Category: Economy

Mar. 04 (LBO) – Punters in Sri Lanka’s stock markets have not yet priced in the full benefits of the re-started peace talks between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels, a peace advocate has said. The benchmark All Share Price Index, dipped 29 percent from November 16 till January 18 this year, when a […]

Mar 04 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will put the clock back by half an hour and revert to its original time after a 10 year experiment that failed to save energy through marginal day light saving, state radio announced Saturday. President Mahinda Rajapakse ordered that Sri Lanka reverts to its original standard time which was […]

Mar. 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Thursday signed up for Rs. 19.4 billion loans from Japan to develop three key infrastructure projects, the finance ministry said. The concessionary finance package will be split between the Galle port development project (Rs. 13.75 billion), pro-poor eastern infrastructure development project (Rs. 3.95 billion) and the tourism resources improvement […]

Illiteracy, no jobs and high risk behaviour among South Asia’s young people could affect the region’s progress and development, the World Bank says. About 20 percent of South Asia’s population is between 15 and 24, 30 percent are illiterate and they account for half of the unemployed in the region. The World Bank is meeting […]

Feb. 18 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s annual inflation rate for February slipped to 10.3 percent from 11.1 percent in January, despite high costs of firewood, electricity and milk tea, the Census & Statistics Department said Tuesday. The government uses the 12-month moving average – as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) – to […]

Illiteracy, no jobs and high risk behaviour among South Asia’s young people could affect the region’s progress and development, the World Bank says. About 20 percent of South Asia’s population is between 15 and 24, 30 percent are illiterate and they account for half of the unemployed in the region. The World Bank is meeting […]

Feb. 18 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s annual inflation rate for February slipped to 10.3 percent from 11.1 percent in January, despite high costs of firewood, electricity and milk tea, the Census & Statistics Department said Tuesday. The government uses the 12-month moving average – as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) – to […]

Feb. 26 (LBO) – The government will abide by the agreements reached with the LTTE in Geneva, despite the original ceasefire agreement being illegal, members of the delegation who held talks with the Tamil Tigers told reporters in Colombo Sunday.Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the government would ensure that the activities of all armed […]

Jan 15 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tax payers are too afraid of retaliation by tax collectors to complain about mistreatment. Sri Lanka appointed a tax ombudsman in September 2005 to mediate between the Department of Inland Revenue and the island’s small number of tax payers, as a way of easing strained relations. However the tax […]

Feb. 14 (LBO) – Despite just over two decades of public sector reforms, 17 government entities continue to hemorrhage, draining Rs. 70 billion each year from state coffers, Treasury Secretary said Tuesday. Mega Plans   Sri Lanka is pushing ahead with mega projects in three key districts next month with full state patronage, Treasury Secretary […]

Feb. 10 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit widened by 12 percent to US$ 2.5 billion for the year ended 2005, though foreign remittances helped strengthen the island’s balance of payments, the Central Bank said Friday. The country’s trade balance reported a US$ 502 million surplus as at end 2005, helped by a 26 percent […]

Feb. 10 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit widened by 12 percent to US$ 2.5 billion for the year ended 2005, though foreign remittances helped strengthen the island’s balance of payments, the Central Bank said Friday. The country’s trade balance reported a US$ 502 million surplus as at end 2005, helped by a 26 percent […]