The Sri Lankan Central Bank said today that it had secured a US$ 1 billion loan from China, with the first half of the loan to be released this month and the remainder to be transferred in October.
The loan is over an 8 year period at an interest of 5.25 percent following a three year grace period.
"During consultations it was clear that they [Chinese government] see us as a key strategic partner as far as the [Belt and Road] initiative is concerned, given our location," the Central Bank governor, Indrajit Coomaraswamy told reporters in Colombo.
The loans comes amid increasing international concern over Sri Lanka's mounting debt, particularly to China.
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