China has offered “a few hundred million dollars” in lending to Sri Lanka to help alleviate a shortage of essential goods in the crisis-hit country, according to the island’s prime minister.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed Sri Lanka’s prime minister this month, said he hoped to finalise the Chinese loan as his government seeks emergency aid to keep its economy going as it negotiates an IMF bailout. He added that talks with Beijing over additional lending were at an early stage.
“It’s quite substantial. It would be a few hundred million dollars,” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “It’ll still help us get hold of essential consumer items, fertilisers . . . the ministry of finance is having discussions on some of the items.”