11 September 2024 12:27 am Views - 240
By Nuzla Rizkiya
Sri Lanka is set to receive a US$ 200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to stabilise the country’s financial sector and fiscal framework amid its economic recovery.
The Cabinet of Ministers this week approved a proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to obtain the second tranche of the US$ 400 million loan under ADB’s ‘Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Programme for Sri Lanka’, a two-part project implemented to support the government in improving crisis management and enforcing financial sector reforms.
To unlock the second tranche, Sri Lanka was required to complete 12 pre-policy activities, most of which have either been completed or are in the final stages of completion, according to the Department of Government Information.
The first tranche of US$ 200 million was disbursed by the ADB in December 2023 as a concessional loan to help stabilise Sri Lanka’s financial sector following the severe economic and sovereign debt crisis that began in April 2022, when the country suspended its external debt payments.
The second subprogramme under the project will focus on follow-up reforms to establish a resilient and inclusive financial system in the country, according to the ADB. The phase will be supported by additional technical assistance (TA) and post-programme partnership framework (PPPF) activities from the bank in an effort to address complex reforms more comprehensively.