Current:Home > FinanceThe second installment of Sri Lanka’s bailout was delayed. The country hopes it’s coming in December-InfoLens
The second installment of Sri Lanka’s bailout was delayed. The country hopes it’s coming in December
View Date:2024-12-23 11:11:29
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said Friday he’s confident it will receive the second instalment of a $2.9-billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund before the end of the year, after payment was delayed due to inadequate oversight and debt restructuring.
“I am confident that we are making very good progress. We are moving in the right direction,” said Nandalal Weerasinghe.
Sri Lanka plunged into economic crisis in 2022, suffering severe shortages and drawing strident protests that led to the ouster of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It declared bankruptcy in April 2022 with more than $83 billion in debt — more than half of it to foreign creditors. The IMF agreed in March to a $2.9-billion bailout package, releasing the first payment shortly thereafter.
The IMF’s review in September said Sri Lanka’s economy was recovering, but it needed to improve its tax administration, eliminate exemptions and crack down on tax evasion.
Over the past year, Sri Lanka’s severe shortages of essentials like food, fuel and medicine have largely abated, and authorities have restored a continuous power supply. But there has been growing public dissatisfaction with the government’s efforts to increase revenue collection by raising electricity bills and imposing heavy new income taxes on professionals and businesses.
Weerasinghe said the Export–Import Bank of China — one of Sri Lanka’s creditors from which it needs financial assurance in order to receive the second bailout installment of $330 million — has already given its consent, and he hoped the country’s other creditors in the Official Creditor Committee would soon follow suit. Sri Lanka needs the consent of the OCC which is co-chaired by India, Japan and France and includes 17 countries, for the IMF to approve the payment.
veryGood! (28)
Related
- Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated
- When will we 'fall back?' What to know about 2024's end of daylight saving time
- LeBron and son Bronny James play together for the first time in a preseason game for the Lakers
- The Chilling Truth Behind Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour Trailer
- Chris Wallace will leave CNN 3 years after defecting from 'Fox News Sunday'
- Richard Simmons was buried in workout gear under his clothes, brother says: 'Like Clark Kent'
- Tia Mowry Details Why Her Siblings Are “Not as Accessible” to Each Other
- Alabama's flop at Vanderbilt leads college football Misery Index after Week 6
- Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes is convicted of producing images of child sex abuse
- Supreme Court declines Biden’s appeal in Texas emergency abortion case
Ranking
- Padma Lakshmi, John Boyega, Hunter Schafer star in Pirelli's 2025 calendar: See the photos
- RHOSLC Star Whitney Rose's 14-Year-Old Daughter Bobbie Taken to the ICU
- College Football Playoff predictions: Projecting who would make 12-team field after Week 6
- Coach Outlet’s New Designer Fall Styles Include a $398 Handbag for $99 & More Under $150 Luxury Finds
- ‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
- 'The Princess Diaries 3' prequel is coming, according to Anne Hathaway: 'MIracles happen'
- Supreme Court rejects appeal from Texas officer convicted in killing of woman through her window
- As Trump returns to Butler, Pa., there’s one name he never mentions | The Excerpt
Recommendation
-
Judge recuses himself in Arizona fake elector case after urging response to attacks on Kamala Harris
-
Chrissy Teigen Reveals White Castle Lower Back Tattoo
-
Madonna’s Brother Christopher Ciccone Dead at 63
-
Sylvester Stallone's Daughter Sistine Details Terrifying Encounter in NYC
-
Joey Logano wins Phoenix finale for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske
-
Awaiting Promised Support From the West, Indonesia Proceeds With Its Ambitious Energy Transition
-
AP Top 25: Texas returns to No. 1, Alabama drops to No. 7 after upsets force reshuffling of rankings
-
Billie Jean King named grand marshal for the 136th Rose Parade on Jan. 1