Sri Lanka will be receiving Chinese and Indian financial facilities soon under a swap arrangement to boost the foreign reserves and ensure financial stability of the country which is badly hit by Covid-19, a Central Bank high official said.
The Peoples Bank of China is expected to finalise the USD 1.5 billion swap facility within two weeks while the Indian Finance Ministry will approve the USD 1 billion swap arrangement soon, they confirmed.
Earlier in July last year, India granted a USD 400 million currency swap facility until November 2022.
“An additional request for a bilateral currency swap arrangement worth around USD 1 billion by the Sri Lankan side remains under discussion,” said the Indian foreign ministry in a statement.
Deputy Governor KMK Siriwardene revealed that negotiations with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for this facility have also been progressing.
“This Indian Central Bank will have to get some approvals from India’s Finance Ministry and it is likely to finalise shortly,” he added.
Negotiations with the People’s Bank of China are now at the final stage and a definite decision could be expected in two weeks, Deputy Governor Dhammika Nanayakkara said.
"They have indicated that their internal discussions are almost over and we will be informed shortly," he added.
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