INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
more of the cost of the economic adjustment that came with the bailout program
The austerity measures that were imposed, such as tax and electricity-price hikes, and the debt restructuring, have made the incumbent
leader Ranil Wickremesinghe deeply unpopular, creating a tight race for the Sept
crisis in 2022 caused living standards to plunge and the government to default on its debt for the first time ever
Widespread unrest that followed forced the populist Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign
His successor Wickremesinghe went on to negotiate the IMF bailout the following year.Premadasa, who runs a breakaway group that splintered
The IMF needs to conduct a third review of the loan program before it disburses the next tranche of funding, estimated at about $350
of $12.6 billion in defaulted bonds, Bloomberg News reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter
The government is seeking to reach a final agreement on the debt before the election, one of the people said, adding that a statement with
loan conditions, although he was critical of a domestic debt restructuring agreed to by the current administration, which he called
has previously held ministerial portfolios in government, including housing and health
Premadasa said in the interview on Wednesday
foreign direct investment
His coalition of leftist parties and groups, backed by protesters who ousted the Rajapaksa government in 2022, opposes the debt
