LONDON (Reuters) – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team will visit Colombo in a month’s time for the first review on Sri Lanka’s loan programme, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The Washington-based lender approved a nearly $3 billion bailout for crisis-hit Sri Lanka in March. The Asian island is struggling with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades, triggered by a severe shortage of foreign exchange.
The first review will take place from September 14 through the 27 and considers the programme’s performance until end-June, and if approved by both the staff and the executive board, would allow a disbursement of around $338 million.
The previous IMF’s staff mission to the country was in May, when the Fund’s authorities said that “the overall macroeconomic and policy environment remains challenging.”
(Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario, editing by Rodrigo Campos)