IMF okays review of Sri Lanka’s $2.9bn bailout

The Inter­national Monetary Fund approved the third review of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion bailout on Saturday but warned that the South Asian economy remains vulnerable. In a statement, the IMF said it would release about $333m, bringing total funding to around $1.3bn, to the crisis-hit nation. It said signs of an economic recovery were emerging. The country still needs to complete a $12.5bn bon­dholder debt restructuring and a $10bn debt rew­­­ork with bilateral creditors including Japan, China and India to take the programme forward, the IMF said. The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilise economic conditions after cash-stra­pped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022.