Category: Economy

Nov 01, 2011 (LBO) – A secretly written expropriation law which has not yet been presented to parliament has come under fire from a lawmaker and an ex-chamber chief for undermining freedom of citizens and future investment prospects. The proposed bill, which was reportedly written by a private law firm, seeks to vest in the […]

Nov 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is aiming to reach 70 in an ease of doing business ranking compiled by the World Bank next year from 89 in 2012, and 30 in 2014 by cutting red tape and transforming the way the state interact with businesses, officials said. “If we do not change, others […]

PARIS, October 31, 2011 (AFP) – Leaders of the world’s biggest economies meet in Cannes this week as Europe tries to convince markets and US critics that its debt bail-out package is serious and urges China to fund it. “I think the result will be welcomed with relief by the whole world, which expected strong […]

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo slowed to 5.1 percent in October 2011, from 6. 4 percent in September, the third straight monthly slowdown, the state statistics office said. The Colombo Consumer Price Index slid 0. 1 percent to 151.5 points in October, from 151.7 in September. The 12-month […]

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – A team of Vietnamese businessmen who visited Sri Lanka recently as part of a state visit by Truong Tan Sang, president of Vietnam, was reported to be keen on investing in the island. During the visit the Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held […]

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – A former head of Sri Lanka’s largest business chamber, Chandra Jayaratne, has warned that a proposed expropriation law will harm the island’s image as a safe investment destination. The proposed bill, which was reportedly written by a private law firm, seeks to vest in the state ‘underperforming enterprises and underutilized […]

Oct 28, 2011 (LBO) – Japan has given financial aid to support efforts to help ex-combatants and other affected people in Sri Lanka’s former northern war zone to resume their livelihoods. The Japanese government gave 122 million yen (about 1.5 million US dollars) to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for “reintegration and reconciliation” efforts […]

Oct 28, 2011 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank said its program for Sri Lanka from 2012 will focus on public private partnerships in infrastructure, boosting human resources and lagging regional including former war zones. “ADB will also provide nonsovereign loans to reforming state-owned enterprises to expose them to alternate sources of finance. Private investments […]

PERTH, October 27, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday accused Western nations of doing “too little, too late” to address economic problems, adding that Asia was key to global stability. “At present, many advanced nations suffer from high unemployment which has resulted in the first signs of political and social unrest being […]

SHANGHAI, October 27, 2011 (AFP) – Hundreds of angry home buyers launched a series of protests in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai this week, as owners decried falling prices for their properties, state media said Thursday. Hit by weak demand and lack of funding, developers have slashed prices for some new projects in the city […]

Oct 25, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is to take over a high rise hotel and apartment tower whose construction was stalled after its parent firm got into financial trouble. The takeover is to be effected under a new law that is being put through the judicial and parliamentary approvals process that provides […]

Oct 23, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has gifted 250 metric tonnes of rice to Somalia as domestic production increased, economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa said. This year no rice has been imported to the country, Rajapaksa told an ‘investor’s day’ in Colombo Saturday. “Our paddy stores are now full,” Rajapasksa said. “We have three […]