Category: Economy

Mar 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is dealing with fresh challenges as a middle income country in education, the health sector while coping with a rapidly ageing population, after the end of a war, the World Bank has said. World Bank said it was ready to help the country with knowledge resources. Sri Lanka […]

Mar 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign direct investments will pick up with planned projects in ports and hotels valued at 500 million dollars each, finance ministry secretary P B Jayasundera said. He said a concession agreement has been signed in the Colombo port for a new terminal that will need 500 million US […]

Mar 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Master Divers (Pvt) Ltd, the parent of Pelwatte Sugar Industries said it had sold down 2.66 million shares at prices ranging from 37.10 to 40.10 rupees. By December 2010, Master Divers had 81.74 percent of Pelwatte Sugar and Master Divers chairman Ariyaseela Wickramanyake had a 3.24 percent stake. […]

Mar 24, 2011 (LBO) – Four areas of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo run by local government bodies will be brought under a new state entity whose head will be appointed by the island’s president, the government’s information office said. Areas coming under Colombo Municipal Council, Dehiwela-Mt Lavinia Municipal Council, Sri-Jayawardenapura- Kotte Municipal Council, Kolonnawa Urban […]

Mar 21, 2011 (LBO) – The commissioning of a coal power plant this week can reduce oil imports to Sri Lanka while also helping strengthen the finances of Ceylon Electricity Board, the state power utility. “That will reduce total oil bill,” Cabraal said. Oil is an important intermediate good for economic activity, fueling both transport […]

SINGAPORE, March 21, 2011 (AFP) – The massive quake and tsunami of March 11 could cost Japan’s economy up to $235 billion, or 4.0 percent of output, but reconstruction will spur recovery later this year, the World Bank said Monday. “If history is any guide, real GDP growth will be negatively affected through mid-2011,” the […]

Mar 20, 2011 (LBO) – Several years of accumulated ‘off-budget’ energy subsidies have now come home to roost in the Sri Lanka’s national debt, laying bare a tangled web of state energy price manipulation and budgeting. Sri Lanka’s Treasury, the agency that collects taxes from the people and also issues debt against future taxes collectable […]

Mar 17, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy may not be much affected by the devastation in Japan in the short term but a global fallout may impact commodity prices and capital flows, analysts and officials said. “The direct impact of the Japanese natural disaster on the Sri Lanka economy should be small,” Heraymila Securities […]

Mar 17, 2011 (LBO) – New visa rules will allow investors and entrepreneurs who invest large sums of money or create jobs and “exceptionally talented migrants” to settle permanently in the UK faster, a statement said. The move is an effort to lure the wealthy and brainy from other countries like India to help the […]

Mar 17, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government plans to allocate more funds to a campaign to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by 2016, a statement said. “The funds will be used to train duty bearers, raise awareness and promote behavioural change amongst communities vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour.” […]

Mar 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rising inflation and negative real rates have stumped markets with bond liquidity vanishing, quotes widening and forward dollar premiums doubling amid uncertainty and lack of direction, dealers said. The weighted average prime lending rate has also started to move up slightly to 9.25 percent in the week ending […]

Mar 14, 2011 (LBO) – Land prices in Sri Lanka are set to rise with interest rates seen “benign” this year and remittances from migrant workers who send money back to build homes staying strong, the central bank said. “When the asset prices fall, financial markets, investors and financial institutions are adversely affected and such […]