Sri Lanka Bondholders Announce Formation of Group

NEW YORK, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 30 institutional holders of the 11 outstanding series of international bonds (the "Bonds") issued by the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ("Sri Lanka") have organized a bondholder group (the "Group") to represent the interests of international investors in the expected restructuring of Sri Lanka's debt.

The Group is prepared to engage constructively and collaboratively with the Sri Lankan authorities and other important domestic and international stakeholders as part of a comprehensive debt restructuring process aimed at securing an outcome that is both equitable to creditors and responsive to the economic and social challenges facing Sri Lanka.

The Group is broadly representative of Sri Lanka's bondholder base, both by type of institution and by geography, and holds Bonds across each outstanding series.  The aggregate outstanding Bonds, totalling US$12.6 billion, constitute approximately 50% of Sri Lanka's total foreign currency denominated central government debt.

A steering committee of the Group has been established which comprises funds and accounts managed or advised by a variety of institutions based in the US, Europe and Asia, including, among others, Amundi Asset Management, BlackRock and its subsidiaries, Eaton Vance Management, Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC, HBK Capital Management, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Neuberger Berman, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and Wellington Management. 

The Group welcomes the authorities' ongoing engagement with the International Monetary Fund (the "IMF"), and encourages the authorities to formulate and implement a package of meaningful reforms and fiscal adjustments to restore the conditions for sustainable and inclusive growth and support the long term prosperity of Sri Lanka.

The Group is ready to interact swiftly with the authorities and the IMF to help achieve a timely resolution of Sri Lanka's debt related challenges.   To this end the Group expects that the forthcoming process will be conducted in a manner consistent with the G20-endorsed Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring, which emphasise transparency, good faith negotiations and fair treatment among creditor classes.

The Group has retained White & Case LLC and Rothschild & Co as legal and financial advisors respectively for this process.

Holders of Sri Lanka's international Bonds who wish to learn more about the Group and its objectives are encouraged to reach out to srilan.bondholders@rothschildandco.com and/or WCSriLankaBondholderGroup@whitecase.com