Why was the 30th of June declared a bank holiday?

Sri Lankan authorities have declared a five-day closure of financial markets from Thursday ahead of move to restructure the government's domestic debt amounting to more than $51 billion.

Central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said authorities had ordered that Friday will be a holiday, on top of existing religious holidays on Thursday and Monday and the weekend.

He told local television networks that it would be unhealthy for markets to remain open while the debt restructuring was being discussed in parliament.

Weerasinghe said deposits of individuals would not be affected, but the government plan is to restructure treasury bills and bonds held by commercial banks and pension funds.

The government is still in talks with its foreign creditors to restructure external debt, a key condition to continue with the four-year $2.9 billion IMF rescue package.