerous non-executive board appointments in sectors such as insurance, wealth management, stock brokering, property management, finance companies, and commercial banking.

During his tenure at Union Bank, Wickramasinghe played a pivotal role in transforming the institution from a limited asset book bank to a fully-fledged vibrant commercial bank with an asset book exceeding 130 billion rupees.

The bank maintains one of the highest capital adequacy ratios in the country and recently relaunched its corporate brand identity. (Colombo/May31/2024)

A bond maturing on 15.12.2026 closed up at 9.80/95 percent from 9.70/80 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.09.2027 closed stable at 10.40/55 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2028 closed up at 10.80/90 percent from 10.70/80 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.01.2030 closed up at 11.65/75 percent from 11.60/80 percent.
(Colombo/May31/2024)

The broader All Share Index closed down 0.52 percent, or 63.64 points, at 12,106; while the S&P SL20 Index closed down 0.47 percent, or 16.77 points, at 3,569.

Turnover was 1.1 billion. Most of this came from the food, beverage and tobacco stocks (Rs287mn) and capital goods stocks (Rs251mn).

Melstacorp Plc saw the most active volumes traded in the day. The share closed down at 88.00.

Chevron Lubricants Lanka Plc closed up at 123.25.

Hemas Holdings Plc closed up at 87.00.

Selling pressure was seen on some banking stocks. Sampath Bank Plc closed down at 78.40, Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc closed down at 105.75, and DFCC Bank Plc closed down at 77.40.

However, Hatton National Bank Plc closed up at 195.25, and National Development Bank Plc closed up at 78.80.

There was a net foreign inflow of 121 million. (Colombo/May31/2024)

“The debut of the NH Collection Hotels & Resorts brand in Sri Lanka is an indication of the untapped potential and opportunity for tourism in Sri Lanka, particularly in the city of Colombo,” Softlogic said in a stock exchange filing.

The hotel has 219 rooms and has so far been operated by Movenpick, hotels and resorts.

Minor Hotels has three other properties in Sri Lanka – Anantara Kalutara Resort, Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort and Avani Kalutara Resort.

The Softlogic hotel property, which consists of 219 rooms and suites providing an expansive view of the Indian ocean and Colombo city, will be branded as the “NH Collection Colombo Hotel”.

Minor Hotels has over 550 hotels and resorts and serves customers in 56 countries, the statement said. (Colombo/May31/2024)

“The daily consumption of chicken eggs in this country was 7 million eggs and in the last few months that amount has exceeded to about 8 million eggs,” Department officials said in a discussion with Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry Mahinda Amaraweera.

Amaraweera said the increase in local demand should not compromise Sri Lanka’s egg exports, and asked for a survey to be conducted on egg consumption.

Sri Lanka exports chicken eggs mainly to the Maldives, Amaraweera told EconomyNext. “Because of the presence of bird flu in other countries, there is a high demand for eggs from Sri Lanka.”

Switz Lanka, a hen egg producer which markets its product under the Happy Hen brand, exports eggs to the high-end Maldivian hospitality sector.

Maxies and Co Pvt Ltd is also listed as an egg exporter by Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board.

The increase in egg consumption in the island was attributed to the rise in foreign tourists, prices of meat and fish going up, as well as local demand for it as the cheapest protein food available.

Sri Lanka has received 813,176 tourists as of May 7.

A currency crisis also pushed many people into poverty, making eggs a cheaper source of nutrition compared to meat and fish which are more expensive.

Last year, Sri Lanka’s egg production was heavily affected by price controls imposed by the Consumer Affairs Authority, as chicken feed prices went up amid local forex shortage and a global commodity bubble. The government had also imposed restrictions on maize imports which poultry farmers use for chicken feed.

But in April this year Amaraweera said egg production had exceeded the daily requirement, and local consumers could expect a fall in egg prices.

Related story
Sri Lanka producers meeting demand, egg at Rs35 for new year: Minister

Sri Lanka’s eggs were around 20 to 25 rupees before the rupee collapsed in April 2022 from 200 to 360 to the US dollar. Sri Lanka’s chicken meat and egg prices are generally higher than the world due to import licensing on maize which has pushed up production costs. (Colombo/May31/2024)