Category: Economy

Mar 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves were 6. 6 billion US dollars by end January 2011, the same level as in December, the Central Bank said, as trade and economic activity expanded. The central bank said the reserves were equal to 5.9 months of imports of the past 12 months of 1,108 […]

Mar 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is preparing new laws to speed up investment approvals with existing tax breaks by the investment promotion agency being abolished, a minister said. The war ended nearly two years ago enabling the government to end tax concessions that had caused heavy revenue losses. “We have brought a […]

Mar 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is comfortable with current interest rates, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said despite a spike in consumer prices to a two year high and an outflow of foreign reserves. Sri Lanka has some of the highest policy rates in the world at 7. 00 percent to drain excess […]

Mar 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s fledgling coast guard took delivery of a patrol craft built by the navy that will help combat poaching and human smuggling and better protect economic resources, officials said. The 14.5-metre fibre-glass boat was built by the navy largely for shallow water patrolling, making use of facilities that built […]

Mar 01, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said it is more than doubling bunker storage facilities in Colombo port to cater to an increasing number of ship fuel suppliers. Sales volumes have increased in recent months and the number of bunker supply license holders had increased to 11 from eight in […]

Mar 01, 2011 (LBO) – Riston Group, a big Sri Lankan tea exporter to Russia, plans to expand production there with a new factory and also penetrate other markets, company officials said. The firm intends to set up a factory with a floor area of 150,000 square feet this year, which will help to cut […]

VALLETTA, February 28, 2011 (AFP) – The UN refugee agency said a “humanitarian emergency” was underway as thousands fled Libya over the weekend in a mass exodus of foreigners from the strife-torn country by air, land and sea. The agency said almost 100,000 migrant workers, mostly from Egypt and Tunisia, had fled Libya in the […]

Feb 28, 2011 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo accelerated to 7.8 percent in the 12-months to February from a year earlier, up from 6. 9 percent in January the government’s statistics office said. Prices rose 1.2 percent in the month of February alone continuing a trend seen in September. In September […]

Feb 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s World Bank office will accelerate its current programs start working on a new loan plan that will involve larger projects in fewer sectors at more market based rates, an official said. Elements of the current program dates back from before the end of a 30-year war in 2009. […]

Feb 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is among Asian nations struggling with capital inflows driven by excessive money printed in advanced nations, raising the risks of high inflation and asset booms, a senior International Monetary Fund official said. “Sri Lanka is one country that has faced a surge in capital flows,” IMF deputy managing […]

Feb 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka joined the chorus of developing nations voicing concerns about the negative effects of Federal Reserve’s latest money printing exercise known as ‘quantity easing’ at an Asian monetary forum newly backed by China. Ultra loose US monetary policy has flooded developing countries that are pegged to the US dollar […]

Feb 24, 2011 (LBO) – The World Bank has urged Sri Lanka bring laws to encourage good food processing practices and control trans fats content in food in the fight against rising non-communicable diseases (NCD) like heart attacks. “The ministry of industries (might have to get involved) in decisions about taxes on high sugar products […]