Monday Jan 05, 2026
Monday Jan 05, 2026
Monday, 5 January 2026 05:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Foreign investor participation in Sri Lanka’s Government securities rebounded strongly in 2025, reversing a sharp contraction a year earlier, while the overall stock of domestic debt continued to rise, driven by increased Treasury Bond issuance.
The latest data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) indicate that the Government’s financing strategy in 2025 continued to tilt toward longer-tenor instruments, while improving market conditions supported a renewed inflow of foreign investment into rupee-denominated Government securities.
Foreign holdings in Government securities rose 106.36% in 2025 to Rs. 141.36 billion as at 1 January 2026, up from Rs. 68.5 billion at the start of the year, reflecting an increase of Rs. 72.86 billion. This marked a decisive turnaround from 2024, when foreign holdings declined by Rs. 48.9 billion, or 41.65%, from Rs. 117.4 billion at end-2023.
Total outstanding Government securities increased 2.5% in 2025 to Rs. 18.75 trillion as at 1 January 2026, rising by Rs. 458 billion from Rs. 18.29 trillion at the beginning of the year.
The pace of growth moderated significantly compared to 2024, when the stock expanded by Rs. 2.17 trillion, or 13.47%, from Rs. 16.12 trillion at end-2023.
Within the composition of Government debt, Treasury Bills outstanding declined sharply in 2025, falling 22.92% to Rs. 3.14 trillion, a reduction of Rs. 933 billion from Rs. 4.07 trillion at the start of the year. In contrast, Treasury Bonds outstanding increased 9.77% to Rs. 15.61 trillion, up by Rs. 1.39 trillion over the same period.
In 2024, Treasury Bills were largely unchanged, edging down marginally by Rs. 7 billion or 0.17%, while Treasury Bonds expanded strongly by Rs. 2.18 trillion, or 18.09%, from Rs. 12.04 trillion at end-2023.
