Global Debt Burden

The weaker dollar has worked as a buffer across developing economies, limiting the impact in emerging markets of the spike in volatility triggered by US President Donald Trump's trade war

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday countered the Opposition's criticism of the cash-strapped country's external debt restructuring agreement with major bilateral creditors and promised to table all agreements and documents regarding debt restructuring to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny. The planned two-day debate in Parliament on the deal was, however, postponed as Opposition members protested the lack of transparency regarding the agreements reached. Dismissing the Opposition's criticism as inaccurate, Wickremesinghe argued, No bilateral creditor would agree to a reduction of principal amount. Instead, concessions are allowed through extended repayment periods, grace periods and lower interest rates. The president, who also holds the portfolio as the finance minister, said the agreements with bilateral creditors include extending principal repayments until 2028, maintaining interest rates below 2.1 per cent, and extending the full debt resettlement grace period

A total of 54 developing countries spend more than 10 per cent of their revenues on interest payments, up from 29 in 2010

Debt in emerging markets grew to a record of more than $105 trillion - having more than doubled over the past decade according to IIF data

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is exploring the options for domestic debt restructuring in the post-IMF bailout scenario to further stabilise its shaken economy, an official statement said on Friday. Sri Lanka received USD 330 million this month as the first tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme, which will pave the way for the debt-ridden country to achieve better "fiscal discipline" and "improved governance. In a statement issued by the Sri Lankan government after making an investor presentation on Thursday, the Governor of the Central Bank and the Secretary to the Treasury said the Authorities are also exploring options for a domestic debt optimisation (DDO) operation aimed at liquidity relief while preserving financial stability to avoid further eroding of Sri Lanka's repayment capacity. The statement outlined that despite the ambitious fiscal consolidation efforts, Sri Lanka's public debt trajectory is set to remain unsustainable in the absence of ...

Colombo awards licences to three foreign firms, including a Chinese one, to operate in retail fuel market

Sri Lanka was the first nation to stop paying its foreign bondholders this year, burdened by unwieldy food and fuel costs that stoked protests and political chaos

Navi Finserv debt bond got listed on Friday following 1.65 times subscription of the base issue of Rs 300 crore, the company said. The issue which closed on June 2, eight days ahead of schedule, received total bids worth Rs 495.72 crore which was about 65 per cent higher than the base issue. The fintech firm's secured, rated, listed and redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) had a total value of Rs 600 crore, including the greenshoe option of Rs 300 crore. The maximum bid for the Navi Finserv (NFS) issue came from Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) followed by HNIs (High Net-worth Individuals) and retail investors. "It's great to see the response to our maiden public NCD issuance from both retail and institutional investors. Our goal was to diversify our borrowing profile, and with more than 5,000 retail and HNI investors participating in the issue, the market has shown its confidence in our company's strong fundamentals and robust business model," NFS chairman and CEO Sach

Global debt today stands at $281 trillion

G-7, emerging economies face biggest refinancings in a decade

Large emerging market sovereigns will have higher debt burdens for the next few years, says ratings agency.

The amount, which is also more than three times the world's annual economic output, has been driven by a $7.5 trillion surge in the first half of the year that shows no signs of slowing

That is up from the previous record of $164 trillion in 2016, according to IMF figures

The IMF said countries should take decisive action to rebuild their fiscal buffers so they can increase spending during hard times