Sri Lanka decreases limit of foreign currency people can hold to USD 10,000

Colombo : Sri Lanka’s Central Bank on Thursday decided to substantially decrease the limit of foreign currency a person can hold in his possession to USD 10,000 from USD 15,000 as the forex crisis has led to limited imports with no gasoline in filling stations in the country facing the worst economic crisis.
Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said that under the Foreign Exchange Act, there is a limit anyone can hold foreign currency, which used to be a value of maximum USD 15,000, Lanka 1st news website reported.
Stating that the apex bank is looking towards bringing it down to USD 10,000, the CBSL Governor said that even with that USD 10,000, proof of how the person came to possession of the relevant funds must be presented.
Accordingly, a grace period of two weeks will be given to current holders to deposit this money either in their foreign currency accounts in the banking system or surrender that money and convert them to rupees and keep them in rupees, he added.
Sri Lanka, near bankruptcy, has suspended up to USD 7 billion of foreign loan payments due to be repaid this year because of a foreign currency crisis. The country must repay USD 25 billion as foreign debt by 2026 out of a total USD 51 billion.
It has led to limited imports with no gasoline in filling stations. Other fuel, cooking gas, medicine and foods are in short supply, forcing people to stay in long lines to buy the limited stocks.