- Crisis-ridden Sri Lanka said it was defaulting on its external debt of around $51 billion pending a bailout from the IMF.
- An estimated $8.6 billion in debt payments fall due this year and rapidly falling reserves raise questions about Sri Lanka’s ability to pay even a part of this sum.
- Sri Lanka had about $2.3 billion of foreign reserves in February. The country also faces a test of global investor confidence later this month.