How the SL 🇱🇰 Government Manufactured a Dollar Crisis
⭕ Sri Lanka imposed a temporary 50% surcharge on vehicle Customs Import Duty from May 16, for 3 months.
⭕ The LC opening numbers revealed by Dr. Anil Jayantha:
May 07: USD 2.6 million
May 08: USD 4.6 million
May 11: USD 3.8 million
May 12: USD 4.28 million
May 13: USD 8.36 million
May 14: USD 11 million
May 15: USD 23 million
May 18: USD 17 million
⭕ The government’s intention was to delay vehicle imports by making them more expensive for three months. But the market reacted in the opposite direction.
⭕ Instead of waiting, importers rushed to open LCs. This panic response increased demand for dollars, added more pressure on foreign exchange, and further weakened the rupee.
⭕ This is the problem with shallow policy decisions. A tax or surcharge may look correct on paper, but markets do not always behave the way policymakers expect.
⭕ When secondary effects are ignored, the policy can backfire. In this case, the attempt to reduce immediate pressure may have created even more pressure in the short term.
⭕ This is becoming a repeated weakness in the NPP government’s decision-making process. Policies are announced with good intentions, but without properly considering market dynamics, behavioural responses, and long-term consequences.
⭕ Commercial banks in Sri Lanka are quoting the US dollar selling rate at Rs. 354 today.
#SriLanka
“Don’t attempt to build supermarkets through urban councils,” President AKD warns Ratnapura district officials, stating that the private sector is better suited to operate certain public facilities.
Hypocrisy at its best.
Vasantha had no clue to counter @kalindukaru 🤦🏽♂️
and no dignity to accept the truth. Lost in words without context . He basically didn’t know what he was talking 🤣
#lia#npp
SAUDI ARABIA PRINCE SALMAN SAYS NETANYAHU SHOULD BE CRIMINALLY HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR CRIMES AGAINST PALESTINIANS
He also called for an end to the illegal occupation and the recognition of the “State of Palestine” with the 1967 border and Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: @Resist_05