Category: Economy

June 3, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should cut the budget deficit, drop popular politics and ideologies in meeting the challenge of developing the country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.“Reducing the budget deficit, investment promotion and economic development is possible after defeating terrorism,” President Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised speech at a ceremony in Colombo. […]

June 03, 2009 (LBO) – Two bilateral business councils promoting trade and investment between Sri Lanka and Canada have offered their support to revive the island’s economy with the end of the ethnic war.The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, which represents the Sri Lanka-Canada business councils, said they had written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa offering support […]

June 02, 2009 (LBO) – A controversial core inflation index of selected items in Sri Lanka was at 13.5 percent in May 2009, the central bank said, while the country’s headline index rose 3.3 percent, from 2.9 percent. Core inflation is claimed by central banks to better reflect their monetary policy actions, and drops food […]

May 30, 2009 (LBO) – The real estate arm of Sri Lanka’s Carsons Cumberbatch group said it was writing down the values of properties by 450.3 million rupees as prices slumped in the wake of tight monetary policy. “This year has been a challenging year where we saw a significant market correction on the property […]

May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer price inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo accelerated to 3.3 percent in the 12-months to May from 2.9 percent in April, with prices jumping 2.0 percent during the month, the government’s statistics office said. Sri Lanka central bank governor Nivard Cabraal has said the index could move below zero […]

May 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may expand forex trading limits of banks from next month, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said, as the country emerged from a balance of payments crisis with the monetary authority becoming net dollar buyer. “If we did not buy the rupee would appreciate further,” Cabraal said. The rupee […]

May 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is planning a central bank re-financed credit scheme for people in former war-affected areas to allow people to rebuild their lives, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. However Cabraal says re-financing would be within reserve money and inflation targets. “These people need help and society will have to […]

May 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankans working abroad send home nearly three billion dollars a year, and despite a global economic meltdown and stiff competition from regional neighbors, industry officials say they are fighting the downturn. Around 1.8 million people are estimated to be employed abroad, according to Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau data […]

BEIJING, (Asia Pulse) – China’s economic planning body released a breakdown Thursday of how the government’s 4 trillion yuan (US$586 billion) of stimulus funding was being spent. Since the stimulus package was unveiled in November, 230 billion yuan had been used as of the end of April, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said […]

May 22, 2009 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not yet scheduled a meeting of its board to pass a loan to Sri Lanka but the lender was hoping to give the loan in “the coming weeks”, an official said. “I think that’s something that we’re reviewing right now,” Kelly told reporters in […]

May 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said a cut in the country’s rating outlook by Standard & Poor’s was “outrageous, arbitrary and biased” and the county will “be compelled to review its relationship” with the rating agency. S&P cut the outlook on Sri Lanka’s speculative ‘B’ rating to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ citing […]

May 22, 2009 (LBO) – An International Monetary Fund loan to Sri Lanka is under review and the international community needs to make an assessment of the post-conflict situation in the island, US state department spokesman Ian Kelly has said. Kelly said Clinton had spoken to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon about his trip to Sri […]