Sri Lanka: COVID-19 Emergency and Crisis Response Facility

approved

The project will be supported by two sovereign-backed loans, one to each of two state-owned banks, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and People's Bank (PB). The project will address the urgent need for liquidity by providing credit to corporates and small and medium-sized private enterprises (SMEs). These companies are facing short-term funding challenges due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the continued provision of credit is necessary to support the productive capacity of the country.   BOC and PB will on-lend the proceeds to corporates and SMEs in the form of short-term working capital loans. Sri Lanka will be the guarantor of the loans.   This project will be processed under the AIIB's COVID-19 Recovery Facility (CRF), a framework designed to assist members in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.