Category: Economy

Dec 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run water supply agency has found about 15,000 suspected points where water is stolen in the island’s capital Colombo where 48 percent of the supplied water brings no revenue, an official said. About 30 percent of Sri Lanka’s Water Supply and Drainage Board is ‘non-revenue’ water but in […]

Dec 06, 2011 (LBO) – Standard and Poor’s has placed 15 Eurozone nations on negative credit watch indicating that they have a 50 percent chance of a downgrade. “In our view, systemic stress in the eurozone has risen in recent weeks and reached such a level that a review of all eurozone sovereign ratings is […]

Dec 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan institutions, companies and individuals who helped promote commerce, especially during the war years, are to be recognised by the ‘Global Commerce Excellence’ awards. The awards, to be held on December 13, 2011, are organised by the state-run Export Development Board and Sri Lanka Ports Authority, and the central […]

Dec 05, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka must develop research institutes and skilled manpower to exploit ocean resources being discovered around the island, a senior academic said. Oil and gas deposits are not confined only to the Mannar or Cauvery basins with new surveys indicating their presence elsewhere around the island as well, said Dhammika […]

HONG KONG, Asia in Focus (LBO) – China’s monetary easing will stay at a ‘moderate’ level, an expert said Friday, cautioning investors not to become too optimistic about the Chinese economy. The central People’s Bank of China (PBOC) surprised markets late Wednesday by announcing a 50 basis points cut in required reserve ratios, effective from […]

Dec 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Cricket, the islands’ governing board for the sport where state intervention has increased over the years, has a three billion rupee hole in its balance sheet, a parliamentary committee on state enterprises has found. A report by a committee on public enterprises (COPE) said SLC had 6. 1 […]

Dec 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is in talks with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to reclaim 500 acres from the sea next to Colombo Port for a 750 million dollar project, an official said. Sri Lanka has said five acres of land in Colombo’s Galle Face beachfront, which is near the port, will […]

De 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka built up foreign reserves as a buffer to be used during tough times, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said, as reserves came off record highs seen in August 2011. “We have thought through carefully and built up are reserves carefully in order to ensure that we are able […]

Nov 30, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan firms can diversify into new areas by acquiring international talent when local resources are in short supply, the head of an emerging diversified group said. “If you don’t have a particular expertise are you buy that expertise,” LOLC group managing director Kapila Jayawardena told a business forum in […]

Nov 30, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation rose to 4. 7 percent in November 2011 from a year earlier decelerating from 5. 1 percent in October, but prices rose 0.7 percent during the month, the state statistics office said. Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal has said that policy rates will be kept steady in […]

Nov 28, 2011 (LBO) – A unified South Asian institutional framework to handle migration issues would help improve the status of millions of expatriate workers and combat human trafficking, economists and officials said. Richard Denziger, chief of mission of IOM Sri Lanka said a regional consultative process would bring together governments and international organizations for […]

Nov 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s food processing, education and health sectors and business process outsourcing sectors are of interest to the United Arab Emirates, visiting minister of foreign trade Lubna Al Qasimi has said. Minister Bathiudeen said Sri Lanka has free and preferential trade agreements with India and Pakistan and South Asia giving […]