Sri Lanka bank clarifies IMF interest rates
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it would only have to pay a higher interest rate for International Monetary Fund loans exceeding 300 percent of the country quota, and lower balances would only attract a rate of a little over 1.0 percent.
Media reports quoted Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal to have said that Sri Lanka would have to pay as much as 3.1 percent for the full loan if all the money was drawn down and the island would not be taking the balance money.
The clarification issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on the Recent Media Reports on IMF-SBA Programme said that the IMF approved a Stand-By- Arrangement facility (SBA) of SDR 1.65 billion (equivalent to US dollars 2.6 billion) in 2009, which is equivalent to 400% of the country’s current quota with the IMF.
So far, Sri Lanka has received seven tranches amounting to US dollars 1.7 billion under the SBA and this is still lower than 300% of the quota. The applicable interest rate for the loan is SDR rate (SDR rate is calculated every week and published on IMF website, which is currently 0.1%) plus a fixed margin of 1% p.a. for disbursements up to 300% of the quota.
Therefore, the interest charge for the present outstanding of US dollars 1.7 billion is 1.1% p.a. However, if the disbursements exceed 300% of the quota, a surcharge of 2% will be added on top of the present interest rate for the credit outstanding above 300%.
Source: Government News Portal
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Sri Lanka does not require this loan at such exhorbitant rates. Working under the economic principles enunciated in MC Idiri Dekama, SL will soon achieve a growth rate challenging that of World’s leader, China.
The economy, under the leadership of Basil R and Cabraal based on MC Idiri Dekama, has grown leaps and bounds, producing an average income far exceeding that of our giant, industrialised neighbour, India.
Why do we need a loan from the IMF? After all, they are headed by officers who rape maidservants in Hotel rooms. The law in US let the guy go scot free! So much so for independence of the judiciary!
Our foreign reserves are brimming the edge of the pot; our foreign earnings spurred by our hard working dedicated mothers and daughters in the Middle East are over the hedge. Our trade with India is the highest we have had returning a positive in our favour.
We are on the right path to glory; the path paved woth gemstones of wisdom from MC Idiri Dekama. We do not need the white man’s brown money.
Mahesh,
You ought to consult with the conscience of the nation ND to get his concurrence, as does AUJ, before making these public utterances. I have nominated ND to be MR’s personal advisor. The man is a walking encyclopedia with knowledge oozing out of the geriatric. But one warning, do not criticise MR. It will be at your own peril if you do so as ND will come down on you like a sledge hammer!
The prosperity of a nation is not judged by sweet-sounding statistics or adjectives that praise. Instead, it is judged by the way things are, on the street. (ie in ordinary households).
We must look for prosperity in the kind of meals that ordinary people cook at home, how many times they eat nutritious, wholesome fruit, vegetables, cereals and meats. (ie how much is a kilo of meat compared to monthly salary)
We must look for prosperity in rural and district hospitals. Do they have modern, functioning labs, operating theatres and basic medicines?
We also look for prosperity by visiting ordinary schools in outstations. Do they have good, trained teachers who are competent? Do the schools have modern facilities and labs etc?
We look for prosperity in infrastructure development. Are the by-roads pot-hole free? Are they dusty or paved well with clean, closed drains?
We look for prosperity in happiness. Are people generally happy with their personal circumstances? Or are they looking at any which way of escaping to a land of properity on leaking boats or container holds?
Do people trust the food they eat, to be toxin free and not cancer-causing? What are the health statistics on life expectancy and hope of survival if ill with a threatening disease?
Can a university graduate get a guaranteed job after studying harder than most of his or her class-mates at secondary school? If answers are generally positive, we have a prosperous nation. Otherwise, sadly it cannot be so….
Dear Lasantha,
I agree with most of what you say, but as an emerging nation since 30 years of destruction by LTTE terrorists, it will take time to rebuild our country. At the same time, Hon President is credit worthy for seeking to unify the country, ONE NATION ONE COUNTRY, as per MC Idiri Dekma. He totally rejects, quite rightly, what the diaspora Tamils and TNA seek, a sovereign country for the so-called Tamil Nation. They are seeking to achieve it in stages/tracks, starting with demanding land, police and now fiscal rights. The list goes on and on. Not satisfied with sovereign country for so-called ‘Tamil nation’, they will ally with Tamil Nadu to conquer the whole of the SL island for themselves, and the so-called ‘Tamil nation’, with open migration policy for TN Tamil migrants. Are we foolish enough to let this happen? Enough is enough.
NO 13 PLUS FOR TNA AND THE DIASPORA TAMILS!
As for Udurawana, I suspect he is a diaspora Tamil, barking like a mad dog. He has never contributed anything sensible.