A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Colombo yesterday to discuss the granting of the 5th tranche of the US$ 1.5 billion fund facility to Sri Lanka.
The representatives of the IMF will hold crucial discussions with Central Bank, the Treasury, and Finance ministry officials on Monday.
The International Monetary Fund had approved the three-year extended arrangement on June 3, 2016, in the amount of about US$ 1.5 billion in six installments.
The 5th instalment of this loan facility was scheduled to be given in November last year. However, the IMF postponed the disbarment of the 5th tranche due to the political instability last year.
The IMF put on hold the program discussions on the 5th review of the Extended Fund Facility when President Maithripala Sirisena precipitated an unprecedented political crisis on October 26 ousting the incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The IMF delegation has rescheduled the visit on the request of the Sri Lankan government.
After completion of the fifth review Sri Lanka is expected to receive a fifth tranche of about $250 million. The total loan was expected to have been disbursed with a sixth tranche by mid-2019.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
