Category: Economy
With foreign debt servicing of USD4 bil, cabinet approves sovereign bond
Feb 16, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister says the island’s total domestic and foreign debt service payments for 2017 is estimated to be around 1,480 billion rupees. In a cabinet memorandum Karunanayake said total foreign debt service payments including foreign currency denominated debt amounts to 609.4 billion rupees (4.04 billion dollars) in 2017. […]
Sri Lanka senior citizens’ deposits up to Rs1.5Mn to get higher interest
Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry said that it will increase the upper limit up to 1.5 million rupees for 15 percent special interest paid on fixed deposits maintained by senior citizens. Director General of Department of Development Finance said the treasury will pay 18,000 million rupees to cover the difference during the […]
More public-private collaboration needed during humanitarian crises: WEF
Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) – Public-private collaboration in the humanitarian space is being discussed, as highlighted at the recently concluded World Economic Forum, with options mapped out for greater “digital humanitarianism. ” The humanitarian programme of the World Economic Forum, at the Annual Meeting 2017 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland last month, provided a platform to discuss […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves drop by USD568mn in January
Feb 13, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official reserves dropped 567. 5 million US dollars to 5.45 billion dollars in January, down from 6.01 billion dollars at the end of December, official Central Bank data showed. Foreign currency reserves were 4.52 billion US dollars and reserves in Gold were 0.86 billion US dollars. The Central […]
IMF worried about elections in Europe, populist candidates
Feb 13, 2017 (LBO) – International Monetary Fund’s chief Christine Lagarde says elections in several countries in Europe, in the context of support for populist parties, is a cause for concern. Germany, France and the Netherlands will hold elections in coming months which may raise questions about the future of the European Union. “I am […]
Fitch affirms Sri Lanka at B+; outlook revised to stable
Feb 09, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign- and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘B+’ and revised the Outlook to Stable from Negative. The Country Ceiling and issue ratings on Sri Lanka’s senior unsecured foreign- and local-currency bonds are also affirmed at ‘B+’. The Short-Term Foreign- and […]
Sri Lanka COPE reveals Rs110bn loss from 15 public institutions
Feb 08, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises today presented its third interim report to the Parliament. The interim report which covers the activities from 01 May 2016 to 31 August 2016 is based on the inquiries carried out in 15 state-owned institutions. COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti presenting the report before […]
‘s external situation manageable, but more FDI needed: Governor
Feb 08, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s external debt situation is manageable. However, the current challenge is to increase inflows from exports and FDI, Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said on Wednesday. “The external debt situation, in our view, is manageable. Sri Lanka has never defaulted on a payment. But the challenge for the country […]
Government of Finland keen to invest in Sri Lanka
The Ambassador of Finland to Sri Lanka Rauli Suikkanen says that he would call leading entrepreneurs of his country to commence investment in Sri Lanka. Ambassador Suikkanen announced this when he met Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Ministry for Finance yesterday (February 6). Finish Ambassador Rauli Suikkanen further said that there is a confidence […]
ADB to introduce new partnership strategy with Sri Lanka
Feb 06, 2017 (LBO) – Asian Development Bank is working on a new country partnership strategy with Sri Lanka’s government to address dynamic challenges with sustainable, inclusive and environmentally friendly solutions, an official said. During an event to mark 50 years of Sri Lanka’s partnership with ADB, director general of South Asia Regional Department of […]
Sri Lanka’s Right to Information Act comes into force
Feb 03, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Right to Information (RTI) Act comes into effect today bringing with it a promise of open government, citizens’ active participation in governance, and accountability to the people of the country. The Ministry of Mass Media and Parliamentary Reform said that it has been laying the groundwork of RTI, […]
Several Sri Lankan sectors can attract smart capital: Stax
Jan 31, 2017 (LBO) – The next three to five years will be a window of opportunity in which Sri Lankan companies in healthcare, hospitality, education, and export industries can attract smart capital, a consulting firm that advises leading private equity (PE) funds worldwide said. “With the right positioning and evidence of high growth, such […]