(Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka, which is set to default on foreign debt and is printing money to pay local salaries, plans to sell its national airline to help ease the load.
The government will seek to privatize Sri Lankan Airlines, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesingh said in a televised address to the nation Monday.
He also called for patience, saying the economic crisis will get worse in coming months.
Sri Lanka is sliding into a default as the grace period on two unpaid foreign bonds ends on Wednesday, the latest blow to a country rattled by economic pain and social unrest. Wickremesinghe, who was appointed last week following violent clashes between government supporters and protesters who’re demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is yet to appoint a finance minister to lead bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Advertisement