Foreign reserves exceed $ 3.2 billion

Favourable response from foreign investors

Charumini de Silva

Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves exceeded US$ 3.2 billion today as a result of the favourable response from foreign investors, said Central Bank Governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal.

He said foreign investments rose by US$ 1.2 billion within two days and the confidence among investors increased with the country’s potential to develop business.

The private sector has to take the maximum benefits with the eradication of terrorism.

Investors have to pay a vital role to stabilize the country’s economy. Despite the economic challenges Sri Lanka recorded a growth of six percent proving that we were able to withstand the global economic downturn better compared to other countries, he said.

The Governor told a conference on Sukuk (an Islamic Bond) Alternative Financing in Sri Lanka organized by Ram Ratings Lanka that Sri Lanka hopes that investments will flow into the country from the Middle East and other regions with the introduction of the Sukuk bond market in Sri Lanka.

According to the Malaysia Central Bank Governor Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the latest projections suggest that there could be a revival in the global Sukuk market this year after the steep fall in 2008, with at least US$ 10 billion of Sukuk expected to be issued.