CB welcomes 4th tranche of IMF funding support

Saturday, 9 December 2017 00:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Central Bank yesterday reiterated that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility, the fourth tranche of which worth $ 251.4 million was released on Thursday, will improve macroeconomic stability and strengthen external resilience midst challenging global environment.

It said with the latest disbursement, a total of $ 759.9 million has been received thus far by Sri Lanka on account of the EFF.

“The EFF supported economic program is expected to improve macroeconomic stability of the country and bolster market confidence while strengthening external resilience in a challenging global environment,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

It said the Executive Board of the IMF completed the third review of the three-year EFF obtained by Sri Lanka, enabling the disbursement of the fourth tranche to the value of SDR 177.774 million (approximately $ 251.4 million). The main objective of the EFF is to strengthen the Balance of Payments position of Sri Lanka while supporting the Government’s economic reform agenda.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion of the third review, the IMF acknowledged the stable macroeconomic and financial conditions of Sri Lanka, despite continuous weather related supply shocks.

“The IMF has commended the commitment of the authorities towards implementing economic reforms while undertaking fiscal measures to improve Government revenue,” the Central Bank said.

The IMF has further appreciated the efforts of the authorities to deepen the foreign exchange market while building up reserves and achieving enhanced exchange rate flexibility.

The IMF has also maintained the view that the monetary policy must be focused on easing inflationary pressures and high credit growth. Furthermore, the IMF has recognised the efforts taken by the authorities to achieve quantitative performance criteria set under the EFF, the Central Bank added.