Professor Anil Jayantha, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic and Financial Affairs, clarified that raising funds from the domestic financial market to cover ministry expenses and repay maturing treasury bills and bonds is a routine practice.
“The government requires funds to meet daily essential expenses and maintain its services. The Central Bank regularly raises funds through the sale of treasury bills and bonds every week,” Jayantha explained. He further noted that repayments are made on time for those that mature, describing this as a standard process, unaffected by the appointment of a new President.
His comments follow media reports suggesting that the new government had increased borrowing from international markets. Jayantha refuted these claims, emphasizing that no new borrowing has taken place. He called for an investigation into reports of government loans from domestic and international financial markets, stating that the current activity is merely the routine collection of funds.
He also noted that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has been working to stabilize the financial markets, including a recent purchase of US dollars, which occurred before the new President took office.
“We are examining how much has been raised from the domestic market, but there has been no extraordinary or unusual fundraising,” Jayantha added.
