Category: Economy
Sri Lanka remittances contract in 2015: Frontier Research
Jan 26, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has experienced a contraction in inward remittances after several years amidst falling oil prices and slower hiring in the Gulf nations, a top research firm said. 2015 remittance inflows have contracted 0.5 percent against the previous year, Frontier Research said. In 2014 remittances grew around 9.5 percent, which […]
Ceylon Chamber launches National Agenda Committees
Jan 26, 2016 (LBO) – The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is launching a set of thought-leadership groups called National Agenda Committees (NACs) to put forward innovative solutions for key national economic challenges. The NACs will be multi-stakeholder groups functioning under the chamber, a statement said. “The Sri Lankan economy is at an important inflection point […]
Interview: Listing of Sri Lanka non-strategic investments may take a year, says Eran
Jan 25, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is putting in place processes to list some of its non-strategic investments on the Colombo Stock Exchange, although this may not take place immediately, Eran Wickramaratne, deputy minister of Public Enterprise Development, told Lanka Business Online. “Within a year that’s possible. But whatever we are doing, we […]
PM holds meetings with Branson, other investors
Jan 24, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and government officials met several business leaders and heads of state on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Richard Branson of the Virgin group, Cyrus Mistry, chairman of the Tata Group, Kevin Sneader of McKinsey and Company and Jean-Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft […]
Korea EXIM Bank opens representative office in Sri Lanka
Jan 22, 2015 (LBO) – The Export-Import Bank of Korea, an official export credit agency of the Republic of Korea, announced Friday the opening of their representative office in Colombo. This new presence comes in response to increased bilateral ties between the governments of Korea and Sri Lanka, in trade, foreign direct investment, development assistance, […]
Sri Lanka has perverse link between trade and budget deficit: Nishan de Mel
Jan 22, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic policy is governed by political pressures which is evident in the perverse link between the trade deficit and the budget deficit, a top economist observed. Nishan de Mel of Verité Research says the inconsistency in government policies is the key underlying problem contributing to this issue. Trade […]
Sri Lanka inflation NCPI at 4.2-pct in December 2015
Jan 21, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 4.2 percent in the 12-months to December 2015 from a year earlier, data from the state statistics office showed. In November 2015, the index which is termed as National Consumer Price Index reported 4.8 percent inflation. Year on year inflation of Food Group has been […]
Central Bank negotiating with IMF for SBA: Amunugama-Updated
Jan 21, 2015 (LBO) – The Central Bank is negotiating with the IMF for a one billion dollar stand-by arrangement, Special Assignments Minister Sarath Amunugama said at an SLFP media briefing, according to a media report. Amunugama said discussions were ongoing and the first tranche of the SBA could come in by late February or […]
China eyes more investment opportunities in Sri Lanka: PM (VIDEO)
Jan 21, 2016 (LBO) – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Switzerland that Sri Lanka is expecting more investments from the China apart from the ongoing infrastructure projects. “Infrastructure alone is not sufficient and we are discussing bringing more Chinese investments,” Wickremesinghe said at a press conference held during the World Economic Forum in progress in […]
Sri Lanka should look at IMF package seriously: Kelegama
Jan 21, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should look at the IMF package very seriously as the temporary measures would not fix the fundamental issues of the economy, an economist said. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies told a forum that the country needs to bring down the over heated economy […]
Growth in developing economies forecast at 4.3-pct for 2016: IMF
Jan 20, 2016 (LBO) – Growth in emerging market are projected to increase from four percent in 2015 to 4.3 and 4.7 percent in 2016 and 2017, respectively, the latest International Monetary Fund’s global forecast says. “Growth in China is expected to slow to 6.3 percent in 2016 and 6.0 percent in 2017, primarily reflecting […]
Interview: Attractive returns on Sri Lanka bonds due to volatility
Jan 20, 2016 (LBO) – Out of emerging markets, Sri Lanka bonds offer well above average returns through trading opportunities due to strong volatility, a market participant said. Data shows rupee treasury bonds posting more than 25 turning points last year, a clear sign of volatility in the secondary market. Swings of between 25 to […]