COLOMBO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka will implement a program to provide interest relief to individuals who pawned gold in licensed commercial banks during the economic crisis, cabinet spokesman and Minister of Information Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday.
At a press conference, Gunawardena highlighted that the economic crisis led to a surge in pawning gold jewelry. In 2019, the arrears on gold pawn loans stood at 210 billion rupees (693 million U.S. dollars).
By March 2024, this figure had risen to 571 billion rupees (about 1.88 billion dollars), marking a 172-percent increase, he said.
Recognizing the need for assistance, the cabinet, with a proposal from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, decided to provide interest relief to individuals who had taken pawn advances of less than 100,000 rupees from licensed banks on or before June 30, 2024, Gunawardena said. ■