SL repays $ 2 b of multilateral debt in less than 2 years

President’s Office Community Affairs Director General 

Rajith Keerthi Thennakoon

Sri Lanka has completed $ 2 billion in debt servicing since the assumption of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President, the Government announced yesterday.

Of this amount $ 1.4 billion is multilateral loans, revealed the President’s Office Community Affairs Director General Rajith Keerthi Thennakoon.

Quoting data from the External Resources Department, he said the Asian Development Bank was paid $ 760 million, $ 489.9 million to the World Bank, $ 29.9 million to the OPEC Fund for International Development, $ 22.3 million to the European Investment Bank, $ 17.9 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, $ 9.8 million to the EFF 23/26 program of the International Monetary Fund, $ 7 million to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and $ 1.7 million to the Nordic Development Fund.

“It is noteworthy that the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank have extended further financial support to the Government due to its commendable track record in debt repayment,” Tennakoon said. During this period, negotiations are underway with relevant states and institutions to finalise agreements regarding the repayment of bilateral loans and interest, which currently stand at $ 571 million. Additionally, preliminary agreements have been reached concerning debt and interest payments, involving members of the Paris Club, with outstanding interest to be settled by the end of February 2024 amounting to 

$ 450.7 million.

Tennakoon said several countries, including Japan, have provisionally agreed to resume numerous projects halted in the past.

It was revealed that bilateral loan transactions have been conducted with nearly 25 other financial institutions, such as Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, the United States, China Development Bank, Sino-Hungarian Bank, Indian Exim Bank, and American Exim Bank.

Tennakoon also said the gross official reserves of Sri Lanka were provisionally estimated at $ 4.5 billion as at end February 2024 including the People’s Bank of China swap equivalent to around $ 1.5 billion which is subject to conditionalities on usability.

Of the $ 37.7 billion foreign currency debt, the multilateral component is $ 11.7 billion. The bilateral figure is $ 10.8 billion and debt to private creditors is $ 14.7 billion of which $ 12.5 billion is for holders of International Sovereign Bonds. Project/program loan component is $ 22.6 billion.