Category: Economy
Sri Lanka stocks close down
Mar 11, 2020 (LBO) – Following global markets, the Colombo Bourse took an expected beating Tuesday with both indices tumbling heavily during the initial ten minutes of trading. With the S&P SL20 index succumbing to a 5% drop at the initial hour, a trading halt was imposed for half an hour. Although, the initial panic […]
Women in the workforce and why it matters for Sri Lanka: World Bank
To mark this year’s International Women’s day, we’re discussing how Sri Lanka can benefit from more women joining the workforce and what can be done to improve their job prospects and remain at work. World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka Dr. Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough was featured in a “Spotlight Series” interview with […]
COVID-19 Outbreak to have significant economic impact on developing Asia: ADB
Mar 10, 2020 (LBO) – The ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will have a significant impact on developing Asian economies through numerous channels, including sharp declines in domestic demand, lower tourism and business travel, trade and production linkages, supply disruptions, and health effects, according to a new analysis by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The […]
COVID-19 outbreak likely to affect Sri Lanka’s economic performance : Central Bank
Mar 05, 2020 (LBO) – The exact impact on the Sri Lankan Economy would depend on the extent of the global spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, its persistence and policy responses of major economies and trading partners, the Central Bank said. “Sri Lanka’s economic links with China could be directly affected as significant volumes of […]
Policy interest rates of Central Bank of Sri Lanka to remain unchanged
Mar 05, 2020 (LBO) – The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 04 March 2020, 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 6.50 percent and 7.50 percent, respectively, and […]
Our people-centric economic model aims at overcoming development slowdown:President
Mar 05, 2020 (LBO) – Accelerating our economic development is the primary challenge facing Sri Lanka today and most of the security issues that Sri Lanka has faced over the years have been due to the exploitation of the economically disadvantaged, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said. The proposed people-centric model takes this factor into account, said […]
Future engagement with Sri Lanka to be decided after next review in mid-April: IMF
Feb 28, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lankan authorities have expressed interest in a range of options for future engagement with the fund, the International Monetary Fund said. Gerry Rice of the IMF Communications Department speaking at a briefing, however, said that the specifics of that engagement will be discussed after the next review in mid-April. […]
Sri Lanka decides not to go ahead with current MCC agreement
Feb 28, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers has decided not to go ahead with the current Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact (MCC) agreement. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa today handed over the interim report of the 4-member committee appointed to review the MCC agreement to the Cabinet of Ministers. At the cabinet press briefing […]
Ford Foundation partners with Lankan Angel Network to grow startup ecosystem
Feb 25, 2020 (LBO) – The Lankan Angel Network (LAN) today announced that it has signed a landmark grant agreement with the Ford Foundation to catalyze the growth of Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem. The grant of USD 300,000 is the first of its kind for the Ford Foundation in Sri Lanka and will be utilized […]
Central Bank to introduce cost-reflective benchmark interest rate instead of SLIBOR
Feb 24, 2020 (LBO) – The Monetary Board of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has decided to discontinue the compilation of SLIBOR with effect from 01 July 2020. The Central Bank will continue to publish SLIBOR based on offered rates submitted by LCBs until 30 June 2020, in order to prevent inconvenience to any participant in […]
Safer roads to add over USD1 Tn to South Asian economies
South Asia’s eastern subregion, comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, needs to invest an estimated extra $118 billion in road safety over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities, says a new World Bank report, noting that this will bring $1.2 trillion in economic benefits annually, equivalent to 3.75 percent of regional GDP. […]
Private sector keen to join mobilization of domestic investment for SDGs
For mobilizing domestic investment for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government needs to develop different schemes of blended finance, non-state budget investment financing, and collaborative financing schemes. For such a mix of investment to be attracted, ‘the ease of doing business’ in Sri Lanka needs to be improved significantly and policy consistency is an […]