Sri Lanka and IMF reach preliminary agreement for $2.9 billion loan

FILE PHOTO: Drivers push auto rickshaws in a line to buy petrol from a fuel station, amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

COLOMBO (Reuters) -Crisis-hit Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of about $2.9 billion, the international lender said in a statement on Thursday.

"The objectives of Sri Lanka's new Fund-supported programme are to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability," the statement said, outlining the 48-month long arrangement under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility.