Sri Lankan economy expands for a second straight quarter

The expansion comes as the South Asian nation seeks to win an initial approval for the next tranche of a $3 billion IMF loan program.

Industrial production expanded 7.9% from a year ago, while services sector rose 2.8%, the data showed

Sri Lankan economy expanded for a second straight quarter as industrial activity picked up pace, buoyed by an International Monetary Fund bailout and lower interest rates.

Gross domestic product rose 4.5% in the three months to December from a year ago, the Statistics Department said Friday. That’s higher than the median forecast of 3.7% growth in a Bloomberg survey of economists, and compares with a print of 1.6% in the July-September period. For the year, the economy clocked a contraction of 2.3%.

The expansion comes as the South Asian nation seeks to win an initial approval for the next tranche of a $3 billion IMF loan program. Authorities are aiming to complete restructuring the nation’s debt by June, a key condition to keep funds from the bailout flowing. Negotiations with dollar bondholders over the terms of recast are underway.

Industrial production expanded 7.9% from a year ago, while services sector rose 2.8%, the data showed.