Category: Economy and Markets
Central Bank imposes 100-pct cash margin deposit requirement for non-essential goods imports
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank has decided to impose a 100 percent cash margin deposit requirement against the importation of selected goods of non-essential/non-urgent nature made under Letters of Credit and Documents against Acceptance terms with Licensed Commercial Banks and National Savings Bank, with immediate effect. The decision to impose the cash margin […]
Sri Lankan import restrictions at odds with WTO rules hurt welfare of citizens: Economists
A panel of eminent economists urged that the Government take credible and decisive action to carry out immediate trade reforms. Advocata’s Academic Chair Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, emphasised that “Countries that have grown very fast, especially in east asia have understood the importance of trade reform”. Further adding that the first step of such a reform […]
Government must take meaningful steps without compromising international friendship: Eran
With the corona epidemic and mismanagement of the economy, the country is now facing a Trinity of crises which cannot be cured by this government due to its intrinsic nature of mismanagement said Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Eran Wickramaratne. Addressing a press conference held at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo today, the Member of […]
CA Sri Lanka unveils Board Leadership Masterclass for corporate directors & executives
The Business School of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) together with the Institute of Directors of Luxembourg launched a ground-breaking 21st Century Board Leadership Model Masterclass for the first time in the country. An exclusive training programme aimed at developing skills and strategy of future ready board members, […]
Sri Lanka needs new water and sanitation policies to unlock investment barriers
Comprehensive policies will improve community access, increase focus on sanitation and investment A new policy could tackle urbanisation challenges for inclusive and sustainable water and sanitation management It can also open new investment approaches to bridge the large financing gaps as the country prepares to rise above the impact of COVID-19 Meeting Sri Lanka’s rapidly […]
Sri Lanka calls for Request for Proposals for Foreign Currency Term Financing Facility
The Government of Sri Lanka intends to raise Foreign Currency Term Financing Facility (FCTF) denominated in United State Dollars (USD), Euro, Chinese Renminbi (RMB) and Japanese Yen (Yen) in 2021. The FCTF is expected to be raised at a fixed rate or a floating rate with a maturity period of 1 year or more.The proceeds […]
Sri Lanka receives USD 787Mn SDR from IMF & USD 150Mn swap from Bangladesh: CBSL
Central Bank on Tuesday officially announced that Sri Lanka received its share of the global SDR allocation by the IMF and the initial disbursements under the bilateral currency swap arrangement between the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Bangladesh Bank. The SDR allocation received by Sri Lanka was equivalent to US dollars 787 million […]
Headline inflation increased to 6-pct in August 2021
Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index, increased to 6.0 percent in August 2021 from 5.7 percent in July 2021 driven by monthly increases of prices of items in both Food and Non-food categories. Subsequently, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 11.5 percent in August 2021 from 11.0 percent […]
Colombo Stock Exchange requests root cause analysis from System Provider
The Colombo Stock Exchange has requested a root cause analysis from the System provider Iron One Technologies Pvt Limited regarding a disruption to the order management system provided to four Stockbroker firms during trading yesterday (30), which resulted in trading difficulties to clients of these firms. System providers are an integral element of a technologically […]
Emergency regulations on essential food supply declared
As per the powers vested in terms of section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance, President has declared emergency regulations formulated as per section 5 on essential food supply, with effect from midnight yesterday, by enforcing directives under section ii of the Ordinance. The authorized officers will be able to take steps to provide essential […]
JAT Receives CIDA Accreditation, Enjoys LKR 1 Bn in Confirmed Specialized Interior Projects
JAT Holdings PLC, the market leader for wood coatings in Sri Lanka, was recently accredited with the coveted CIDA SP 01 Certification. The Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) is the national body responsible for working towards enhancing the competence and reliability of Sri Lanka’s construction industry and bringing it on par with global standards. The […]
Opinion: Avoiding IMF won’t help us avoid austerity
Naqiya Shiraz and Rehana Thowfeek Sri Lanka’s debt problems are a topic of national conversation. Foreign reserves, already low at USD 4bn in May 2021 fell to USD 2.8bn after the most recent bond repayment of USD 1bn in July 2021 . The Government claims that the timely repayment of the bond is proof that doomsayers […]