Category: Economy

WELLINGTON, April 24, 2014 (AFP) – New Zealand’s central bank lifted interest rates for the second time in as many months on Thursday, saying it was necessary to contain inflation as an economic recovery gains momentum.The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the official cash rate (OCR) 0.25 points to 3.0 percent in a well-flagged […]

Apr 23, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has given a 10 year tax holiday to a 220 million US dollar sugar refinery by the Hambantota port including tax free salaries for 50 expatriate staff. Lanka Sugar Refinery Company (Pvt) Ltd, will import raw sugar for refining to the local and foreign markets, a notice published […]

Apr 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been given a 102 million US dollar credit line that can be drawn immediately after a natural disaster, as well as another 110 million dollars for measures to cut disaster risk, the World Bank said. The lender said Sri Lanka is the first county in South Asia […]

Apr 22, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank held policy rates unchanged in April saying reduced central government and state enterprise borrowings has created conditions for private credit to pick up. Rice taxes have been relaxed ahead of the drought though prices are now up. Meanwhile traders have been slapped with price controls. Sri […]

Apr 22, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka-Italy Business Council, of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said it is hosting a forum on ‘post war dividends’ where Harsha de Silva, an economist and legislator will speak. De Silva, who is the key economic spokesman at Sri Lanka’s United National Party, will speak on “The Road to […]

Apr 22, 2014 (LBO) – An inspiring Sri Lankan entrepreneur who broke into a global supply chain in precision tech components for the automobile industry says innovation comes from within.“I am usually not a person that complains,” Rohan Pallewatte, head of Lanka Harness Company (Pvt) Ltd, a precision manufacturing firm that makes impact sensors for […]

Apr 16, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit could be upgraded on a steadily narrowing budget deficit and a lower external debt burden, which were weaker than similarly rated countries, Fitch Ratings has said. Among Fitch rated Asia Pacific sovereigns, Mongolia had a ‘B+’ rating with a negative outlook, Vietnam ‘B+/positive’, Philippines and Indonesia […]

Apr 13, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lankan firms are asking to employ more foreign workers to fill labour shortfalls, with over 10,000 working in the country on tourist visas, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.“Some companies come and say, allow us to bring workers from abroad, from India,” President Rajapaksa told a business forum where the annual […]

Apr 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s 500 million US dollar sovereign bond sale this week will not impact the exchange rate as the Central Bank is expected to buy the proceeds, though foreign reserves will go up, Governor Nivard Cabraal said.In order to retain the dollars permanently in the foreign reserves and not cause […]

Apr 09, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s interest rates “appropriate” to current conditions where returns particularly on deposits of senior citizens have fallen sharply, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.Sri Lanka’s inflation has fallen to around 4 percent in the past quarter and one year deposit rates in commercial banks are around 6 to 7 […]

Apr 09, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank lost 24.2 billion rupees in 2013, down from profits of 66.2 billion rupees, but the bank had transferred 25 billion rupees in profits to the state budget, its annual accounts showed.Other than interest income from its forex assets, a central bank primarily makes profits from inflation, […]

Apr 08, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is expecting 7.8 percent growth in 2014, officials said despite a drought that is hurting agriculture and requiring more credit for power subsidies, which has de-stablised the economy in the past.“The drought is worrying us to some extent,” Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. “In the agricultural side […]