ZCZC
BCN-10
SRILANKA-ECONOMY-IMF
Beleaguered Sri Lanka gets long-delayed IMF cash
COLOMBO, May 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The International Monetary Fund Tuesday
released a long-delayed loan instalment to Sri Lanka, providing financial
relief to a government still reeling from the Easter Sunday bombings that
claimed 258 lives.
The Washington-based lender said it was releasing $164.1 million to Sri
Lanka under a three-year $1.5 billion bailout that was suspended in October
during a power struggle between the president and the prime minister.
With the status quo restored, the administration has been able to present
a “well-targeted 2019 budget, rebuilding reserves, while maintaining a
prudent monetary policy”, said IMF deputy managing director Mitsuhiro
Furusawa.
The power struggle was resolved after the Supreme Court ruled that
President Maithripala Sirisena violated the constitution by sacking Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government.
The loan programme, begun in June 2016, would be extended by a further
year, the IMF said.
Sri Lanka estimates that it will lose about $1.5 million in revenue this
year as a result of a sharp dip in tourist arrivals following the April 21
suicide bombings.
The bombings, blamed on a local jihadi group, targeted three Christian
churches and three luxury hotels.
During the political crisis in the final quarter of 2018, three
international credit rating agencies downgraded the country’s debt making it
more expensive to borrow abroad.
Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record $5.9
billion in foreign loans in 2019.
The IMF also renewed its call to the Sri Lankan government to restructure
the loss-making national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, which has accumulated
losses and debts of over $2 billion.
The government has failed to privatise the airline, but the president has
revived attempts to find a partner who could inject new capital to keep the
airline afloat.
BSS/AFP/HR/1015