IMF to delay the final bailout tranche
View(s):The disbursement of the final tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s US$ 1.5 billion bailout to help Sri Lanka avert a balance of payments crisis will be delayed by at least three or four months due to COVID-19.
Responding to an email request for comments on the ongoing IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Masahiro Nozaki, IMF’s acting mission chief for Sri Lanka expressed the IMF’s willingness to provide a realistic option for the country’s economic recovery.
The seventh and final review under the EFF arrangement was scheduled to take place after mid-April.
“However, given the forthcoming elections and the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains to be seen whether conditions will be in place with sufficient time left for a review to be concluded before the expiration of the arrangement in June,” he added.
However under the present circumstances, the disbursement of the final tranche of the EFF is likely to be delayed for several months after June, other official sources said.
(BS)