Sri Lanka in talks with IMF for bailout package

Colombo, August 30

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a bailout package has reached the final stage as he presented an interim budget in Parliament, aimed at boosting revenue and providing relief to people hit hard by the island nation’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister of the cash-strapped country, told Parliament that the interim budget would lay the foundation for changing the economic design which existed in the country so far.

It introduced tax reforms pertaining to Income Tax, VAT, Telecommunication Levy and Betting and Gaming Levy. He said VAT would be increased from current 12% to 15% with effect from September 1. An IMF team is in Lanka to discuss the bailout programme, which could be the antidote for the country’s current economic travails.— PTI

Un will ensure food security

Discussions on debt restructuring will be held with the main countries that provide loan assistance to our country. The UN is launching a programme to ensure food security. — Ranil Wickremesinghe, President, Sri Lanka