Sri Lanka has successfully restructured defaulted loans and past due interest owed to the Export Import Bank of China, transforming them into $4.187 billion in new loans, according to the Finance Ministry’s June 2024 debt bulletin.
In March 2024, Sri Lanka owed $3.993 billion to the Exim Bank of China, including $903.8 million in arrears. The restructured debt by June had increased to $4.187 billion, with no specific disclosure of the capitalized past due interest.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that the average interest rate for bilateral loans after restructuring would be around 2.1%. Outside of Exim Bank’s credits, $6.438 billion worth of loans from the Paris Club and other creditors are still awaiting restructuring.
By the end of June 2024, after Exim Bank’s restructuring, Sri Lanka’s bilateral loans amounted to $10.625 billion, slightly up from $10.588 billion in March. Principal in arrears remained at $2.167 billion.