State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe has emphasised that receiving the second tranche of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will portray a positive image of Sri Lanka’s economy in the future to both foreign and local investors.

Speaking at an event held in Colombo yesterday  (16 Aug), Semasinghe expressed his confidence that Sri Lanka would receive the disbursement of USD 333 million following the first review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), scheduled to get underway next month.

Reasoning his confidence in this regard, the State Minister explained that several measures have been taken by the government, which are in line with the conditions previously agreed upon with the IMF, including fighting corruption, maintaining financial discipline and carrying out the relevant procedures in a transparent manner.

“All these measures we have taken so far will enhance transparency and goo governance… We have the reforms in place, we have the laws in place, we’ll have the implementation process, and we’ll have a better economy thereafter”, he said addressing the forum, themed “Unlocking the Power of Taxes”, organised by NextGenSL, a cross-party youth political initiative.

He further highlighted that Sri Lanka’s economy is on the right path and is showing clear signs of stabilisation, adding that the cost of living too, is expected to decrease in the future and that a ‘very reasonable’ stabilisation will be seen by December 2023. 

“There is a difference, there is a positive difference. To come up to this level, there was a lot of reforms required”, he said, explaining that while some of them may have been ‘painful’, 

Meanwhile, commenting on the first IMF review on the EFF programme, due to take place from 14 – 27 September, Semasinghe emphasised that a successful review would further strengthen the country’s economy.

Further, in a Tweet today (17 Aug), Semasinghe said “The successful completion of the first review would place Sri Lanka in a prime position, to shift from stabilisation to growth from 2024 onwards and would enable a disbursement of approximately US$ 330 million”.

The State Minister also noted that the funding would play a significant role in supporting the economic reforms and initiatives outlined in the EFF programme.