Moody’s downgrades Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Moody’s on Monday downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit rating by two notches, saying the South Asian nation would be hard-pressed to secure funding to service its huge foreign debt.

Sri Lanka was pushed down from “B2” (high credit risk) to “Caa1” (very high credit risk), as the coronavirus pandemic compounded its economic woes, Moody’s said in a statement.

“Moody’s expects government liquidity and external risks to intensify, as the government’s external debt service payments amount to approximately $4 billion (annually) between 2020 and 2025,” it said.