Category: Economy
CB Governor says 2Q growth should be higher than 2.6-pct
Sept 28, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s second quarter economic growth for this year should be higher than the published 2.6 percent, Central Bank Governor said. Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy told reporters in Colombo that he would expect it to be higher than the current figure, once it gets revised. “If you look at proxies for […]
ADB lowers Sri Lanka growth in 2016 to 5-pct from 5.3-pct
Sep 28, 2016 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered the economic growth forecast for Sri Lanka to 5.0 percent for 2016 from 5.3 percent saying growth prospects for Sri Lanka edge lower on weak industrial performance and fiscal consolidation. “ADB lowered the GDP growth rate to 5.0 percent for Sri Lanka in […]
Sri Lanka Central Bank holds key interest rates unchanged
Sept 28, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Monetary Board held key interest rates unchanged with slow second quarter growth in the economy, despite credit growth to the private sector continuing to remain high. The economy grew provisional 2.6 per cent, year-on-year, during the second quarter of 2016 compared to the growth of 7.0 per cent […]
POLL: CB to stand pat this wk, assessing impact of previous hikes
Sept 26, 2016 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is expected to keep its key interest rates steady on Wednesday, after cutting three times since December to fend off pressure on the fragile rupee currency and curb accelerating credit growth that has pushed up inflation. All 13 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll expect the central bank to keep its […]
IMF mission says delay in VAT law may postpone review
Sept 23, 2016 (LBO) – The IMF mission currently in Sri Lanka says they may have to postpone their review a bit if the proposed VAT legislation will get delayed in Parliament. The mission head Jaewoo Lee however told reporters in Colombo that it will not be necessary under the current environment. “On the submission of […]
ADB to give Sri Lanka USD24.2Mn for transport feasibility studies
Sep 23, 2016 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help Sri Lanka prepare studies and designs for new road, railway, and port projects to assure the islands transport system is ready to support economic growth in the medium term. “With 24.42 million US dollars in ADB technical assistance, the Road Development Authority will […]
‘s Financial Intel Unit signs MOU with Singapore authority
Sept 22, 2016 (LBO) – The Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (FIU) has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office of Singapore (STRO) to facilitate exchange of information on money laundering and terrorist financing. The MOU has been entered into “within the framework of each […]
Sri Lanka nationwide inflation declines to 4.5-pct in Aug 2016
Sept 21, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices as measured by National Consumer Price Index declined to 4.5 percent in August from the 5.8 percent reported a month earlier on an yearly basis, data from the state statistics office showed. In August 2016, the contribution to the inflation from food group and non-food group […]
US Pacific Command partners with Sri Lanka on oil spill management
Sept 21, 2016 (LBO) – Experts from the U.S. Pacific Command have provided training for disaster response counterparts from Sri Lanka and Maldives on responses to potential oil spills that could impact the local environment. Both civilian and military participants shared experiences from recent oil spill response efforts, with hands-on field exercises that included a […]
No liberalization of professionals under upcoming FTAs: Kelegama
Sept 20, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bilateral free trade agreements that are currently being considered have no liberalization of professionals, a senior official confirmed. Sri Lanka is currently negotiating with India to deepen the existing Indo-Lanka FTA via Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA), and is talks with China and Singapore to sign bilateral […]
New Zealand pledges to develop milk production in Sri Lanka
Sep 20,2016 (LBO) – New Zealand says that it will extend its full assistance to develop the milk production sector in Sri Lanka, the finance ministry said in a statement. “New Zealand expects to provide Sri Lanka new technology, industry expertise and certain grants to enable the island to improve its milk production,” Grahame Morton, […]
Central Bank to introduce repo transactions on electronic platform
Sept 19, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is considering introducing the repurchase and reverse repurchase transactions to the Bloomberg electronic bond trading platform. All primary dealers had joined this platform for government securities secondary market transactions starting from August, while commercial banks joined the platform from 15th September 2016. “All stakeholders have now […]