Courtesy The Daily Mirror Sri Lankan officials promote ad-hoc bilateral creditor platforms to expedite process  Bilateral assurances expected around mid-November  Private creditor assurance could come by way of ‘good faith’ engagement by officials  ISB holders form two groups representing international and local bondholders to assess restructuring   Any fund disbursements from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) […]

Courtesy Hiru News Sri Lanka expects the International Monetary Fund board to approve a $2.9 billion loan by year-end, officials from the country’s central bank told investors during a virtual presentation on Friday, sources participating in the event said.

By Shahid Mehmood Courtesy The Island HE resumption of the IMF package, that was badly needed to avert an external payments crisis, has reignited passions. As most countrymen wrestle with the question of whether or not the Fund is a tool of neocolonialism to keep countries like Pakistan sedated and subservient, what is lost in […]

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Sept 23 (Reuters) – Crisis-hit Sri Lanka will begin on Friday the tricky task of debt renegotiation with a raft of private and bilateral creditors, including China, India and Japan, to restructure and repay nearly $30 billion that it owes. WHY THE NEED TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT? Years of economic mismanagement and the fallout […]

Courtesy Adaderana President Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed the Speaker of Parliament that the Cabinet of Ministers & the Opposition would be briefed on the staff-level agreement reached International Monetary Fund (IMF) soon. Conveying the President’s clarification, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stated, The President has informed me that even the Cabinet has not been briefed about […]

උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම සමෘද්ධිමත් ජාතියක් වීමට එකට එක්ව බංකොලොත්භාවයට එරෙහිව සටන් කළ යුතු බව ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ අවධාරණය කර තිබේ. ඒ, බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ඩයස්පෝරාව සමග ඊයේ (සැප්. 19) පැවති හමුවකදී ය. එමෙන් ම, ඩයස්පෝරා කාර්යාල ව්‍යාපෘතිය ඇතුළු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නිර්මාණය වී ඇති නව ආයෝජන අවස්ථා සඳහා එක්වන ලෙස ද ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඔවුන්ට ආරාධනා කර ඇත. බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය […]

Courtesy Adaderana India said on Tuesday it had begun talks with Sri Lanka on restructuring its debt and promised to support the crisis-hit neighbour mainly through long-term investments after providing nearly $4 billion of financial aid. Sri Lanka, a tourism-dependent South Asian country of 22 million, is struggling with its worst economic crisis in more […]

Courtesy Adaderana China and other big creditors have a responsibility to prevent the debt problems facing emerging market and low-income countries from exploding, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. Georgieva, speaking at an event hosted by the Center for Global Development, said 25% of emerging market and 60% of low-income countries were […]

Courtesy Hiru News The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday confirmed that it is moving toward expanding emergency financing for countries hit by surging food prices and shortages triggered by the war in Ukraine, with some 20 to 30 countries seen most in need. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund’s executive board members […]

Courtesy Hiru News The Financial advisory group Lazard hired by Sri Lanka has started talks with India, China and Japan on restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt, Minister Ramesh Pathirana the Cabinet spokesperson said today, as the country seeks an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. Lazard was hired by Sri Lanka in May, along with international lawyers […]

Courtesy Morning Star CHINESE loans to countries facing financial ruin in recent years, including Sri Lanka, Argentina and Pakistan, mean that Beijing is increasingly seen as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund, an analysis published in the Financial Times has found. China’s Belt and Road Initiative had already led to it eclipsing the World Bank as […]

Courtesy The Island ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka’s central bank chief has informed the speaker of parliament that he has no objections to presenting the country’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) though doing so is a decision up to the minister of finance.Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena informed parliament Friday September 09 morning that Central Bank […]

By Saman Indrajith Courtesy The Island It was up to the Minister of Finance Ranil Wickremesinghe to decide whether to present the government’s agreement with the IMF to Parliament, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday.Earlier, Chief Opposition Whip, Lakshman Kiriella, said that at the next business of the committee meeting, he was planning to ask […]

Courtesy The Daily News Govt reached only an understanding with IMF Leader of the House Susil Premajayantha yesterday said in Parliament that the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff had only reached an understanding and not signed an agreement. He was responding to a question by NPP and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake […]

Courtesy Adaderana The United States Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, has informed that the U.S., as a creditor nation, will participate in restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt. A press release issued by the President’s Media Division (PMD) read that the critical need for the full cooperation of all official creditors in debt negotiations and restructuring […]

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Colombo, September 2: On Thursday, September 1, Sri Lanka succeeded in arriving at a staff-level agreement with the IMF for an Extended Fund Facility of US$ 2.9 billion spread over a four-year period. This facility was given following the submission of a credible plan for a thorough reform of the ruined […]

Courtesy Hiru News Paris Club is ready to start debt relief process for Sri Lanka and coordinate with non-Paris Club official bilateral creditors to provide financing assurances.

Courtesy Hiru News Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian at the regular pess conference on September 2, 2022 responsed to a query of Reuters. Reuters: During a news conference on Friday, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki urged all countries that lent money to Sri Lanka, including China, to discuss the country’s debt restructuring. These were remarks […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror IMF yesterday confirmed that a wealth tax is part of the agreement entered with the Sri Lankan authorities. There was much speculation that the interim budget presented in Parliament this week by President Ranil Wickremesinghe would contain wealth tax as a revenue proposal. But it only contained a proposal to increase the […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror As a traditional friendly neighbour of Sri Lanka and a major shareholder of the International Monetary Fund, China has always been encouraging the IMF and other international financial institutions to continue to play a positive role in supporting Sri Lanka’s response to current difficulties and efforts to ease the debt burden […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka’s 2023 Budget needs to be consistent with the economic reforms program and macroeconomic framework under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, says Peter Breuer, Chief of the Debt Capital Markets Division, Monetary and Capital Market Department. IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities announced this morning that they have reached a […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a preliminary agreement on an emergency loan to the crisis-hit country and a formal announcement will be made on Thursday, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The island nation, struggling with its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says that Sri Lanka has made good progress” in the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which are aimed at clinching a bailout package. I can announce that we have made good progress in the negotiations with the IMF. […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror Prof. Prema-chandra Athukorala says China’s position on SL’s debt could drag negotiations for at least six months Cites Zambia as example where debt restructuring negotiations took about 7 months to conclude as a result of China’s initial hesitancy in debt restructuring  After reaching staff-level agreement, debt restructuring advisors will approach creditors […]

Courtesy Adaderana Acting Secretary General of Parliament Ms. Kushani Rohanadheera has informed all Members of Parliament to participate for the special program conducted by the Governor of the Central Bank on Sri Lanka’s current economic situation and way forward.” Organized as per the instructions of the Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, this interactive discussion […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says the International Monetary Fund’s disbursement of the Extended Fund Facility to Sri Lanka can be expected by the end of the year, subject to the success of debt restructuring with creditors and successful negotiations with the IMF. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, the Governor also […]

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Colombo, August 20: The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung is confident that Sri Lanka will recover from its present political and economic troubles, but she cautions that it will have to ensure political stability and take hard decisions in consonance with the IMF’s stipulations to bring about the desired […]

Courtesy Adaderana The International Monetary Fund said it will need adequate assurances” from Sri Lanka’s creditors for a new program as it prepares a visit to Colombo later this month. The goal of the visit is to make progress on a staff-level agreement for an aid package in the near term,” to help the island […]

IMF Communications Department Washington, DC: IMF staff plans to visit Colombo during August 24-31 to continue discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on economic and financial reforms and policies. The objective is to make progress towards reaching a staff-level agreement on a prospective IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement in the near term. Because Sri Lanka’s […]