Sri Lanka is expecting loans of up to USD 5 billion next year from multilateral agencies besides a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on Wednesday (14).

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, the Foreign Minister said that the government could raise up to USD 3 billion through the restructuring of state assets.

“Apart from what we get from the IMF, we are looking at all others, the multilaterals put together another USD 4 – USD 5 billion …,” Ali Sabry said in an interview on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

He further said, “the president is interested in restructuring some of the (state) institutions, so through that if we can raise USD 2 – USD 3 billion, our treasury and reserves become strengthened.”

Struggling with its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, Sri Lanka reached an IMF staff-level agreement in September for a loan of $2.9 billion, which could be approved for disbursal next year.