News
IMF demands sale of assets
View(s):Urgent moves to avert economic crisis; Lagarde here next Sunday
Crucial discussions are under way with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on measures needed to stave off an economic crisis — the result of issues arising from servicing foreign and local debts. The move comes ahead of an impending visit to Sri Lanka by Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF. The French lawyer and one-time politician is due to arrive in Colombo next Sunday (March 5).
One of the contentious areas where the discussions have centred around is the sale of what the IMF describes as “non-strategic” assets. This is said to include the Colombo Hilton, Lanka Hospitals, the Hyatt Hotel now under construction and the Water’s Edge. The latter, however, cannot be divested from government control in view of a pending court case which has stalled its expansion programme.
President Maithripala Sirisena has declared that he is strongly opposed to the sale of any state enterprises that are now making profits. Moreover, it was last week that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa formed a new organisation called “The National Assets Protection Centre” to protect state assets and prevent them from being sold.
On Tuesday, President Sirisena chaired a meeting of the apex review body of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM). An IMF report was tabled at the meeting. Officials estimate that US$ 1.5 billion could be raised by the sale of “non-strategic” assets.