ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka shares fall in mid day trade on Friday (13), after constant delays on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan that was supposed be acquired by the first quarter of 2023.
“We think debt restructuring could be pushed back to end-2023 due to delays in the IMF programme,” a statement by Standard Chartered said.
“IMF board approval for Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme has been delayed as negotiations with bilateral lenders take longer than expected. We now expect board approval to happen in Q2-2023 (versus Q1 previously) given delays in securing financing assurances from bilateral creditors,” the statement said.
Sri Lanka is expecting a further contraction in the economy after a negative growth in 2022, Cabinet Spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena.
A World Bank report previously said the gross domestic product of Sri Lanka was expected to contract 9.2 percent in 2022 and a further 4.2 percent in 2023.
All Share Price Index (ASPI) was down by 0.27 percent or 22.17 points to 8,311.88, while the most liquid index S&P SL20 was down by 0.22 percent or 5.54 points to 2,554.38.
The market generated a revenue of 742 million rupees within the first hour of trade.
Top losers at 113o hours were Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank and Browns Investment. (Colombo/Jan13/2023)