Category: Commodity
Ceylon Petroleum losses rise despite falling oil prices
May 04, 2016 (LBO) – State-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) made a substantial loss of 18.4 billion rupee in 2015 compared with a marginal profit of 1.5 billion rupees in 2014, despite international oil prices falling sharply, according to provisional data released by the Central Bank. A significant reduction of domestic petroleum prices at the […]
VAT goes up to 15 pct, threshold reduced: Finance Ministry
May 03, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Value Added Tax (VAT) will be revised up to 15 percent from 11 percent from May 2nd, with pharmaceuticals and education sectors being exempt, the Finance Ministry said. The Wholesale and Retail trade will be eligible for this taxation, although several items are exempted. The threshold for VAT […]
No reason to keep exporter’s money abroad: Central Banker
Apr 28, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters do not have a clear reason to keep their money abroad as the Central Bank has already removed restrictions on foreign currency withdrawals from foreign currency accounts, a senior official said. Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Nandalal Weerasinghe speaking at an event said the exporters will […]
Oil hits 6-month high, speculation on OPEC-Russia deal
Apr 28, 2016 (LBO) – Oil prices hit six month highs before dipping slightly on mixed reports about inventories. Brent Crude hit a high of 47.05 dollars, but is currently down 0.55 percent at 46.92 dollars per barrel. Oil has risen in recent weeks from market optimism that OPEC and Russia will freeze production at […]
Sri Lanka exporters protest gazette on repatriation of funds
Apr 25, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters have begun to protest after the Finance Ministry issued a gazette notification requiring the repatriation of funds from exports that are retained abroad. “As part of current policy measures taken to improve the foreign exchange inflows to the country, the Hon. Minister of Finance has issued the […]
Sri Lanka tea sees better demand for high grown small leafs
Apr 20, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea at auction offerings saw good demand all round with better demand for high grown small leaf teas, Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers said in their latest report. “Consequent to the smaller volume on offer coupled with the absence of an auction last week on account of Sinhala/ Tamil […]
SEC to engage listed companies on Minimum Public Float
Apr 04, 2016 (LBO) – The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) with the participation of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will conduct a forum to discuss the rules imposed on maintaining a Minimum Public Float. The forum will be held on the 6th of April 2016 at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. “Minimum Public […]
Brent oil up 5.5 pct, iron ore up 19 pct as commodities rally
Mar 08, 2016 (LBO) – Oil rose to a two-month high, up 5.5 percent, on a technical rally which is being closely watched by markets, as iron ore jumped 19 percent, and Gold rose to its highest in a year. Brent crude rose 5.5 percent to 40.8 dollars per barrel, as analysts said a break […]
Sri Lanka exports, imports declines; trade gap widens in December 2015
Mar 04, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell 18.7 percent to 817.5 million US dollars in December 2015 from a year earlier while imports fell at a slower 8.5 percent to 1,644.7 million US dollars, official data showed. The trade gap widens 4.4 percent to 827.3 million US dollars from a year earlier. On […]
Interview: Controlled tea liberalization possible, says Tea Board Chief
Jan 18, 2016 (LBO) – Better marketing and branding of Sri Lankan teas overseas, together with the potential for liberalising the industry, were just some of the issues discussed with Rohan Pethiyagoda, the newly inducted Chairman of the Sri Lankan Tea Board, in an interview with the Oxford Business Group. Tea export volumes out of […]
Global equities off to poor start, Brent crude at 11-year low
Jan 07, 2016 (LBO) – Global equity markets are off to their worst start since 2000, with a weaker Chinease yuan sparking concerns about the global economy, as Brent crude fell to a 11-year low of 34.23 dollars a barrel. The MSCI All-Country World Index ended the first three days of 2016 down by 3.3 […]
Sri Lanka’s tea exports continue decline
Dce 08, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea exports continued to decline in September 2015 severely affected by lower demand from main tea buyers in Russia and the Middle East reflecting declines in both export volume and export prices. Tea exports recorded a drop of 20.4 percent in September this year compared to the corresponding […]