Sri Lanka repays $100mn to Bangladesh out of $200mn loan

Sri Lanka on Monday repaid $100 million to Bangladesh out of the total $200 million loan the Island country took under the currency swap system in 2021.

The first installment was given on August 17 and $50 million more will be repaid after this month, confirmed a source within the Bangladesh Bank on Monday.

The source said the central bank hopes that Sri Lanka will clear the whole payment of $200 million by September this year.

Sri Lanka, which has been facing an acute greenback shortage for months, borrowed $200 million from Bangladesh in May 2021.

The country was scheduled to repay the loans by April last year, but it failed due to its acute internal financial crisis.

Earlier on June 12, Bangladesh Bank granted Sri Lanka six more months to repay the $200 million loan.