NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Formal negotiations

between Sri Lankan authorities and international private

creditors on over $12 billion in bonds are set to resume

imminently after a group of bondholders signed non-disclosure

agreements late last week, three sources told Reuters on Monday.

The resumption of the talks comes days after the

International Monetary Fund board approved a $336 million

installment of the IMF's $2.9 billion program. About $1 billion

has already been disbursed.

A representative of the bondholders did not immediately

respond to a request for comment.

Earlier, the group said its negotiating committee included

Amundi Asset Management, BlackRock ( BLK ) and its subsidiaries, Eaton

Vance Management, Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co (GMO) LLC,

HBK Capital Management, Morgan Stanley Investment Management,

Neuberger Berman, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc, and Wellington

Management.

Sri Lanka in April rejected an initial bondholder proposal,

citing some of its "baseline" assessments and a lack of a

contingency option in the case of continued economic weakness as

two main reasons for not reaching a deal.

Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more

than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending

inflation soaring to a high of 70%, its currency to record lows

and its economy contracting 7.3%.

The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilize

economic conditions.

The island nation will hold presidential elections by

mid-October.