Foreign debt up Rs. 229 b on depreciation

Reuters:  Sri Lanka’s foreign debt increased by Rs. 228.7 billion ($1.57 billion) last year due to the depreciation of the rupee, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told parliament on Thursday.

The rupee depreciated 9% last year after the central bank allowed it to fall following heavy defence during a previous lower interest rate regime.

Karunanayake, responding to a question raised by the opposition, said as a result of the depreciation of the rupee against the U.S. dollar and other major foreign currencies last year, foreign debt had increased by Rs. 228.7 billion rupees.

Sri Lanka’s foreign debt increased by 3.6% to $24.6 billion last year despite the new government’s attempts to reduce expensive foreign loans.