'Procedural issues' delaying Sri Lanka debt deal: IMF
The Hindu
Sri Lanka debt crisis: IMF delays Sri Lanka debt restructure due to procedural issues in negotiations with China and other creditors.
Sri Lanka's planned foreign debt restructure after an unprecedented economic crisis has been delayed by "procedural issues" in negotiations with bilateral creditors including China, the International Monetary Fund said on June 14.
The Washington-based lender of last resort this week gave Sri Lanka the latest tranche of a rescue package designed to help repair the island nation's ruined finances after a 2022 government default.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe had originally promised the restructure would be finalised before the latest $336 million disbursal, but discussions with creditors have yet to yield a deal.
“There is agreement on the substance of the financial and legal terms,” IMF Sri Lanka mission chief Peter Breuer told reporters in Colombo. “It is procedural issues that need to be resolved, and we anticipate that this will happen very soon.”
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46 billion external debt in April 2022 after the country ran out of foreign exchange to finance even essential imports such as food, fuel and medicine.
Months of protests forced then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down after being accused of mismanaging the island nation into its worst-ever economic crisis.
Read: Fleeing, quitting: On the decline and fall of Gotabaya Rajapaksa
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