Sri Lanka Debt Crisis

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka said Wednesday it had exported tea worth $20 million to Iran to partially repay its $251 million oil debts, with Colombo saying Tehran's visiting foreign minister had expressed "satisfaction" at the deal.

The International Monetary Fund revived its $2.9 billion bailout for Sri Lanka on Tuesday after the South Asian nation clinched a debt restructuring deal with China, its biggest official lender.

Sri Lankan authorities have declared a five-day closure of financial markets from Thursday ahead of a controversial move to restructure the government's domestic debt amounting to more than $51 billion.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is seeking a 10-year moratorium on its foreign debt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said Monday on the eve of a desperately needed $2.9 billion IMF bailout.

China said on Wednesday that it would "play a positive role" in helping bankrupt Sri Lanka get through its debt crisis after agreeing to restructure its loans.

The latest electricity price rise in crisis-hit Sri Lanka has left stall owner Mohammed Lafeel in a quandary: the 66% increase means he can't afford to pay for electricity but can't manage without it so goes deeper into debt to keep it on.

Sri Lanka's electricity board hiked consumer rates by up to 275 percent, officials said Thursday, the second steep increase in months as the bankrupt island nation works to secure an IMF bailout.

New Delhi's backing comes at a critical time for Sri Lanka as it has to put its massively indebted public finances in order to unlock the IMF loan that was agreed in September.

Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a $2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is also looking at financial assurances from its major creditors - China, Japan, and India.

A huge green and purple communications tower in Sri Lanka financed with Chinese debt that has become a symbol of the ousted Rajapaksa clan's closeness to Beijing will finally open this week.

Sri Lanka is considering a restructure of local and sovereign debt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday, as the island nation battles its worst financial crisis in its independent history.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Sri Lanka should kick off debt restructuring talks with its bilateral lender China, while the island state's government seeks a financing loan from the IMF.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva has cited the example of the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka to warn other countries that they could also face a similar situation in the face of high debt levels and limited policy space.

A rampant dollar at a two-decade high crushing most currencies' buying power in international markets, fears of an economic downturn and burned foreign exchange reserves point to a record number of developing nations now in dire straits.

Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Russia, Suriname and Zambia are already in default, Belarus is on the brink and at least another dozen are in the danger zone as rising borrowing costs, inflation and debt all stoke fears of economic collapse.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka said Wednesday it had exported tea worth $20 million to Iran to partially repay its $251 million oil debts, with Colombo saying Tehran's visiting foreign minister had expressed "satisfaction" at the deal.

The International Monetary Fund revived its $2.9 billion bailout for Sri Lanka on Tuesday after the South Asian nation clinched a debt restructuring deal with China, its biggest official lender.

Sri Lankan authorities have declared a five-day closure of financial markets from Thursday ahead of a controversial move to restructure the government's domestic debt amounting to more than $51 billion.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is seeking a 10-year moratorium on its foreign debt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said Monday on the eve of a desperately needed $2.9 billion IMF bailout.

China said on Wednesday that it would "play a positive role" in helping bankrupt Sri Lanka get through its debt crisis after agreeing to restructure its loans.

The latest electricity price rise in crisis-hit Sri Lanka has left stall owner Mohammed Lafeel in a quandary: the 66% increase means he can't afford to pay for electricity but can't manage without it so goes deeper into debt to keep it on.

Sri Lanka's electricity board hiked consumer rates by up to 275 percent, officials said Thursday, the second steep increase in months as the bankrupt island nation works to secure an IMF bailout.

New Delhi's backing comes at a critical time for Sri Lanka as it has to put its massively indebted public finances in order to unlock the IMF loan that was agreed in September.

Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a $2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is also looking at financial assurances from its major creditors - China, Japan, and India.

A huge green and purple communications tower in Sri Lanka financed with Chinese debt that has become a symbol of the ousted Rajapaksa clan's closeness to Beijing will finally open this week.

Sri Lanka is considering a restructure of local and sovereign debt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday, as the island nation battles its worst financial crisis in its independent history.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Sri Lanka should kick off debt restructuring talks with its bilateral lender China, while the island state's government seeks a financing loan from the IMF.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva has cited the example of the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka to warn other countries that they could also face a similar situation in the face of high debt levels and limited policy space.

A rampant dollar at a two-decade high crushing most currencies' buying power in international markets, fears of an economic downturn and burned foreign exchange reserves point to a record number of developing nations now in dire straits.

Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Russia, Suriname and Zambia are already in default, Belarus is on the brink and at least another dozen are in the danger zone as rising borrowing costs, inflation and debt all stoke fears of economic collapse.