IMF's second review for extended fund facility set for June 12: Sri Lanka Finance Minister

The second review of the IMF's Extended Fund Facility under the USD 2.9 billion bailout to Sri Lanka has been set for June 12, the cash-strapped island nation's minister of state for finance Shehan Semsinghe said on Monday.

Semasinghe hoped that if everything goes according to the procedure, the review should lead to the release of USD 300 million from the international lender's third tranche.

"The second review of the International Monetary Fund's extended fund facility under the USD 2.9 billion bailout to the cash-strapped Sri Lanka has been set for June 12," he said.

He said that Sri Lanka expects continued support from all countries for a successful review to unlock the third tranche.

"We look forward to the continued support of all countries for a successful review to unlock the third tranche which will further enhance economic stability, growth and reform efforts," Semasinghe said.

The island nation, in April 2022, declared its first-ever sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.

The unprecedented financial crisis led President Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit office in 2022.

Earlier in the month, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry had said Sri Lanka is looking at a reduction of approximately USD 17 billion from its overall debt burden in the ongoing debt restructuring process.

In March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has reached a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka for the next phase that would enable it access to USD 337 million from the nearly USD 3 billion bailout approved in 2023 for the cash-strapped country.

Two tranches of USD 330 million each were released in March and December 2023 even as the Washington-based global lender has praised Colombo for its macroeconomic policy reforms, which it said, “are starting to bear fruit.”

The government under President Ranil Wickremesinghe has set in place hard economic reforms as dictated by the IMF programme.

The reforms have caused political opposition ahead of the presidential election which is due in the last quarter of this year.

Wickremesinghe, also the finance minister, is intent on incorporating the reforms in the fiscal laws of the island by introducing the economic transformation bill.

It is to be introduced in Parliament after the current review process by the Supreme Court on its constitutionality.

Wickremesinghe yesterday urged cross-party support for the bill saying Sri Lanka has no alternatives to revive its economy other than the IMF bail-out reforms.

The opposition groups have vowed to revise the reforms claiming the public has been badly hit by them.