عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Kuwait’s Development Fund: Sri Lanka’s Debt is ‘Sovereign,’ Can’t Be Canceled

Kuwait’s Development Fund: Sri Lanka’s Debt is ‘Sovereign,’ Can’t Be Canceled
TT
TT

Kuwait’s Development Fund: Sri Lanka’s Debt is ‘Sovereign,’ Can’t Be Canceled

Kuwait’s Development Fund: Sri Lanka’s Debt is ‘Sovereign,’ Can’t Be Canceled

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) affirmed on Wednesday that the debts other countries owe it are “sovereign.”

It referred to Sri Lanka’s announcement of defaulting on its $51 billion external debt.

The Fund is one of the entities that lend to the Sri Lankan government, which has defaulted on five of the 16 loans the KFAED has provided.

It announced on Twitter giving Sri Lanka 16 loans with a total value of about 87 million Kuwaiti dinars to finance projects in various sectors.

“Sri Lanka has so far withdrawn about 68 million Kuwaiti dinars ($285 million), of which about 39 million Kuwaiti dinars ($127.8 million) were repaid. That is equivalent to 57% of the total withdrawn amount,” it explained in a tweet.

According to the KFAED, in case the state announces a default in payment, the loan agreements concluded with the borrower (the state) ensure the Fund’s rights are preserved, given that sovereign debts cannot be canceled.

Sri Lanka announced a default on its $51 billion foreign debt Tuesday as the island nation grapples with its worst economic crisis in memory and escalating protests demanding the government’s resignation.

Acute food and fuel shortages, as well as long daily electricity blackouts, have brought widespread suffering to the country’s 22 million people in the most painful downturn since independence in 1948.

The government has struggled to service foreign loans, and Tuesday’s decision comes ahead of negotiations for an International Monetary Fund bailout aimed at preventing a more catastrophic hard default that would see Sri Lanka completely repudiate its debts.

“We have lost the ability to repay foreign debt,” Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told reporters in Colombo.

“This is a pre-emptive negotiated default. We have announced (it) to the creditors.”

Just under half of Sri Lanka’s debt is market borrowings through international sovereign bonds.

China is Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral lender and owns about 10 percent of the island’s foreign debt, followed by Japan and India.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

US Coast Guard Says Hurricane May Shut Oil Ports

Vehicles are carried by ferry across Aransas Pass as Hurricane Beryl moves closer to the Texas coast, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP)
Vehicles are carried by ferry across Aransas Pass as Hurricane Beryl moves closer to the Texas coast, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP)
TT
TT

US Coast Guard Says Hurricane May Shut Oil Ports

Vehicles are carried by ferry across Aransas Pass as Hurricane Beryl moves closer to the Texas coast, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP)
Vehicles are carried by ferry across Aransas Pass as Hurricane Beryl moves closer to the Texas coast, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP)

The US Coast Guard warned of possible Texas port closures from Corpus Christi to Houston and began restricting vessel traffic because of Tropical Storm Beryl, which is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall by Monday morning at Port Lavaca.

Port closures could bring to a temporary halt shipments of crude oil to refineries and motor fuels from those plants.

Port condition "Yankee" was set by the Coast Guard captain of the port of Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon, restricting vessel movement in ports from Matagorda Bay, 101 miles (163 km) southwest of Houston, to the US-Mexico border.

Citgo Petroleum Corp was cutting production at its 165,000 barrel-per-day Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery on Saturday ahead of the approach of Beryl to the Texas coast.

Citgo plans to keep the Corpus Christi refinery running at minimum production as the storm moves up the coast toward a projected landfall at Port Lavaca, a pipeline hub.

Oil producer Shell Plc completed the evacuation of workers from its Perdido production platform in the US-regulated Gulf of Mexico ahead of the approach of the storm, the company said on Friday night.

Production on Perdido was shut prior to the evacuations. Shell said it also evacuated workers from the Whale platform, which is due to start production later this year.

Gibson Energy, which operates a large oil terminal in Corpus Christi, said operations were continuing, but it would take further steps depending on the forecast.

The storm was moving on Saturday with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph (95 kmh), the National Hurricane Center said.

The latest forecasts would put Corpus Christi on the dry side of the storm where the lowest winds and least rain could be expected. But Beryl could bring gale-force winds to the port, which is why the Coast Guard restricts traffic or shuts the port.

Most of the northern Gulf's offshore oil and gas production is east of Beryl's forecast track.

US Gulf of Mexico offshore production of about 1.8 million barrels per day accounts for about 14% of total US crude output, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Any impact on supplies could push up prices of US oil and offshore crude grades.

Oil major Chevron Corp, among the biggest US offshore producers, said on Friday that production from its operated assets remained normal. But it evacuated nonessential personnel from some of its Gulf of Mexico facilities.

Murphy Oil Corp said it has not shut in production or evacuated personnel, and continues to monitor the storm.