Category: Economy
Central Bank of Sri Lanka maintains policy interest rates
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 05 October 2022, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels of 14.50 per cent and 15.50 per cent, respectively. In arriving at this […]
How a country in economic turmoil is still ripe for investors
For businesses in the field of large-scale manufacturing, a critical factor that determines their future and success is a key decision made at their very inception- the location. More often than not, businesses in these fields which start operations in their respective nations look into expanding into international markets to set up base, to further […]
Transitioning from hawkish to dovish; 75-pct probability for policy rates to remain unchanged: FCR
First Capital Research (FCR) believe that CBSL may consider maintaining the monetary policy rates at its current levels in the upcoming policy review meeting allowing a soft landing from its hawkish to dovish stance. However, given the necessity to provide monetary stimulus to prevent further weakening of the economy and the notable improvement in majority […]
Keerthi Gunawardane takes over as new President of FCCISL
At the 47th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce & Industry Sri Lanka. (FCCISL) Keerthi Gunawardane was elected as the President to take over the reins from first lady president of Shirley Jayawardane. FCCISL was set up in 1973, FCCISL is the largest and most representative apex business organization of Sri […]
EU releases Euro 1.5 million to respond to growing humanitarian needs in Sri Lanka
The EU has released €1.5 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the ongoing socio-economic crisis affecting millions of people in Sri Lanka. The new EU funding will mainly focus on multipurpose cash interventions to respond to the basic needs of the population, among which food, health, education and protection. Humanitarian assistance will target the […]
Earnings from exports increased by 10-pct to USD 1.2Bn in August
Earnings from the merchandise exports increased by 10.24 % y-o-y to US$ 1,213.7 Mn in August 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles. The EDB Chairman & CE, Suresh D. de Mel, congratulates the exporters for […]
NCPI based headline inflation at 70.2-pct in August 2022
Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index increased to 70.2% in August 2022 from 66.7% in July 2022. This increase in Y-o-Y inflation was mainly driven by the monthly increases of both Food and Non-Food categories. Accordingly, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 84.6% in August 2022 from 82.5% […]
Sri Lanka can learn from Hyderabad to strategize its economic turnaround: Hilmy Cader
According to MTI Consulting, Sri Lanka is facing a ‘Perfect Storm’, a concurrence of multiple socio-economic challenges that has dealt an unprecedented blow to the country. “This is also a great opportunity to dismantle incremental legacy strategies. Instead, go ‘Ground Zero’ and approach it as building an entirely new economic model,” said Hilmy Cader, CEO […]
USAID signs new five-year agreement with Sri Lanka
Building on the USAID Administrator Samantha Powers’s recent visit, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung announced today that the United States, through USAID, will provide an additional estimated $65 million (more than 23 billion Sri Lankan rupees) in assistance to Sri Lanka over a five-year period. The assistance falls under the Development Objectives Assistance […]
USD 203Mn from ADB & JFPR for Food Security & Livelihood Recovery Emergency Assistance Project
The Government of Sri Lanka is planning to borrow USD 200 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance the implementation of Food Security and Livelihood Recovery Emergency Assistance Project which is expected to ensure access to food and protect livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable, especially women and children. The loan of USD […]
Multiple crises halt progress as 9 out of 10 countries fall backwards in human development, Report
The world is lurching from crisis to crisis, trapped in a cycle of firefighting and unable to tackle the roots of the troubles that confront us. Without a sharp change of course, we may be heading towards even more deprivations and injustices, warns the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The latest Human Development Report, “Uncertain […]
Exporters urge product testing laboratories to pull up their socks
Sri Lanka’s leading food and organic product exporters urged the nation’s premier product testing laboratories to enhance their levels of efficiency and effectiveness to enable them to provide a superior service to their overseas customers. These sentiments were aired at a meeting organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) on 30th August, 2022, […]