Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's authorities continue to exchange information with bilateral creditors but a formal committee to restructure the country's foreign debt is not yet in place, a source close to the Finance Ministry told Reuters. The island nation held a third round of talks with representatives from creditor countries such as China, Japan and India on Dec. 15 as it aims to restructure its debt amid the worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Sri Lanka’s president on Monday proposed to more than double the country’s tax revenue as the island nation struggles to come out from its worst economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. Unsustainable debt, a severe balance of payment crisis on top of lingering scars of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a severe shortage of essentials such as fuel, medicine and food, and the soaring prices have caused severe hardships to most Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka's key inflation rate eased to 66% in October after hitting 69.8% in September, the crisis-struck country's statistics department said on Monday, Reuters reported. The still extremely elevated Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) reflected a 85.6% jump in food prices in October and a 56.3% climb in the non-food group, the Census and Statistics Department said in a statement. However, the pace of food inflation slowed from a all-time high of 94.9% in September.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka will make a presentation to its international creditors on Friday, laying out the full extent of its economic troubles and plans for a debt restructuring and multi-billion dollar International Monetary Fund bailout, Reuters reported. Years of economic mismanagement combined with the COVID-19 pandemic have left Sri Lanka in its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, causing it to default on its sovereign debt. The country's Ministry of Finance said in a statement via legal firm Clifford Chance that an online call on Sept.

The International Monetary Fund announced Thursday it has reached a preliminary agreement to provide Sri Lanka with $2.9 billion over four years to help it recover from its worst economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. The arrangement will help restore financial and macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability as well as enable the country’s growth potential, an IMF team visiting Sri Lanka said in a statement.

Sri Lanka’s president said yesterday that his bankrupt country’s talks with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package have successfully reached final stages as he presented an amended budget that seeks to tame inflation and hike taxes, the Associated Press reported. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, said in a speech in Parliament that his government will soon start negotiating debt restructuring with countries that provide loans to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s central bank chief said Thursday he is hopeful the crisis-ridden island nation can reach a preliminary agreement that could lead to a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund when officials from the financial institution visit Sri Lanka later this month, the Associated Press reported. The Indian Ocean country is facing its worst economic crisis and has been negotiating with the IMF while government leaders in Colombo have said Sri Lanka is effectively bankrupt.

Sri Lanka’s new president said Wednesday that his government is preparing a national policy roadmap for the next 25 years that aims to cut public debt and turn the country into a competitive export economy as it seeks a way out of its worst economic disaster, the Associated Press reported. President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his speech to Parliament said Sri Lanka needs long-term solutions and a strong foundation to stop a recurrence of economic crises.

Sri Lanka’s new president said the country has experienced the worst of its economic crisis and that restoring political stability will allow it to begin turning a corner, starting with finalizing negotiations for an International Monetary Fund bailout that had stalled due to recent turmoil, the Wall Street Journal reported. “I think we’ve already hit the bottom,” Ranil Wickremesinghe said in an interview Sunday with The Wall Street Journal.