By Our Special Correspondent
India has emerged as the top lender to Sri Lanka, extending USD 376.9 million worth of credit compared to USD 67.9 million by China in the first four months of this year to rescue the island nation from the unprecedented political crisis and economic turmoil.
Loans from India with USD 376.9 million were the highest foreign financing disbursements during the period of January 1 to April 30, 2022, according to Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry.
After India, Asian Development Bank (ADB) came in as the second largest lender with USD 359.6 million being disbursed in the first four months, followed by the World Bank with USD 67.3 million.
The total foreign financing disbursements made during the period amounted to USD 968.8 million, of which, USD 968.1 million was disbursed as loans while USD 0.7 million was disbursed by way of grants.
The majority of the disbursements were from the loan agreements signed with India, which is almost 39 per cent, followed by Asian Development Bank (37 per cent) and China (7 per cent), according to a report from the ministry.
The government had made arrangements to mobilize foreign financing of USD 1,550.5 million by entering into four agreements with foreign development partners and lending agencies from January 1 to April 30, 2022, to support the public investment programme.
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