Last month’s foreign debt repayment costs $ 813M

PANEETHA AMERESEKERE-APR 06 2019

Government of Sri Lanka’s (GoSL’s) foreign debt payments cost the country’s foreign reserves US$ 813.26 million last month (March) alone, latest official data showed.

Additionally, this month (April), at least one foreign debt amounting to $ 500 million which also matures has to be repaid. This is a $ 500 million sovereign bond (SB) raised in April 2014 and of a five year tenure borrowed during the last year of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.

Last month, Sri Lanka raised $ 2.4 billion by selling SBs. Consequently, the country’s foreign reserves, last month over February; increased by $ 1,586.74 million to $ 7,621.90 million. An increase of $ 2,400 million ($ 2.4 billion), equivalent to the sum raised by selling SBs was not possible, because of last month’s $ 813.26 million foreign repayment.