COLOMBO: Sri Lanka secured a US$500 million loan from China Monday (Apr 12) in a desperate bid to shore up its foreign exchange reserves as the local currency hit a record low.
The Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing said the loan agreement with the China Development Bank will "infuse vitally required foreign exchange" into the island's pandemic-battered economy.
It is the second Chinese loan made in less than three weeks.
Last month, the People's Bank of China granted a US$1.5 billion currency swap to finance imports from China, a key supplier of manufactured goods to the island which is struggling to pay for imports.
Sri Lanka's rupee hit a record low of 202.73 to the US dollar, as the country's foreign reserves fell to US$4.05 billion at the end of March, the lowest in 12 years.
The country's economy contracted by a record 3.9 per cent last year.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...oan-from-china-rupee-hits-record-low-14607828
The Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing said the loan agreement with the China Development Bank will "infuse vitally required foreign exchange" into the island's pandemic-battered economy.
It is the second Chinese loan made in less than three weeks.
Last month, the People's Bank of China granted a US$1.5 billion currency swap to finance imports from China, a key supplier of manufactured goods to the island which is struggling to pay for imports.
Sri Lanka's rupee hit a record low of 202.73 to the US dollar, as the country's foreign reserves fell to US$4.05 billion at the end of March, the lowest in 12 years.
The country's economy contracted by a record 3.9 per cent last year.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...oan-from-china-rupee-hits-record-low-14607828
