Sri Lanka has Rs. Asked for a loan of Rs 3 crore

(PTI) Colombo, Ta. 13

Sri Lanka has sought a loan of કરોડ 500 million (Rs 3 crore) from India to buy crude oil. Sri Lanka's demand for the loan comes after a statement from its energy minister Uday Gammanpila, who warned that the country's fuel availability could be guaranteed by January next year.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), Sri Lanka's state-owned oil company, is already indebted to the country's two leading state-owned banks, Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank, to about 4.5 billion.

CPC imports crude oil from West Asia and refined products from countries including Singapore. "We are currently in talks with the High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka to secure a સુવિધા 500 million loan facility under the Indo-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership," local media quoted CPC chairman Sumit Vijay Singh as saying.

He said the loan amount would be used to purchase petrol and diesel. It may be mentioned that due to the rise in crude oil prices in the international market, Sri Lanka has to spend more on buying crude oil this year. In the first seven months of this year, the country's oil bill rose 21.5 per cent to બે 2 billion compared to last year.