The Colombo Stock Exchange has declared Tuesday as a market holiday due to settlement difficulties, nearly a month after it remained closed for a week amid the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

The decision also came a day after Sri Lanka witnessed unprecedented violence and political crisis following the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

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“The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has been informed that the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka will not be operated today (10th May 2022)," a CSE circular said.

"Therefore, the Central Depository System (CDS) of the CSE is unable to complete the fund settlement and the securities settlement falling on 10th May 2022 as per the DVP settlement mechanism," it said.

"In the circumstances, the CSE has declared today as a market holiday due to the aforesaid operational reasons,” the circular said.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948. The economic crisis also triggered a political turmoil in the island nation with citizens holding nationwide street protests for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortage of fuel, food and other daily essentials.

The protests led to the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday.

Last month, the Colombo Stock Exchange remained closed for a week to provide investors an opportunity to have “more clarity and understanding” of the current economic conditions in crisis-hit Sri Lanka that would help them “to make informed investment decisions.”

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