Debt restructuring finalisation by end June: Semasinghe

Repeating the message conveyed over the last couple of months, the Finance Ministry yesterday expressed confidence in Sri Lanka firming up the agreement in principle soon, noting it’s in the “final stages”.

While reluctant to specify the timeframe, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said the government is confident having the necessary finalised by end June.

“I cannot specify the timeline but both parties are very much interested in reaching an agreement. We are very hopeful of reaching consensus with bilateral creditors soon, possibly by the end of this month,” Semasinghe said.

The second review was approved by the IMF pending the necessary finalsations.

The IMF in its statement welcomed the progress made to advance debt restructuring to restore Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability.

However, they called for a swift finalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Official Creditor Committee and final agreements with the Export-Import Bank of China.

The directors stressed the importance of seeking comparable, transparent, and timely completion of restructurings with external private creditors consistent with programme targets.