Wednesday, June 22, 2022

"Sri Lanka's PM says its debt-laden economy has 'collapsed'"

Coming soon to a country near you.

From SkyNews via Yahoo, June 22:

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said the country's economy has "collapsed", leaving it unable to pay for essentials such as oil imports.

It follows months of shortages of food, fuel, and electricity, and the realisation that even the credit lines from neighbouring India that have sustained the country so far will not be enough.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Sri Lanka's parliament: "We are now facing a far more serious situation beyond the mere shortages of fuel, gas, electricity and food.

"Our economy has completely collapsed. That is the most serious issue before us today."

Mr Wickremesinghe said that the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is $700m (£572m) in debt, adding: "As a result, no country or organisation in the world is willing to provide fuel to us.

"They are even reluctant to provide fuel for cash."....

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