Sri Lanka has paid back US$ 50 million to Bangladesh out of the US$ 200 million loan given by Dhaka under a currency swap mechanism in 2021, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Confirming the deposition of the first installment by the Sri Lankan authorities, Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson and executive director Mezbaul Haque said the Bank received the installment on August 17.
He also informed that the amount has bumped up the country’s forex reserves.Haque said the Bank is expecting a second installment within this month but declined to comment on what the amount of the second installment will be. Central Bank Governer Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe earlier said that they will pay the entire due by end of this year.
Bangladesh provided a loan of US$200 million from its foreign reserve to Sri Lanka, helping the reeling South Asian economy recover from an economic shock in September 2021.
The term of the one-year loan expired in September last year. Then the term was extended twice in three months till March this year.