The Sri Lankan Stock Exchange, Colombo Stock Exchange, will be closed next week by Sri Lanka’s securities commission to give investors time to comprehend the country’s economic situation.
The Sri Lankan stock exchange’s board of directors and other stakeholders had requested a temporary market shutdown, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka said in a statement on Saturday.
“The SEC has carefully studied the reasons that they have advanced and has analyzed the impact that the current situation in the nation might have on the stock market, in particular, the capacity to operate an orderly and fair market for securities trading,” it stated.
As aid talks shift to Washington, D.C., Sri Lanka seeks immediate funds. Sri Lanka is sending a delegation to Washington to obtain up to $4 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders to assist the island nation pay for food and fuel imports and avoid debt defaults.
The country is in political crisis, with residents screaming for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s departure on the streets. This year, the $81 billion economies faced $8.6 billion in debt commitments, so payments on foreign loans were postponed to free up funds for crucial food and fuel imports.
“It would be in the best interests of investors and other market participants if they were given a chance to have a better grasp of the current economic conditions in order to make educated investment decisions,” the SEC stated.
