Sri Lanka repays entire $200mn loan from Bangladesh
September 23, 2023 07:33 pm
Sri Lanka has paid off USD 50 million more to Bangladesh as the final installment of a USD 200 million loan taken under a currency swap agreement two years ago, foreign media reported.
Citing a senior Bangladesh Bank official, The Daily Star said the Sri Lankan government has also paid USD 4.5 million as interest on the loan amount on Thursday (Sept. 21).
Sri Lanka repaid USD 100 million on September 02, 2023, and USD 50 million more on August 17, 2023.
The island nation paid back the loan as its embattled economy is heading towards recovery from its worst economic crisis just a year ago. Its inflation rocketed to 69.8 percent in September last year. In July, however, inflation stood at 6.3 percent.
On the other hand, Bangladesh is facing a foreign exchange crisis after its reserve dropped sharply in the past one and a half years owing to higher import bills compared to lower-than-expected remittance and export earnings.
The gross forex reserve came down to USD 21.45 billion on September 21 in line with the International Monetary Fund’s calculation formula, Bangladesh Bank data showed.
--with inputs from agencies
