Category: Economy
First Capital downgrades exchange rate target to 161 rupees for end 2018
July 11, 2018 (LBO) – First Capital Research said they downgraded their exchange rate target from 159 rupees to 161 rupees per dollar for end 2018 since a stronger dollar is more likely in the coming months. With four fed rate hikes on the cards over next 12 months, First Capital Research said they are […]
Sri Lanka President, Fin Min agree to go ahead with fuel price formula, Prices hiked
Jul 10, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President and Finance Minister following meeting earlier Tuesday decided to revise its fuel prices according to an earlier cabinet approved pricing formula. Accordingly the price of one litre of Petrol (Octane 92) will be increased by 8 rupees to 145 rupees, Petrol (Octane 95) will be increased by 7 rupees to […]
Simplifying exporter registration process is critical for export success: Study
July 10, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s current exporter registration process is unnecessarily lengthy, inefficient and unduly burdensome especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), a recent study has found.According to the main findings of a study conducted by Verité Research shows that many of these unnecessary steps cannot be justified on a rational basis. […]
Sri Lanka needs to politically, financially revitalize and empower local governments: PM
Jul 10, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister said that the island needs to reconsider the structure of it’s local governments as concepts such as mega-cities and global connectivity come into play. “The biggest issue in the management of mega-cities is that they involve many levels of Government and Local Authorities,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said. […]
‘s govt gets USD 50Mn loan from OPEC fund for international development
Jul 09, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government signed a loan agreement for obtaining financial assistance of US 50 million dollars from OPEC fund for International Development (OFID) for implementation of technological education development programme Under current portfolio, OFID provides financing for road and irrigation sectors. The lines and working pattern of our workforce is bound […]
‘s women entrepreneurs finance initiative
Jul 09, 2018 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank has signed an grant agreement of US 9.5 million dollars for the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We – Fi) to support the ongoing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Financial inclusion for SMEs is important to realize the development objectives of the Government such as promoting exports, […]
Sri Lanka gross official reserves improve to USD 9.2 bn by end June
July 06, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserve position is estimated to have improved to around 9.2 billion US dollars by end June 2018, compared to 8.0 billion dollars at end 2017. The reserves include international sovereign bond issued in April, the receipt of the fifth tranche from the IMF, receipts from the […]
Central Bank maintains policy interest rates at current levels
July 06, 2018 (LBO) – Monetary Board of the Central Bank, at its meeting held on 05 July 2018, has decided to maintain policy interest rates at their current levels.Accordingly, the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) remain at 7.25 per cent and 8.50 per cent, respectively. The Board’s decision is […]
Perpetual Treasuries suspension of business extended by 6 months
July 05, 2018 (LBO) – Monetary Board of the Central Bank acting in terms of the regulations made under the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance and the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance, has decided to extend the suspension of Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL). Accordingly, PTL will be further suspended from carrying on the business and activities of […]
Sri Lanka continues upward trend in tourist arrivals: June up 19.0-pct
Jul 05, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals was up 19.0 percent to 146,828 in June 2018 from an year ago driven by the islands two largest source markets India and China, official data shows. Almost 98 percent of tourists travelled by air to Sri Lanka. As at 31st June 2018, 1,164,647 tourists had visited Sri Lanka […]
No backward calculation to obtain GDP with pre-decided deflators: Stats Office
July 03, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office rejecting the recent claims on the GDP estimates said it is almost impossible to carry out backward calculations to obtain GDP with pre-decided GDP deflators. Releasing a statement, Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) said it is also not an internationally accepted practice of estimating national […]
Sri Lanka private sector to facilitate skills supply in tourism sector with launch of TSC
Jul 02, 2018 (LBO) – The Private Sector Tourism Skills Committee (TSC) launched Tourism Workforce Competitiveness Road-map in collaboration with the private tourism industry to take on the challenge of demonstrating to Sri Lanka’s young women and men that a career in the fast-growing tourism and hospitality industry can be safe, stimulating, well-compensated and full […]