Sri Lanka repays $50m to Bangladesh

Business Report :
Sri Lanka, struggling with an economic crisis, has repaid Bangladesh $50 million out of the $200 million loan that it took from the latter under a currency swap mechanism two years ago.

Confirming the deposition of the first instalment by the Sri Lankan authorities, Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque said the instalment was received on August 17, 2023.

He also informed that the amount has bumped up the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

“We’re expecting a second instalment within this month inshallah,” Mr Haque, an executive director of the central bank, added.

Bangladesh provided a loan amounting to $200 million from its foreign reserve to Sri Lanka, helping the reeling South Asian economy recover from an economic shock in September 2021.

However, the term of the one-year loan expired in September last year.

Then the term was extended twice in three months till March this year.

Finally, the neighbouring country was given another six-month till September to pay back the loan.