Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation has decided to terminate operations in Sri Lanka.
For nearly 60 years, the trading giant has been a key partner in many infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka and the island’s bilateral relations with Japan.
Sri Lanka defaulting on its external debt and abruptly cancelling Japan-funded projects including the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects have been cited as the main reasons for the company’s decision to wind up its operations here.
Accordingly, Mitsubishi Corporation will close its office in Colombo with effect from March 31, 2023.
Sri Lanka is one of the many countries where the Japanese trade giant first launched its foreign branches.
Sri Lanka, which defaulted on its foreign debt amounting to USD 51 billion last year, is now making efforts to secure financial assurances from its creditors in a bid to unlock a extended fund facility of USD 2.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), subject to debt restructuring and prior actions.
The island nation has about USD 10 billion in foreign currency debt split between its largest bilateral creditors Japan, China and India.
