Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s deputy central bank governor, P Nandalal Weerasinghe, tells GlobalMarkets that claims it had fallen into a Chinese debt trap are “rubbish”, pointing out that loans from the Asian giant were lower than those from some multilateral development banks

The Government of Sri Lanka has invited banks to pitch for the lead arranger role for a ¥60bn ($561m) Japanese yen-denominated international bond. The deadline for submissions is next Friday.

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka made a quick return to the dollar market on Monday, raising $2bn just a few months after sealing a larger $2.4bn offering.

SriLankan Airlines made a triumphant return to the dollar market on Thursday, pricing a $175m bond on the back of a $1bn order book.

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka sealed a $2.4bn bond after shaking off investor concerns about the country’s political turmoil and ratings downgrades.

The political upheaval in Sri Lanka since October led S&P and Fitch to downgrade the sovereign’s ratings this week, following a similar move by Moody’s in November. All three agencies have pointed to heightened refinancing risks, with a weak rupee and rising bond yields restraining the country’s access to capital markets.

Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds took a beating on Monday as the country’s political crisis worsened, putting further pressure on the sovereign’s near-term financing prospects as it faces $1.5bn of maturities in early 2019.

Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) has raised a $50m five year loan arranged by Dutch development bank FMO.

Global volatility has caused Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank to postpone its proposed subordinated dollar bond issue, it said on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka and Turkey are preparing to sell their first Panda bonds, enticed by falling funding costs in China's bond markets. But given they both have lower credit ratings than previous sovereign Panda issuers, they may face an uphill battle as regulators scrutinise their finances.

China Development Bank has dashed the hopes of bidders for a $1bn loan to the Sri Lankan sovereign, clinching the mandate on a sole basis by offering an eight year facility, writes Pan Yue.

Sri Lanka has received proposals from four different groups of banks for its latest offshore borrowing of up to $1bn.