Exclusive: Bank of China offers Sri Lanka $300 million loan, option to raise to $1 billion – source

By Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Bank of China (SS:), the country’s fourth-biggest lender by assets, has offered a loan of $300 million to Sri Lanka which can be raised to $1 billion, a source in Colombo with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The government is considering the offer because of “difficulty in borrowing money after recent ratings downgrades”, the source said, declining to be named as the information was not public.

Reuters could not immediately reach Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance and the Bank of China.

Sri Lanka, an island nation off India’s southeastern coast, is struggling to repay its foreign loans, with a record $5.9 billion due this year including $2.6 billion in the first three months alone.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.