Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (CB) entered into a $1.5 billion ( CNY 10 billion) bilateral currency swap agreement with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) for a three-year period.
However, the usage of the funds will be limited for purposes agreed upon by the two parties, the CB said.
This Swap agreement has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers with the recommendation of the Monetary Board of CBSL. Governors of the two Central Banks, Professor W D Lakshman of CBSL and Dr. Yi Gang, Governor of PBOC, are the signatories to the agreement.
The two countries expect to promote bilateral trade and direct investment for the economic development of the two countries with the SWAP facility.
The People’s Republic of China remains Sri Lanka’s largest source of imports. In 2020, imports from China amounted to US$ 3.6 billion (22.3% of Sri Lanka’s imports).