Sri Lanka looking to set up gold refinery amid import block
Sri Lanka is looking to set up a gold refinery in the island, as imports are not taking place amid large border taxes and trade restrictions, Chairman of the National Gem and Jewellery Authority S P Chaminda said.
“We are looking into setting up a gold refinery in the country,” S P Chaminda, CEO/chairman of the NGJA told reporters.
“We can then sell it to our businessmen, give some to the central bank and re-export the rest.”
Sri Lanka freely imported gold up to 2018 when money printed by the central bank for flexible inflation targeting/potential output targeting, led to forex shortages.
In 2017 Sri Lanka imported 649 million dollars of gold.
In 2018, gold import taxes were hiked, and the rupee collapsed a couple of months after gold imports stopped, as currency depreciation is due to money printing, which drives credit and total imports, and not one or two isolated items.
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