NEGOTIATIONS BY CEYLON

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25859, 19 July 1949, Page 5

NEGOTIATIONS BY CEYLON

OWN DOLLAR RESERVE WANTED LONDON, July 17. Ceylon will ask Britain for the right to use part of its own surplus dollar earnings to create a central bank reserve immediately after the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ conference ends to-morrow. Mr J. R. Jayawardene, Ceylon’s Finance Minister, who arrived in London to-day, will conduct the negotiations with the British Treasury. “Unless Ceylon gets the reserve, we cannot see how we could ask our people to cut dollar imports again,” Mr Jayawardene said.

He added that the dollar market was almost 100 per cent, cheaper for some of Ceylon’s requirements than sterling area sources. This meant a lot to an undeveloped people seeking the bare necessities of life.

“It is easy for countries like India and Australia to restrict their dollar area imports.” he said. “They both have big dollar deficits, and established bank reserves. On the other hand, Ceylon contributed a net surnlus of abotft 35.000,000 dollars (£8,750,000) last year to the sterling area’s dollar pool.” Mr Jayawardene said he would press for a fixed price for at least three or four years for Ceylon’s rubber production.