A special gazette notification on Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO) has been published on Monday (July 03) under which several directives are issued to the Finance Ministry Secretary and the Public Debt Registrar.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued the communiqué pursuant to the provisions of the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance (Chapter 420) and the Constitution.
Following a full-day debate on Saturday (July 01), the parliament passed the Resolution on Domestic Debt Optimization with amendments, by a majority of 60 votes, with 122 votes and 62 votes against.
The DDO strategy, according to the government, is to maximize domestic public debt in order to assure public debt sustainability and to facilitate a swift transition to economic recovery followed by sustainable economic growth.
According to the gazette notification, the Public Debt Registrar and Finance Ministry Secretary are empowered to provide any Sri Lankan stock or security holder with the option of converting or exchanging their holdings as of June 28 or a portion of them in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance or any other enactment.
The communiqué also authorizes holders of any stock or securities issued in Sri Lanka in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance or any other law to convert or exchange those securities into Treasury Bonds that will be issued in accordance with the Ordinance.
