INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Government of Sri Lanka says it hopes to continue discussions with the bondholders with a view to reaching common ground ahead of the
Ministry, yesterday, issued a statement announcing that the government has concluded the initial restricted discussions with nine members of
the Steering Committee of the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders regarding its international sovereign bonds (ISBs).The Steering Committee as a
whole comprises ten of the largest members of the Group, with the Group controlling approximately 50% of the aggregate outstanding amount of
Bloomberg reported the failure to arrive at a deal puts pressure on Sri Lankan authorities who need to make progress on debt restructuring
to keep funds flowing from the IMF.Further, the statement elucidated that the Steering Committee had not agreed to an extension of the
restricted discussions upon expiration of the current Restricted Period.However, issuing a statement on Wednesday (17), State Minister of
Finance Sheahn Semasinghe clarified that Sri Lankan authorities continue to engage all debt restructuring negotiations in good faith, within
standard practice when a representative group of bondholders is formed, to entertain confidential discussions with such group and its
In the case of Sri Lanka, the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders represents holders controlling more than 50% of the bonds, which make them a
negotiations, and according to market regulations, discussions with the Group and its advisors are to be conducted under non-disclosure
This evidently restricts the ability of the Government to unilaterally report about the substance of the discussions.The cleansing
statement, which was issued on the 16th of April, at the conclusion of this first round of confidential discussions with members of the
Group, aims at informing the Sri Lankan people, market participants and other stakeholders to this debt restructuring exercise, about the
It provides the highest possible level of transparency within the internationally accepted practices in such circumstances.As informed in
restructuring proposals presented by both parties
During the talks both sides successfully bridged a number of technical issues enabling important progress to be made
consultation with the IMF staff regarding assessments of the compatibility of the latest proposals with program parameters
Following these consultations, we hope to continue discussions with the bondholders with a view to reaching common ground ahead of the IMF
