World Bank to approve US$700 Mn for Sri Lanka next week

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has confirmed that the World Bank will likely approve a total of US$700 million in budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka. The approval is expected to be discussed at the next board meeting of the World Bank on June 28.

 

 

According to Reuters, an unnamed source has stated that out of the proposed funding, US$500 million will be allocated for budgetary support, likely to be disbursed in two tranches of US$250 million each. The first tranche is expected to be released immediately after board approval, with the second tranche potentially disbursed in October, as the World Bank monitors Sri Lanka's debt restructuring and the first review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, scheduled for September.

 

 

The remaining US$200 million will be designated for programs to assist the country's poor, whose numbers have doubled to 25% of the population due to the severe economic crisis that began last year. The World Bank source mentioned that households registered for support would be ranked, and the lowest 2 million homes would be eligible for assistance.

 

 

In addition to the World Bank funding, Sri Lanka expects additional financial assistance of up to US$4 billion from the IMF, the Asian Development Bank, and other multilateral agencies, following the approval of a nearly US$3 billion bailout package by the IMF in March.