gone up from 4% to a.25% which is the highest its been since the peak of the global finance crisis in late 2008. and it s a similar picture in other parts of the world withjordan, norway, the philippines, taiwan and switzerland also increasing the cost of borrowing today for similar reasons. and all of them are following the us federal reserve which increased rates by 0.25% on wednesday despite the turmoil in the banking sector there. more on our website and you can keep up more on our website and you can keep up with the latest business news live, seven days a week and 2a hours a day. more now on sri lanka as we were reporting earlier this week it secured a $3bn bailout from the international monetary fund as it faces its worst economic crisis since independence. the deal is being seen as a lifeline for the country but it comes with a set of pre conditions and concerns are mounting the plan will not help. from colombo, archana shukla reports.
sri lanka faced its worst economic crisis last year after it ran out of foreign currency reserves forcing it to restrict the import of food and fuel, triggering massive protests. now they have a lifeline in this bailout, but as our india business correspondent archana shukla reports, it comes with conditions. the biggest condition is that the government boost their revenue collection mechanism, which means the revenues for the government has to be boosted so there are enough reserves for the government to import essentials. it is an import dependent country. and for that, tough austerity measures like raising taxes, cutting subsidies on fuel and electricity are some of the immediate ones the government has already stepped ahead with. the other big condition is to get all the foreign as well as bilateral as well as private creditors to come on the same table and discuss restructuring of this massive $50 billion loan book sri lanka has on which it defaulted last year
following the receipt of the loan facility from the international monetary fund, with the improvement of the foreign exchange situation, the government is working to gradually remove import restrictions on essential goods, medicines and goods required for tourism. well it s a deal that s been nearly a year in the making as appeals to the imf were made after the former president fled the country.and as our india business correspondent, archana shukla reports, the release of funds will be based on numerous conditions by the imf. the $3 billion loan from imf will certainly not push the sri lankan economy out of the woods, but it will give a fillip to the economic activity that was stalled over the last year, first being bringing sri lanka back on the loan market. remember last year when sri lanka defaulted on its loan repayment, it was declared bankrupt and it could not raise fresh funds. but now with the imf deal, more avenues will open up
described and has seen. the sri lankan president says a loan approved by the international monetary fund means the country is no longer deemed bankrupt by the world. the country is expected to get the first $330 million tranche of the bailout in the coming days. translation: the world has accepted that - sri lanka is no longer a bankrupt country. and thus the country has the ability to begin normal transactions. following the receipt of the loan facility from the international monetary fund, with the improvement of the foreign exchange situation, the government is working to gradually remove import restrictions on essential goods, medicines and goods required for tourism. well it s a deal that s been nearly a year in the making as appeals to the imf were made after the former president fled the country. and, as our india business correspondent archana shukla reports, the release of funds will be based on numerous conditions set
since its independence. it ran out of foreign currency reserves, forcing it to restrict the import of food and fuel, triggering massive protests. and as our india business correspondent, archana shukla reports, the release of funds will be dependent on a number of conditions by the imf. the $3 billion loan from imf is certainly not pushing caught me out of the woods but it will give to the activity resort over the last year for the first bringing sri lanka back on the market. remember last year defaulting on the loan repayment? it was declared bankrupt and could not raise funds for the now what the imf at d more avenues will open up and sri lanka can go ahead and borrow russian friends from about multiple lateral organisations. sharnta dayva rahjen is a former chief economist for the world bank who s now an advisor liaising between international financial institutions and the sri lankan government. how crucial is this first tranche of money? how crucial is this first tranche of mone ?