IMF team to conduct initial review of Sri Lanka’s loan program amidst ongoing financial crisis

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.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, on Sept. 4, 2018.  (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo)

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.”