Harsha accuses govt. of being secretive about debt negotiations with international commercial creditors

By Saman Indrajith

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) is not at all satisfied with the furtive manner in which the government is conducting discussions with Sri Lanka’s commercial creditors to restructure 12 billion dollars of debt, SJB MP and Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF), Dr. Harsha de Silva said.

The SJB MP added that the country’s international commercial creditors account for a large portion of its domestic debt and they have formed a group, i.e. ‘The Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders’ that has procured the services of two powerful consulting firms.

The Group is advised by Rothschild & Co and White & Case LLP as financial and legal advisors, respectively, he said.

Sri Lanka has made some progress with bilateral creditors including China and India, he said.

“China for the first time since it started lending has agreed to accept the same conditions that the other creditors receive. This is a great victory. However, the stumbling block seems to be our dealings with the commercial creditors and I am not sure if we are doing all we can to get a speedy resolution.”

MP de Silva said that early in 2023, the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders came up with a “Macro-Linked Bond” (MLB) as a way of restructuring the debt. MLB links payouts to the evolution of Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product. They proposed the government the issuance of 10 bonds linked with the country’s macroeconomic health that will mature between 2027 and 2036, he said.

“They have proposed a 20 percent haircut and an interest rate up to 9.5 percent to be paid in cash and in kind.” But if GDP growth is lower than the bondholders expect the interest rates will drop further. The Sri Lankan government said, in October, it was not too keen on this and I don’t blame them.”

In late 2023, White & Case LLP issued a statement on behalf of the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders. In this statement they said they have repeatedly tried to engage with the Sri Lankan authorities and its advisors in good faith. They say no substantive engagement has taken place between Sri Lanka and its private creditors by December 2023, de Silva said.

“Now it’s mid- March and no one knows what is going on. We have achieved stability, but we have done so by drastically increasing poverty, significant job losses and the closure of small and medium enterprises. Moreover, Sri Lankan workers sacrificed a lot for the government to restructure domestic debt. So people have sacrificed greatly for stability and therefore they need to know what is going on. But the government is secretive and does not tell us anything that is happening with foreign debt restructuring.”

The SJB MP went on to say that Sri Lanka will be able to dispel the moniker of a bankrupt state when it is able to access international capital markets. For this Sri Lanka’s credit rating must improve.

“President Ranil Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka will shed the moniker of a bankrupt state by April. I think a lot needs to be done before we reach that stage. We are at the bottom of the ratings, and we need to at least get to where the country was before the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration.”

MP de Silva said that Sri Lanka needs to grow at double digits to escape the current stagnation and that the best way to do it is to explore how the country can benefit from the fast-growing Indian South.

“This will be the fastest growing area in the world in the coming decades. We need to see how we can link with them and benefit.”