Opportunity Sri Lanka | » Sri Lankan government to raise US$ 2.5bn through local and international bonds
Sri Lankan government to raise US$ 2.5bn through local and international bonds

Sri Lankan government to raise US$ 2.5bn through local and international bonds

Co-Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera has reportedly said that Sri Lanka expects to raise up to US$2.5 billion in 2018 under its public borrowing programme by issuing local and international bonds.
Jayasekera has told the media that Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera has received the approval of the Cabinet of ministers this week for this year’s borrowing programme.
According to the Minister, the funds are to meet development spending, roll over existing debt and pay interest.
The government’s maximum borrowing limit for 2018 is Rs1,893 billion of which Rs1,313 billion will be obtained from local sources and Rs580 billion from foreign sources, Jayasekera has been quoted as saying in the media.
The Cabinet of Minister has approved issuing US$ 3 billion (about Rs. 456 billion) worth of Sri Lanka Development Bonds and borrow up to another US$ 2 billion by issuing International Sovereign Bonds.
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, C.P.J. Siriwardena has told the media that the government wants to go early to the market this year with the issue of International Sovereign Bonds and not wait till mid-year like in 2017.
This year, there are no maturing sovereign bonds while about $2.5 billion of SLDBs will mature this year, leaving room to raise another US$ 500 million, he has added.

OSL take:

The decision by the Sri Lankan government to raise up to US$2.5 billion in 2018 under its public borrowing programme by issuing local and international bonds would ensure the funding availability for the country’s development agenda. Therefore, interested foreign investors could look at the opportunities to enter the Sri Lankan economy by becoming a stakeholder in the country’s development programme.

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Article Code : VBS/AT/20180105/Z_1

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