• Central Bank raises forecast for this year, citing a surge in demand and dollar inflows
• SL expected to maintain a current account surplus, easing pressure on reserves

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has projected that total vehicle imports will rise to $ 1.5 billion by the end of the year, exceeding the earlier projected $ 1 billion outflows, due to more than expected demand and dollar inflows, CBSL Assistant Governor Dr. Chandranath Amarasekara said.

In an interview with the Advocata Institute, he stated that the earlier projected $ 1 billion is not a strict limit on vehicle imports, but rather a dynamic one.

He added that the country’s worker remittances are doing much better than expected by the central bank, as the July figure alone reached about $ 700 million, adding more buffers to the current account.

According to the central bank, the worker remittances in the first seven months have reached $ 4.43 billion.

Moreover, Amarasekara said that actual vehicle imports until the end of June were valued at $ 500 million, which is included in the $ 1.2 billion LCs (Letters of Credit) opened so far this year.

Since there is a lag period of 2-4 months after opening LCs for vehicles to arrive in the country, he said: “We believe that vehicle imports this year, according to our latest projections, would be around $ 1.5 billion or less.”

He added that even with that much vehicle imports, Sri Lanka will see a current account surplus this year for the third consecutive year, and by 2026, the current account will have a manageable deficit.

Therefore, he said, “We are not going to see a major pressure on the current account or our reserve building efforts,” from the expected $ 1.5 billion worth of vehicle imports in 2025.