Sri Lanka has paid off $50 million more to Bangladesh as the final installment of a $200 million loan taken under a currency swap agreement two years ago, foreign media reported.
Citing a senior Bangladesh Bank official, The Daily Star said the Sri Lankan Government has also paid $4.5 million as interest on the loan amount on Thursday (21).
Sri Lanka repaid $100 million on 2 September and $50 million more on 17 August.
The island nation paid back the loan as its embattled economy is heading towards recovery from its worst economic crisis just a year ago. Its inflation rocketed to 69.8% in September last year.
In July, however, inflation stood at 6.3%.
On the other hand, Bangladesh is facing a foreign exchange crisis after its reserve dropped sharply in the past one and a half years owing to higher import bills compared to lower-than-expected remittance and export earnings.
The gross forex reserve came down to $21.45 billion on Thursday in line with the International Monetary Fund’s calculation formula, Bangladesh Bank data showed.
(Agencies)