IMF mulls loan approval to Sri Lanka, even without China’s assurance

17 Feb, 2023

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is considering approving a loan for Sri Lanka, even without China’s assurance of debt-restructuring support, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Under a rarely used policy, the IMF may consider approving the island nation’s loan as the only prerequisite hindering the approval is China’s formal assurance, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The news comes ahead of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to India next week for G20 finance meetings, where the United States is reportedly going to focus on unblocking debt restructurings for distressed countries.

Bankrupt Sri Lanka hikes power prices again for IMF deal

Earlier in February, the IMF said Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion bailout package was set to be approved as soon as the country obtained adequate assurances from bilateral creditors and met remaining requirements.

The IMF did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a comment.

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