Sri Lanka’s government has set aside $500 million for maturing bond repayment, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said on Jan. 5, a move that some economists believe is a mistake given the country’s foreign currency shortage to pay for imports. Cabraal announced on Twitter that $500 million has been allocated for an international sovereign bond maturing on Jan. 18, but some economists opposed the move, urging the government to instead restructure its debt. Sri Lanka is reported to have to make about $4.5 billion in debt repayments in 2022, starting with a $500 million international sovereign bond repayment on Jan. 18. Shanta Devarajan, Sri Lanka’s former World Bank chief economist, opined that repaying maturing bonds now will only exacerbate the country’s “uncoordinated default” and will do nothing to alleviate the country’s “unsustainable” debt, Daily FT reported. “Sri Lanka is facing an acute shortage of foreign exchange—people queue in long …