Sri Lanka president raises IMF loan hopes, budget aims to bolster revenue

Sri Lanka's talks with the IMF on a bailout package have made solid progress, its president said

 Sri Lanka's talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a bailout package have made solid progress, its president said on Tuesday, as he presented an interim budget aimed at boosting revenue and mending the country's battered finances.
 

In an address to parliament, President Ranil Wickremesinghe also said the government would aim to control inflation and introduce legislation to bolster central bank independence.

The island nation of 22 million people is battling its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Wickremesinghe, who took over as president last month, is pushing to bring in fiscal consolidation measures agreed with