The newly established Governing Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, constituted under the provisions of the recently promulgated Central Bank Act No. 16 of 2023, was held today, the 21st of September 2023, at the Board Room of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

The Newly established Governing Board, succeeds the Monetary Board that functioned previously, under the provisions of the Monetary Law Act (MLA).

Today’s meeting of the new Governing Board of the Central Bank, was held, with the participation of the following members :-

• a) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, as the Chairman,
• b) Mr. Sanjeeva Jayawardena, President’s Counsel, who was previously, a member of the Monetary Board as well,
• c) Mr. Nihal Fonseka, who also was previously, a member of the Monetary Board,
• d) Dr. Ravi Ratnayake,
• e) Mr. Anushka Wijesingha.

Governor Weerasinghe welcomed Mr. Sanjeeva Jayawardena PC, Mr. Nihal Fonseka, Dr. Ravi Ratnayake and Mr. Anushka Wijesingha, to the new Governing Board.

Purchasing Managers Indices in August 2023 indicated an expansion in Services activities and a softening of the contraction in Manufacturing activities.

Manufacturing PMI recorded an index value of 49.3 in August 2023, reaching closer to the neutral threshold, indicating signs of a recovery in manufacturing activities compared to previous months. Considering the sub-indices, New Orders and Suppliers' Delivery Time increased during the month, while Production and Employment remained contracted.

Services sector PMI recorded an index value of 57.6 in August 2023, indicating a continued expansion in the services activities. This was led by the increases observed in New Businesses, Business Activities and Expectations for Activity. Nevertheless, Employment remained nchanged, while Backlogs of Works remained contracted during the month.