He said the agreements that have been entered with creditors in-principle need to be converted into real agreements before the second review.

The IMF team is scheduled to visit Colombo March-April next year and is expected to finish the second review by June.

Sri Lanka has entered into in-principle dead restructuring deals with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) led by France, China and India and also with Exim Bank of China.

However, Sri Lanka is yet to strike a deal with its commercial creditors or the bondholders. An initial proposal involving restructuring debt linked to GDP growth by the bondholders was rejected by the Sri Lankan authorities.

DN