02 April 2020 – Sri Lanka institute 3 month limitations on the investment and remittance of money internationally in expectation of downtun

Type of Intervention: Financial and Economic, Regulation
Sectors Involved: Finance/Economy, Private Sector and Businesses
Intervention Categories: Legal and policy; Regulatory change
Level of Jurisdiction: National
Lead People/Agency: Ministry of Finance, Economic and Policy Development

Overview: Restrictions on the outward movement of money:
To suspend making payments through Outward Investment Accounts for the purpose of making investments in overseas by persons resident in Sri Lanka under general permission granted in the Foreign Exchange Regulations excluding
a. investments to be financed out of a foreign currency loan obtained by the investor from a person resident outside Sri Lanka under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Act, or
b. investments to be made to fulfil the regulatory requirement in that country
Full details here: http://documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2020/4/2169-03_E.pdf

Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group, Public Opinion (e.g. consultations, opinion polling), Perception of an increased threat
Source of Evidence or Justification: National – other, Institute of Policy Studies is a think tank on economic affairs partly funded by the government
Evidence/Justification: Perception that there would be an economic downturn