Sri Lanka became the latest nation Wednesday to seek help from the International Monetary Fund to soften the impact of the global economic downturn.
The Sri Lankan central bank said the government had entered talks with the IMF about an emergency loan worth $1.9 billion.
The bank said the loan would help the country weather the global financial crunch and pay for reconstruction in the north and east, where the army says it is close to defeating Tamil Tiger rebels.
It said the injection would also encourage other "development partners" to step forward with assistance and would boost investors' confidence in the island nation's economy.
The government has softened its opposition to an IMF bailout as slowing exports and the costs of the 25-year civil war weigh on the economy. Slowing tea and textile exports have depleted the country's foreign currency reserves and undermined the Sri Lankan rupee.
IMF support would "supplement the government's efforts to stabilize the external sector performance of the country, and enable the country to face the times ahead with greater confidence and certainty," the bank said in a statement.
The government expects to finalize the IMF negotiations by the end of March, and a significant portion of the loan would be released soon after that, it said.
IHT
sudda gen nayata salli gan nawa
NGO
what will JVP, JHU say ?
hela urumaya ?
The Sri Lankan central bank said the government had entered talks with the IMF about an emergency loan worth $1.9 billion.
The bank said the loan would help the country weather the global financial crunch and pay for reconstruction in the north and east, where the army says it is close to defeating Tamil Tiger rebels.
It said the injection would also encourage other "development partners" to step forward with assistance and would boost investors' confidence in the island nation's economy.
The government has softened its opposition to an IMF bailout as slowing exports and the costs of the 25-year civil war weigh on the economy. Slowing tea and textile exports have depleted the country's foreign currency reserves and undermined the Sri Lankan rupee.
IMF support would "supplement the government's efforts to stabilize the external sector performance of the country, and enable the country to face the times ahead with greater confidence and certainty," the bank said in a statement.
The government expects to finalize the IMF negotiations by the end of March, and a significant portion of the loan would be released soon after that, it said.
IHT
sudda gen nayata salli gan nawa
NGO
what will JVP, JHU say ?
hela urumaya ?
