Category: Economy
President calls for proposals to solve problems in construction field
Apr 11, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena advised the Secretary for Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training to prepare a proposal for finding solutions to fill the shortage of workmen in construction field.The President further advised to form a special committee jointly headed by the Secretaries of Ministry of Skills Development […]
Sri Lanka targets USD2.5Bn in FDI in 2018, USD 5Bn by 2020:Fin Min
Apr 10, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is looking at attracting up to US 2.5 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2018, and to double it to US 5 billion by 2020, a statement said. In 2017 the the highest FDI inflows came from China, followed by Hong Kong, India and Singapore, the […]
Sri Lanka’s debt burden is higher than Ethiopia, Uganda & Ghana
Apr 09, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government revenue as a share of GDP is lower than many peers, while the government debt-to-GDP ratio is much higher, Moody’s Investors Service said in a statement.Debt-to-GDP ratio in Ethiopia, Uganda and Ghana among other countries is lower than Sri Lanka even though revenue-to-GDP ratio in these countries […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit expands over USD1bn in January; imports USD2bn
Apr 09, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit has expanded in January surpassing 1 billion US dollars for the second consecutive month due to significant level of imports offsetting the increase in export earnings. While earnings from merchandise exports increased, expenditure on imports also increased significantly outweighing the performance in export earnings during the […]
Fitch Ratings doubles stake in Sri Lanka unit
Apr 05, 2018 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has doubled its stake in itch Ratings Lanka Ltd. ,to approximately 89 percent through its acquisition of the equity interest of several shareholders. the Company said in a statement. “We are excited about Fitch’s commitment to Sri Lanka, one of Asia’s fastest-growing fixed-income markets,” said Maninda Wickramasinghe, Head of […]
Sri Lanka CB cuts policy rate ceiling by 25bps
Apr 04, 2018 (LB0) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has decided to reduce the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR), which is the upper bound of the policy interest rate corridor of the Central Bank, by 25 basis points, a statement said. The Monetary Board was of the view that the favourable developments in the economy […]
New IR act most progressive in SA, Will bring in extra Rs.60Bn in revenue
Apr 03, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance ministry says the government expects to earn a an additional revenue of 60 billion rupees each year through the new Inland Revenue Act (IRA). “This year, we expect the government to rake in 30 billion rupees,” S.R. Attygalle, deputy secretary of the Finance and Mass Media Ministry said. […]
Central Bank to continue exchange of altered currency notes
Mar 30, 2018 (LBO) – Central Bank has decided to continue the service of exchange of willfully mutilated, altered and defaced currency notes from CBSL until further notice.The decision has been made considering the difficulties faced by the general public in exchanging willfully defaced currency notes after 31 March, 2018.After 31 March, general public can […]
Sri Lanka records 4-pct unemployment rate in 4Q 2017
The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) Sri Lanka has released the results of the Sri Lanka labour force survey for the fourth quarter of 2017 (October, November, December).Labour Force Survey (LFS) is designed to measure the levels and trends of employment, unemployment and labour force in Sri Lanka. This survey has been conducted quarterly, […]
Thumps up from US on GSP for Sri Lanka and others
Mar 29, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will be regaining the United States Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) trade concession which expired on December 31, 2017.When President Donald Trump signs the budget bill on Friday the the US government will be re-authorizing the process. Other countries will also be benifitting from this scheme.Nearly 3,500 different products from Sri […]
President gazettes Central Bank & SEC under Finance Minister
Mar 28, 2018 (LBO) – President Maithripala Sirisena has gazetted Central Bank and SEC under Finance Minister, few days ahead of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Accordingly, Monetary Law Act and Securities and Exchange Commission Act has been classified as additional laws to be implemented by the Finance Minister. Central Bank and Securities and Exchange […]
Sri Lanka to raise USD1000mn via ETFF to finance budget expenses
Mar 27, 2018 (LBO) – Government says it intends to raise a Foreign Currency Term Financing Facility (FTFF) denominated in US Dollars or Japanese Yen or Euro or their combinations up to 1,000 million dollars or its equivalent in 2018.The FTFF is expected to be raised at a fixed rate or a floating rate, linked […]