Category: Economy
Supreme Court issues interim order suspending VAT increase
July 11, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order to suspend the Value Added Tax (VAT) increase. The order was issued after considering a petition to revoke the decision filed by an attorney representing three persons including National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa, media reports said. The petition also argued […]
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July 11, 2016 (LBO) – Brexit could heighten balance of payment pressure over Sri Lanka in the event that there was severe and prolonged market volatility, Moody’s Investors Service said in a research report. Releasing a report which is one of a series on the impact of Brexit on sovereigns in different regions, Moody’s said […]
ADB assures support for Sri Lanka including capital market reforms
Jul 11, 2016 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says that Sri Lanka can aim for higher growth by boosting its private investments, connectivity and capital market reforms. “The government’s public finance management reform initiative will help maintain macroeconomic stability, which is important to the country,” Wencai Zhang, vice president, Asian Development Bank (ADB), […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves at USD5.3 billion by end June: Central Bank
July 08, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official reserves were 5.27 billion US dollars at the end of June, down from 5.64 billion US dollars end of May, latest Central Bank data showed. Foreign currency reserves were 4.25 billion dollars, and reserves in Gold were 0.94 billion dollars. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake however told Parliament […]
ADB to increase funding up to USD2bn in next three years
Jul 08, 2016 (LBO) – Asian Development Bank said it will scale up lending to Sri Lanka to 2 billion US dollars in loans and equity in 2017 through 2019, a senior official said. “ADB is re-orienting our operations internally and as a result have more capacity for lending programmes,” Wencai Zhang, Vice President (Operations […]
‘s internally displaced: cabinet
July 08, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will set up a task force for the resettlement of “Protracted Internally Displaced Persons” in the Northern Province, a cabinet statement for this week said. “IDPs were seen since the 1980s due to the conflict situation. These include Tamil as well as Sinhala and Muslim families in the […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves up after Brexit, USD6.1bn now: Ravi K
July 07, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told Parliament Thursday that the country has seen an upward movement in foreign reserves after Brexit. Finance Minister pointed out that the country now has reserves sufficient for 4 months of imports. “We can see that there is an advantage in Brexit to Sri […]
Fed delays rate hike expectations over Brexit
July 07, 2016 (LBO) – The U.S. Federal Reserve has expressed reservations about hiking interest rates again, given an uncertain economic outlook tied to the Brexit, according to minutes released of the June meeting. Fed governor Daniel Tarullo said Wednesday the central bank should wait for more convincing evidence that inflation is closer to the […]
CB Governor’s appointment for 6 year term, Dep Governor clarifies
July 06, 2016 (LBO) – Deputy Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank P Samarasiri clarifying media reports said the tenor of the new Governor is 6 years except under certain instances. Samarasiri said the Monetary Law Act does not provide for interim appointments for a Central Bank Governor, speaking during a media conference on Tuesday. […]
No urgent need to adjust Sri Lanka interest rates: CB Governor
July 06, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy says the monetary authority is closely watching interest rates, and the transmission impact of previous tightening takes 12 to 18 months. “We still haven’t seen the full effects of what has already been done,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “The slight […]
Speaker to consult Attorney General, CB Governor over bond report
July 05, 2016 (LBO) – Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has decided to consult Sri Lanka’s Attorney General and new Central Bank Governor over the course of action to take on the Auditor General’s report on Treasury bond auctions. “I’ll look forward to discuss the future course of action over the bond report with them while also […]
New Central Bank Governor says upholding institution his primary duty
July 04, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy says upholding the reputation and credibility of the institution will be his primary responsibility. He said this giving an inaugural address to the staff of the Central Bank. “The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is one of the great institutions […]