By In a recent announcement, State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya disclosed that Sri Lanka’s state-managed Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is poised to deliver a 13 percent return to its members for the year 2023.
This significant increase from the 9.0 percent returns observed in previous years reflects the positive financial performance of the fund throughout 2023.
The EPF underwent restructuring, which included extending maturities and initially raising the coupon rate to 12 percent. These measures were implemented in response to a significant currency devaluation by the central bank. The currency’s value plummeted from 200 to 370, severely impacting its real value and contributing to an alarming inflation rate of 70 percent. However, recent efforts by the central bank to appreciate the currency have helped mitigate some of the fund’s losses.
Increased
Reports from the central bank, the entity responsible for managing the EPF, indicate that member liabilities surged by 12.9 percent, reaching 3,817.9 billion rupees in 2023. Simultaneously, the total value of the fund experienced an 11.5 percent increase, reaching 3,857.4 billion rupees.
Since the restoration of monetary stability in September 2022, inflation has remained minimal, as evidenced by the widely monitored Colombo Consumer Price Index. This stability likely contributes to the improved performance and positive outlook of the EPF, providing reassurance to its members regarding their investments.
Sri Lanka’s central bank has restored about 1.85 billion US dollars’ worth of lost value to the Employees Provident Fund in a currency collapse, as it appreciated the rupee from March 2022, an analysis of data shows.
