Category: Economy and Markets
Cutting Tape
Cabinet spokesman Prof. G L Peiris announced that a decision to this effect was taken yesterday, allowing private operators re-enter domestic air travel. rnrnMeanwhile, in a shift of policy, the opposition members from across the floor will from now on be elected to chair the Public Enterprise Committee and the Public Accounts Committee. rnrnOpposition MP […]
Small Solace
ldblquote Both the Government and Central Bank have responded positively to our concerns about the negative effect of Debit Tax dblquote , Primary Dealers Association quote s President, Ajantha Madurapperuma told Lanka Business Online. rnrnldblquote We were told that changes are currently been drafted to exclude the repo market from Debit Tax dblquote , he […]
Helping The Little
An agreement for technical assistance for the SME sector was officially closed between the government and the ADB on March 27rn rnThe aid is being funded as a grant by the Japan Special Fund and is a component of the ADB-financed lquote Small and Medium Enterprise Sector Development Program quote loan of US$86 million.rn rnThe […]
Looking South
As part of its efforts to deepen the debt market, Ceylinco Shriram Securities Ltd opened its sixth regional office in Matara today. rn rnThe firm is targeting entrepreneurs as well as handicraftsmen based at the Hambantota export village to promote gilt-edge securities. rnrnldblquote It quote s a huge market, specially deep south, dblquote notes Hiran […]
Picking Up
The bank said the deficit in January had shrunk to US$ 131 mn from US$ 228 mn in the same month a year ago. rnPresenting its growth-oriented budget last week, the government said its expects the deficit to expand slightly for the whole of 2002, to US$ 1.25 bn from US$ 1.16 bn in 2001. […]
Squeezing Out
In a letter to the Central Bank, the Primary Dealers Association says the killer tax of 0.1 percent is threatening money market and gilt-edge securities transactions, despite the budget unveiling numerous measures to boost the financial sector. rnrnThe Association quote s President, Ajantha Madurapperuma identified the killer tax on financial transactions as ldblquote an apparent […]
New Paint — Budget Update 3
Finance Minister K N Choksy told parliament that the bonds will be issued in both rupee and US dollar denominations. rnrnDollar denominated bonds will be limited to non-resident Sri Lankans, while the local investors will be able to invest in the rupee bond with tax-exemptions on interest. rnrnChoksy estimated total government borrowing budgeted for 2002 […]
Fiscal Prudence
The numbers speaks for itself.Tax breaks, lower interest rates and massive reforms, all delivered with little fanfare.
Smart Move – Budget Update 2
The Marxist party was planning to use the privatisation programme as a strategic weapon to frustrate the government quote s reform agenda, a top government source told Lanka Business Online today. rnrnldblquote The privatisation programme is going ahead as planned, with Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and state utilities in the pipeline. We just did not […]
Thumbs Up! — Budget Update 5
ldblquote We will make our recommendations to the board within the next three days.The board will decide on the trench payment by late April dblquote , IMF Senior Representative, Dr.Nadeem Ul Haque told Lanka Business Online. rnrnThere is a possibility that the fund would combine two-tranch payments of US$ 30 mn each for the April […]
Cutting Red Tape – Budget Update1
Finance Minister K N Choksy officially said the economy contracted by 1.3 percent during 2001. rnrnHe outlined a range of measures that the government plans to streamline in its quest for revive the economy. rnA new Commissioner General is to be appointed to contain defence expenditure, which currently accounts for 20 percent of the total […]
Moving On
The reversal comes after the bank raised the reverse repo rate by 10 basis points on Thursday in line with the bank quote s new policy of making regular changes to its key discount rates, to make it more responsive to market developments. rnThe bank on Wednesday cut rates by 50 basis points, lowering the […]