During Minister Mangala Samaraweera's tenure as the minister of finance, the
Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated by 19.11% or by approximately 30 rupees.
One of the key concerns of the depreciation of
Sri Lankan Rupee is imported inflation as many essential goods including fuel, cereal and large number of food items are imported into the country.
Earlier this year, the main opposition United National Party also demanded the devaluation of the
Sri Lankan Rupee to "increase exports and boost the economy".
Meanwhile, the
Sri Lankan rupee depreciated by 2% during 2017, it said.
The gross official reserve position was estimated at US dollars 6.5 billion at end September 2016, while the
Sri Lankan rupee depreciated by 2.1 per cent against the US dollar thus far during 2016.
This news which appeared in the 'Business & Economy' page of a leading daily said the '
Sri Lankan rupee fell to a record low of 143.25 per dollar!'
Based on cross currency exchange rate movements, the
Sri Lankan Rupee appreciated against the Eurp by 685%, the Canadian dollar by 4.54%, the Chinese Renminbi by 1.65%, Japanese Yen by 2.57% and the Sterling Pound by 1.87%.
With the help of Saudi Arabia, the Sri Lankan government completed a 2.25 billion
Sri Lankan rupee epilepsy and diagnosis hospital in Colombo, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.
The
Sri Lankan rupee appreciated against the US dollar by 2.4 percent so far during the year, although some depreciation pressure was experienced recently.
By local assembly and manufacturing operations, Mahindra Ideal Lanka is expected to save significantly in taxes, pricing the KUV100 close to 3.2 million
Sri Lankan rupees.
Police Spokesperson, SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the drunk drivers would be fined 25,000
Sri Lankan rupees (about 142.94 US dollars) and police officers who arrest the drunk drivers will also be rewarded.
The projects are part of the nearly 970 million
Sri Lankan rupees ($5.5 million) in assistance that the U.S.
