Leaders from 23 business associations representing export, import and logistics companies told reporters in the capital, Colombo, that they want lawmakers to "act responsibly and resolutely to implement remedial solutions to halt and then reverse the rapidly deteriorating situation."
Rohan Masakorala, director general of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber, said business owners are worried because "something dangerous is heading towards us." Nationwide protests over the country's economic troubles have expanded to include criticism of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his politically powerful family.
Rajapaksa has resisted the demands to step down, even after members of his own coalition joined them this week, with governing party lawmakers calling for the appointment of an interim government to avoid possible violence.