Govt. to hold presentation on IMF deal to creditors, investors on 30 March

Saturday, 25 March 2023 00:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies will hold a virtual presentation to commercial creditors and investors on the $ 2.9 billion four year Extended Fund Facility approved by the IMF Executive Board to Sri Lanka on Thursday 30 March.

The timings are 8.30 a.m. (New York)/12.30 p.m. (London)/1.30 p.m. (Paris)/6.00 p.m. (Colombo)/8.30 p.m. (Beijing).

The presentation will be chaired by the Central Bank Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe and the Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies K. M. Mahinda Siriwardana.

The presentation will outline the EFF-supported program’s objectives, as well as next steps with regard to engagement with creditors.

The Finance Ministry said Sri Lanka is fully committed to successfully completing its IMF program. “The Sri Lankan Government has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda to ensure fiscal consolidation, boost tax revenues, rebuild its foreign reserves, improve economic governance and strengthen the Central Bank’s independence. Sri Lanka will continue to engage with all its creditors in good faith with full transparency and look forward to constructive discussions for a swift resolution of the public debt situation,” the Finance Ministry added.

Treasury Secretary Siriwardana said: “The IMF Executive Board approval is an important milestone towards Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability and economic recovery, unlocking up to $ 7 billion in funding from the IMF and other IFIs. These funds will help address Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic challenges, reconstitute financial buffers, and restart the country’s economic growth engines. Moving onto the next phase, we remain committed to progressing engagement with all our creditors to achieve an efficient, transparent, and equitable implementation of the debt treatment required to restore debt sustainability.”

CBSL Governor Dr. Weerasinghe said: “The IMF program is crucial to stabilise our economy and we are strongly committed to successfully complete the IMF program by implementing ambitious reforms. We can already see positive signs of recovery; the headline inflation rate has eased for five consecutive months and our foreign currency reserves have increased to $ 2.2 billion in February 2023. We are on the right path, but we still have a long way to go. I am confident that we will successfully complete the IMF program and restore Sri Lanka’s economy.”