Cash-strapped Sri Lanka secures debt deal ahead of vote
The Peninsula
Colombo: Sri Lanka secured a deal on Thursday with international bondholders to finalise a prolonged debt restructure, a key International Monetary Fu...
Colombo: Sri Lanka secured a deal on Thursday with international bondholders to finalise a prolonged debt restructure, a key International Monetary Fund demand to repair the island nation's ruined finances.
The announcement came two days before Sri Lanka holds its first presidential election since its unprecedented 2022 economic crisis, which saw months of food, fuel and medicine shortages and sparked widespread social upheaval.
Creditors holding more than half of international sovereign bonds and foreign private loans to the South Asian nation agreed to a 27-percent haircut on their loans, a government statement said.
"Sri Lanka is pleased to report that it has reached an agreement in principle... on the terms of a comprehensive restructuring," it added.
The country's austerity measures under the IMF programme have been the central issue during campaigning for Saturday's presidential poll.