Sri Lanka’s gross official foreign reserves are expected to exceed US $ 4 billion by the end of this year, the President’s Media Division (PMD) yesterday said, citing information from the Finance Ministry.
Sri Lanka received US $ 337 million from the International Monetary Fund as the second tranche of the Extended Fund Facility this month. Also, the government received US $ 200 million from the Asian Development Bank this month and the World Bank yesterday announced the release of US $ 250 million as budget support.
“These disbursements, totalling US $ 787 million, aim to strengthen budget support and the country’s external buffers,” the PMD said.
“The gross official reserves are expected to surpass US $ 4 billion by the end of 2023, higher than anticipated,” it added.
Sri Lanka’s gross foreign reserves stood at about US $ 3.5 billion, including the proceeds from the People’s Bank of China’s swap equivalent to around US $ 1.3 billion, which is subject to conditionalities on usability.