Govt. settles 55% of 2025 external debt commitments in 1H

Tuesday, 9 September 2025 02:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Repays $ 1.36 b in external debt servicing in 1H 2025 against $ 2.45 b full-year estimate
Bilateral and multilateral 1H debt servicing $ 811.4 m, commercial debt $ 546 m
Q2 repayments rose to $ 952 m from $ 406.6 m in Q1
External debt stock $ 37 b end-June 2025, domestic debt $ 65 b

Sri Lanka settled $ 1.36 billion in external debt servicing in the first half of 2025, covering 55% of the $ 2.45 billion due for the full year, according to data from the Public Debt Management Office and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). This leaves $ 1.09 billion to be met in the second half of the year.

Debt servicing accelerated in the second quarter, with total repayments of $ 952 million compared with $ 406.6 million in the first quarter. In Q2, principal payments amounted to $ 715 million and interest payments $ 237 million. By creditor type, commercial borrowings accounted for $ 458 million, multilateral creditors $ 279 million, and bilateral lenders $ 215 million.

Commercial debt servicing is in respect of syndicated foreign currency term loans.

During the same quarter, the Government secured $ 110 million in fresh loans from multilateral creditors and $ 9 million from bilateral creditors.

As of end-June 2025, total Government external debt stood at $ 37.14 billion, a nominal reduction of $ 104 million from $ 37.24 billion at end-March. Multilateral debt made up 36% of the total, followed by commercial debt at 34% and bilateral debt at 30%. International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) comprised 81% of commercial debt amounting to $ 10.25 billion, with the remainder from syndicated foreign currency loans amounting to $ 2.43 billion.

Sri Lanka has restructured 98% of its ISBs and principal payments commence in 2028.

The domestic debt stocks was $ 65.5 billion with Treasury bills and bonds accounting for $ 63.4 billion.

In Q1, debt servicing included $ 147.9 million in principal repayments and $ 258.7 million in interest, totalling $ 406.6 million. Of this, $ 237 million was to multilateral creditors, $ 88.5 million to commercial borrowings, and $ 80.4 million to bilateral lenders. New lending during the quarter amounted to $ 419.3 million from multilateral creditors and $8.8 million from bilateral sources.