Sri Lanka resumes bailout discussions with IMF, finance ministry says

Sri Lanka has resumed technical discussions with the International Monetary Fund on a potential bailout after a new government took office, the finance ministry said on Friday.

IMF
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Reuters NEW DELHI
1 min read Last Updated : Jul 29 2022 | 10:05 PM IST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sri Lanka has resumed technical discussions with the International Monetary Fund on a potential bailout after a new government took office, the finance ministry said on Friday.

Discussions with the multilateral lender started in April under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan government hopes to secure an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) - which would be conditional on making economic reforms - to help battle the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as president after Rajapaksa was ousted on July 13 by a popular uprising following months of severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines.

Wickremesinghe, who served six terms as prime minister, also hopes to restructure Sri Lanka's debt.

The talks with IMF were highly successful and Sri Lanka is working with advisers to reach consensus on a deal with creditors, the government said.

The South Asian nation of 22 million has $12 billion overseas debt with private creditors. It defaulted on a bond payment earlier this year and is struggling to pay for imports of basic goods.

 

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das, Nupur Anand and Uditha Jayasinghe; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Catherine Evans)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Quarterly Starter

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

Save 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :sri lankaEconomic CrisisIMF

First Published: Jul 29 2022 | 10:05 PM IST

Next Story