The People’s Bank of Sri Lanka has been blacklisted by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka for failing to make the payment according to the Letter of Credit on last month.
This information has been submitted to the Ministry of Commerce of China. All Chinese enterprises are reminded to tighten risk control and avoid accepting L/C issued by People’s Bank of Sri Lanka in international trade with Sri Lanka.
The decision was taken by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka. Blacklisting People’s Bank was done while a case was pending in the Colombo Commercial High Court regarding the incident.
This is the first time in the world blacklisting a country’s major state bank in this way, without use any procedure. China did not contact the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance or the Central Bank of Sri Lanka before making decision.
Furthermore, the decision to blacklist the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka must be taken by the Central Bank of China.
In a recent Tweet, the Chinese Embassy of Sri Lanka issued a timeline of events:
“Seawin won open bid, signed contracts, passed tests of China and International Agency designated by Ceylon Fertiliser, shipped before due. NPQ SL (short for National Plant Quarantine Service Sri Lanka) disagreed in halfway, called toxic/harmful. Ship refused. Third party test refused. L/C payment obligation refused. PBSL blacklisted.”
Sri Lankan politicians say that the China has acted without respecting the sovereignty of their country.
