Sri Lanka is close to securing the $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after China gave its assurances that it will support the island's debt restructuring.
According to Reuters, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka will receive final approval from the global financial agency later this month.
Sri Lanka has been waiting to secure assurances from all of its bilateral creditors to secure the $2.9 billion loan offered by the IMF.
Wickremesinghe told parliament that the Export-Import Bank of China had sent "a new letter" yesterday, and he and the central bank governor had sent a letter of intent to the IMF.
"As a result of this step and financing assurances from India and the Paris Club, we expect approval for the programme either in the third or fourth week of March," Wickremesinghe said.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with it's worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. Last year, Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46bn foreign debt, causing shortages of fuel, food and medicine.
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