Sri Lanka foreign financiers headed by India up to April 2012

July 02, 2012 (LBO) – India has committed 740. 8 million US dollars out of 1,015 million US dollars of foreign financing to Sri Lanka in the first four months of 2012, including 275. 1 million US dollars as an outright grant, official data shows. The massive grant, which is unusual in Sri Lanka’s recent […]

‘s legal hard liquor production down

July 02, 2012 (LBO) – Legal hard liquor production has fallen 2. 6 percent in the first five months of 2012, from a year earlier, but soft liquor (mainly beer) had risen 12.5 percent the finance ministry said in a report. Sri Lanka had seen a surge in beer sales partly due to stronger tourism […]

Sri Lanka to pave more roads with bank credit

June 29, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will rebuild 332.77 kilometres of roads using domestic contractors with loans taken from commercial banks in the same way more than 600 kilometres of roads were paved earlier, a minister said. Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said the total cost of the project was not specified as yet, but the […]

‘s inflation accelerates to 9.3-pct in June

June 29, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 9. 3 percent in June 2012 from a year earlier, accelerating to a three and a half year high, from 7. 0 percent in May, data from the state statistics office showed. The statistics office said Sri Lanka’s Colombo Consumer Price Index rose 1. 9 […]

Sri Lanka population lower than estimated, but growing: Census Dept

June 27, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first countrywide census conducted after the end of a 30-year war shows the population is 20.277 million, the statistics office said, which is lower than earlier estimates. Earlier estimates put mid-year population in 2011 at 20.869 million with an annual growth rate of 1.0 percent. The census conducted […]

‘s North population shrinks, East expands

June 27, 2012 (LBO) – Population in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna area has shrunk during a 30-year civil war but parts of the former war zone which was not fully under control of separatists had seen above average growth, new census data shows. The first census conducted in the area since 1981, has shown that […]

Sri Lanka Distilleries Corp, transfers assets

June 25, 2012 (LBO) – Distilleries Corporation of Sri Lanka, has transferred stakes in a hotel and two plantations to a wholly owned subsidiary in a move that will consolidate non-alcohol businesses in a separate unit. Distilleries Company said it had transferred 54.06 million shares or a 41.7 percent stake in Browns Beach Hotel, to […]

Sri Lanka economic forum to probe ease of doing business

June 26, 2012 (LBO) – An annual economic forum next month organized by Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will have a session focusing on the ease of doing business in the island. The Sri Lanka Economic Summit will be held in Colombo from July 10 to 12, held for the 13th successive year will […]

UN running low of funds humanitarian work in northern Sri Lanka

June 26, 2012 (LBO) – The United Nations is experiencing a funding shortfall to meet urgent humanitarian relief work across Sri Lanka’s conflict-hit north, with money running low for solid waste, shelter and water. Basic services to Menik Farm are reaching critical levels with the majority of providers approaching the end of their funding in […]

Sri Lanka budget off track in first quarter 2012

June 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s budget has gone off track in the first quarter of 2012, with current spending far outpacing tax revenues, leaving a yawning revenue deficit for the three months that is bigger than the gap for the whole of last year. Current spending by Sri Lanka’s rulers rose 24.2 percent […]

Sri Lanka energy sector eyed by US firms: envoy

June 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s energy sector is a key area of interest for US companies scouting for investment opportunities after the end of a three decades war, US ambassador to Colombo Patricia Butenis said. “We’ve seen a lot of interest from American energy companies interested in help building oil refineries and developing […]

Sri Lanka missing the bus again?

June 25, 2012 (LBO) – If Sri Lanka is to achieve transformative, inclusive growth, it needs to have 7 percent plus growth for several consecutive years. It is well recognized by knowledgeable people, including key decision makers within government, that this would require around one billion dollars in new investment every year. This quantum cannot […]

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