Sri Lanka

A continuing economic crisis has sparked waves of protests in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka crisis

Japan's Mitsubishi, Taisei scale back in crisis-stricken Sri Lanka

JICA seeks a Japanese company to take over airport expansion project

18 February 2023
Laborers carry sacks of flour in the main market of Colombo in November. Sri Lanka is seeking to finalize a $2.9 billion bailout from the IMF.
Sri Lanka crisis

IMF confirms India assurances on Sri Lanka debt needed for bailout

Fund 'engaged' with other creditors for similar pledge as all eyes turn to China

24 January 2023
South Korea, China and Japan all saw drops in their foreign exchange reserves last year as the dollar strengthened.
Currencies

Global foreign reserves dwindle as countries counter dollar's rise

Japan's holdings sink 13%, sharpest on record; China falls short of IMF benchmark

12 January 2023
Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das speaks at an IMF event on Jan. 6, in this screenshot captured from the IMF's livestream.
Economy

RBI chief's South Asia prescriptions: productivity, energy security

At IMF event, Shaktikanta Das lists priorities for stable growth in troubled region

6 January 2023
Rohingya refugees on a navy vessel headed to the Bangladeshi island of Bhasan Char in 2020.
Myanmar Crisis

At least 180 Rohingya feared dead: U.N. refugee agency

'Unseaworthy' boat that left Bangladesh has likely sunk, UNHCR says

26 December 2022
A food vendor at Galle Face Green in Colombo: Sri Lanka needs to unlock $2.9 billion in funding from the International Monetary Fund, as a first step toward climbing out of bankruptcy.
Sri Lanka crisis

Bankrupt Sri Lanka holds breath for Paris Club's China overture

Five things to know about wealthy group's role in Colombo debt relief

16 December 2022
Nandalal Weerasinghe, governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, speaks at a news conference. He said in an interview that until IMF funding starts flowing, "we will not get any external financing from anyone."
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka to build foreign reserves after IMF rescue: central banker

Weerasinghe says talks with creditors like China are going well, may drag into 2023

30 November 2022
Workers transport sacks of rice at a marketplace in Colombo on Nov. 14, as the government aims to guide the country out of its economic crisis.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka budget designed to impress IMF earns mixed grades

Experts say package meets some aims but question spending, including defense

17 November 2022
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry says the country's bilateral lenders are "aware" of the urgency for debt restructuring.
Interview

Sri Lanka working flat out for China, Japan, India debt deals

Foreign minister says 'we cannot force anyone' as IMF bailout hangs in balance

5 November 2022
Colombo-based Sinhalese hard rock group Skitzo SL often performed at protest gatherings in the lead-up to the Rajapaksa clan's ouster. (Courtesy of Skitzo SL)
Arts

How music rocked Sri Lanka's ruling class

After years underground, independent bands are wielding more political influence

2 November 2022
A laborer pulls a car loaded with sacks of lentils at a grain market in Ahmedabad. The government has said the country's low rank on an index of global hunger is intended to "taint India's image."
Economy

India gets mixed marks on poverty, with hunger rank behind Pakistan

New Delhi slams 'misinformation' as other study hails 140m saved from destitution

30 October 2022
A Sri Lankan farmer gestures to show the ideal height of the plants in his paddy in July, as growers struggle amid the economic crisis and the aftermath of a ban on chemical fertilizers.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka aims for food security after ill-fated fertilizer ban

As millions suffer from hunger, officials promise 'gigantic' farm modernization

24 October 2022
Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo on Sept. 3: Wickremasinghe is a proxy president in the eyes of protesters.
Opinion

Sri Lanka will not resolve its political crisis without elections

President Ranil Wickremasinghe is struggling without a public mandate

16 October 2022
"The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida" author Shehan Karunatilaka grew up in Colombo, largely insulated from the horrors of Sri Lanka's civil war. (Courtesy of Shehan Karunatilaka)
Arts

Books: Sri Lankan wartime satire mixes fantasy and dark reality

Shehan Karunatilaka is year's only Asian Booker Prize finalist

10 October 2022
Sri Lanka's Taprobane Seafoods has one main processing facility and 14 smaller locations in the South Asian nation. (Screenshot from Taprobane Seafoods website)
DealStreetAsia

Dutch FMO proposes $10m investment in Sri Lanka seafood exporter

Taprobane Seafoods' 15 facilities mainly employ underprivileged women

7 October 2022
Vehicles line up to buy petrol in Colombo on June 17. Long lines are a common sight across Sri Lanka due to a fuel shortage. 
Life

A journey into Sri Lanka's despair

Economic collapse deepens but calls for systemic change go unheard

30 September 2022
Drivers push auto rickshaws in a line to buy fuel in Colombo in late July, during the country's economic crisis. The government has said it aims to finalize a $2.9 billion IMF bailout by December.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka eyes December bailout, IMF says timing hard to predict

Colombo seeks one-stop shop for talks with creditors like China, India, Japan

29 September 2022
Don't knock it till you've tried it: Vietnamese egg coffee from Hanoi. (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Tea Leaves

'Camouflage cooking' makes a comeback

Pandemic times in Asia inspire return to kitchen traditions

21 September 2022
The logo of the Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing 2019
Belt and Road

China slows foreign lending as Belt and Road problem loans triple

Sri Lanka falls into debt crisis while Pakistan is strapped for cash

20 September 2022
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told Sri Lanka that Washington will support its debt restructuring effort.
Sri Lanka crisis

U.S. backs Sri Lanka's debt restructuring effort: Yellen

Treasury chief calls for all creditors to cooperate

7 September 2022
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan president, fled the country in July.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka's ex-president Rajapaksa returns from brief self-exile

Former leader under tight security as nation faces surging inflation, tax increase

3 September 2022
The dollar's nominal effective exchange rate against a broad basket of currencies, including from both advanced and emerging economies, is now at one of its highest points since it started publicizing the data in 1994. 
Currencies

Superstrong dollar threatens debt crisis across emerging economies

Mexico pressured to follow Fed hikes, while Sri Lanka's repayment costs soar

2 September 2022
Sri Lanka, suffering under an economic crisis and skyrocketing inflation, has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund to obtain $2.9 billion.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka to obtain $2.9bn from IMF, needs creditors to play ball

Final board approval still hinges on lender assurances and promised reforms

1 September 2022
A demonstrator waves a Sri Lankan flag earlier this year: After protests in the crisis-hit country brought down one president, his replacement appears close to securing IMF help.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka makes late push for IMF bailout after unveiling budget

Lender to announce answer Thursday; experts deem president's plan 'positive'

31 August 2022
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks to Nikkei Asia in Colombo on Aug. 23. (Photo by Ryosuke Hanada)
Interview

Sri Lanka president urges China to change tune on debt as IMF visits

In interview, Wickremesinghe says creditors 'must sing from same hymn sheet'

24 August 2022