Sri Lanka declared itself bankrupt for the first time in its history. Now the country is raising money for basic commodities.
Sri Lanka’s central bank confirmed Thursday (May 19) that it has defaulted on its $78 million foreign sovereign debt with the 30-day grace period expiring.
Rising food and fuel costs, as well as electricity shortages and blackouts, have led to nationwide protests and a devaluation of the Sri Lankan currency. He adds that there was also a shortage of foreign exchange reserves needed to pay for imports Watchman. As a result, the Sri Lankan government announced last month that it would suspend the repayment of foreign debt in order to provide cash for essential commodities.
This is Sri Lanka’s first default since independence from Britain in 1948. It is also the first default in the Asia-Pacific region this century, according to Moody’s.
Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, warned on Monday that the financial crisis gripping the country would only get worse, and that the next few months would be “the most difficult in the lives of its residents”.
In his first speech, Wickremesinghe described the country’s financial condition as “extremely precarious”. – In November 2019, our foreign exchange reserves were $7.5 billion. However, today’s challenge to the treasury is to find a million dollars – He said, citing the magazine.
In turn, the head of Sri Lanka’s central bank, Nandalal Weerasinghe, said that inflation in the country could rise by as much as 40 percent. in the coming months.
