Bailout Package: Sri Lanka makes formal request to IMF

IMF confirmed that Sri Lanka had asked for assistance, but did not give details on the value of a potential programme

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has made a formal request for an IMF bailout package to aid its struggling economy after a sharp slowdown in growth and with its budget deficit widening. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed the island nation had asked for assistance, but did not give details on the value of a potential programme or say whether it would grant the request. Sri Lanka enjoyed a blistering economic growth rate of 8.0% for two years after a prolonged civil war ended in 2009. But the pace of expansion has since slowed.  It received $2.6 billion from the IMF in 2009 to boost its financial reserves, which had dropped below $1 billion at the height of fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces. The IMF said it had warned of rising debt levels saying the government had been unable to keep to its budget deficit target last year and that it was unlikely to meet it in 2016.  

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2016.

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