Category: Economy
Farm Smart: Developing Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector in the 4IR
Manoj Thibbotuwawa and Nimesha Dissanayaka Rapid population growth has put tremendous pressure on the world’s agricultural systems to provide safe and nutritious food to all. Unfortunately, productivity growth has been hampered by land and water resources degradation and climate change. The economic and social costs of such disruptive drivers imply that the food systems need […]
Sri Lanka FIU to obtain direct access to INTERPOL information system
Oct 18, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) entered into an agreement with INTERPOL National Central Bureau for Sri Lanka (NCB Colombo) recently to obtain direct access to the INTERPOL Information System. Money laundering and terrorist financing are internationally connected financial crimes that could threaten the stability of domestic as well as […]
Sri Lanka to set up Public Debt Management Bureau under Finance Ministry
Oct 17, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet nod has been received to establish a Public Debt Management Bureau under the Finance Ministry with the aim of entrusting the public debt management to a single entity. Accordingly, a five-member Public Debt Management Committee chaired by the Secretary to the Treasury will be appointed to draft […]
Opinion: Cigarette smuggling in Sri Lanka, Hype vs. Reality
By Harini Weerasekera In the run up to elections, Sri Lanka is once again witnessing various news activities highlighting how the government is losing revenue due to increased consumption of illicit cigarettes and beedi. However, the wider government policy on tobacco control is aimed to reduce smoking rates and the related direct and indirect costs […]
LankaPay, JCB International announce commercial roll-out of National card scheme
Oct 16, 2019 (LBO) – LankaClear (Pvt) Limited, the operator of LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s National payment network, together with JCB International Co., Ltd. , the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., announced the commercial roll-out of National Card Scheme (NCS) programme of Sri Lanka, after successfully completing the pilot stage since the announcement of […]
Growth in SA slows down, Sri Lanka growth to soften to 2.7-pct in 2019: World Bank
Oct 14, 2019 (LBO) – Economic growth in Sri Lanka is expected to soften to 2.7 percent in 2019, says the World Bank in its twice-a-year regional economic update. Supported by recovering investment and exports, as the security challenges and political uncertainty of last year dissipate, Sri Lanka’s growth is , however, projected to reach […]
Sri Lanka official reserves at USD7.6bn by Sept; YTD rupee appreciation 1.3-pct
Oct 11, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves were 7.6 billion US dollars by end September, down from 8.5 billion US dollars in August, latest Central Bank data showed. Gross official reserves in September provide an import cover of 4.5 months. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan rupee remains appreciated against the US dollar by […]
Sri Lanka CB maintains policy rates unchanged
Oct 11, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Monetary Board has 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 7.00 percent and 8.00 percent, respectively. The Board arrived at this decision following a careful analysis of current and expected […]
Sri Lanka unemployment up in Q2 2019
Oct 09, 2019 (LBO) – T h e n u m b e r o f unemployed persons in Sri Lanka is estimated as 420,231 or 4.9 percent during the second quarter 2019, a new report shows. Data from the state statistics office shows that this is a rise of 0.4 percent from the same […]
Sri Lankan bank lending rate cap may not support loan growth : Fitch
Oct 07, 2019 (LBO) – The lending rate cap recently imposed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on rupee-denominated loans extended by Sri Lankan banks may not improve loan growth in the short term, Fitch Ratings says. To the extent banks cannot price for risk in order to make hurdle rates of return, […]
Mangala calls Mahinda to a public debate on debt status
Oct 04, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera called on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to enter into a public debate on the true status of the national debt. Samaraweera addressing media on Thursday assured the island’s economy is now stable because of sound fiscal policies introduced over the past few years by […]
First Capital anticipates Sri Lanka ASPI to reach 6,000 by Dec 2019 & 6,500 by Jun 2020
Oct 04, 2019 (LBO) – First Capital Research expects the equity market to adopt an upward trajectory over the next 12 months as they expect the ASPI to reach the next stage of the market cycle “Hope” stage and the Optimism stage. With the expected uptrend, the research firm targets ASPI to reach 6,000 by […]