NEW DELHI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is looking for a strong budget and narrower deficit from Sri Lanka as it seeks funding to bridge the gap between government revenue and expenditure, the IMF mission chief for the country said on Friday.
But the country has struggled to increase public revenue, with the IMF projecting a 15% shortfall this year.
An improved performance for next year is necessary for Sri Lanka to get past the first review of its programme with the global lender.
Sri Lanka reached a staff level agreement with the IMF late on Thursday to release the second tranche of about $330 million but still needs approval from the IMF management and Executive Board.
Sri Lanka typically uses borrowings from state banks, taxes and government securities to fund its budget.
Persons:
Sri Lanka Peter Breuer, Breuer, Uditha Jayasinghe, Sakshi Dayal, Jacqueline Wong
Organizations:
Monetary Fund, IMF, Thomson
Locations:
DELHI, Sri Lanka, Sri, Washington . Sri Lanka