Sri Lanka to sign debt restructuring MoU with bilateral creditors before IMF review next month

Colombo, May 223 (Daily Mirror) - The government is to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) of the Paris Club of Nations and the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM Bank) for restructuring the country’s debts before the completion of the IMF Executive Board review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility Arrangement next month, a top source said.

The source familiar with talks said the government is ‘very positive’ that Sri Lanka will sign the MoU before the review.

The review, once approved by the IMF's board, will release $337 million in funding for the country.

However, it still remains uncertain when debts involving private bond holders and commercial loans from China Development Bank will be concluded before the period.

“We are very optimistic that the restructuring process will be concluded with the bilateral creditors very soon. We remain positively engaged with them at the moment. After that is done, we will go for restructuring private debts and commercial loans taken from China Development Bank,” the source said.