COLOMBO: The IMF on Saturday released the first tranche of a $1.5 billion bailout for Sri Lanka, which is reeling after a government spending spree and facing a balance of payments crisis.
The International Monetary Fund said the formal approval of a 36-month loan under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will also help Sri Lanka secure another $650 million in other multilateral and bilateral loans.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s administration sought an IMF bailout immediately after taking power in January last year, but the fund turned down the request, saying the country’s reserves were at a comfortable level then.
However, the government faced a balance of payments crisis after it implemented its election pledges of higher public sector salaries and lower fuel and utility prices.
The first instalment of $168 million out of the $1.5 billion will be made immediately, the IMF said.
It noted that Sri Lanka’s economy was beginning to show signs of strain from an increasingly difficult external environment and said Colombo must increase tax collection and ensure exchange rate stability.
“Tougher external conditions in the wake of China rebalancing and unwinding of unconventional monetary policies were not outside Sri Lanka’s past experience.
