‘Lanka economy will collapse if no new govt soon’


Colombo: Sri Lanka’s economy will collapse beyond redemption unless a new government is appointed within two days to restore political stability, the central bank chief said.

If there is no government in the next two days, the economy will completely collapse and no one will be able to save it, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told reporters.

Shortly after taking over last month as the bank’s chief, Weerasinghe announced defaulting on Sri Lanka’s $51 billion external debt saying the country had no money to pay its creditors.

He almost doubled interest rates and allowed the rupee to depreciate rapidly to ensure better foreign exchange liquidity in the commercial banks.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 after it ran out of dollars to import even the most essentials.