Category: Economy and Markets
IFC to loan USD 15Mn to Senkadagala Finance
Mar 23, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Senkadagala Finance will get loan of up to US15 million dollars from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a statement said.“The signed agreement with IFC for the loan would be in Sri Lankan rupees,” the Finace Company said in a stock exchange filing, Thursday.The loan would focus on lending to […]
Opinion: Economic reforms in Sri Lanka: Salvation or a recipe for inaction?
By Kithmina Hewage & Harini Weerasekera Economic reforms have become an urgent need for Sri Lanka, with successive governments since independence, resorting to short-term, politically expedient economic strategies that have placed considerable macroeconomic pressures whilst reducing Sri Lanka’s global competitiveness. Vision 2025, the current government’s short and medium-term policy direction, is aimed atsteeringthe economy towards […]
Sri Lanka inflation down to 3.2-pct in Feb 2018
Mar 22, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) slowed to 3.2 percent in February 2018 from 5.4 percent in January, on a year-on-year basis, official data shows. The reported inflation for the month of February 2018 was mainly due to comparatively higher price levels prevailed in February2017 and decline in food prices […]
Government to borrow up to USD300mn from banks in 1Q 2018
Mar 21, 2018 (LBO) – Cabinet approval has been granted on Tuesday to obtain up to a maximum of 300 million US Dollars from banks. Accordingly, Government will borrow up to 300 million US Dollars from Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank and other registered foreign banks in Sri Lanka.“Since it is advantageous to Release Sri […]
Orion City and Dialog partner to build High Density Data Centre
Mar 21, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata Group announced a joint venture partnership with Orion City to build and manage the island’s first ever High-Density Data Centre at the Orion City IT Park in Colombo. The proposed centre will be established through Digital Realty (Pvt) Ltd, a company jointly held by Dialog Broadband Network […]
Sri Lanka economy grew 3.1-pct in 2017: Statistics Dept.
Mar 20, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office says economic growth rate for the year 2017 has been estimated as 3.1 percent. Agriculture, Industry, Services and Taxes less subsidies on products have contributed their share to the GDP at current price by 7.7 percent, 27.2 percent, 55.8 percent and 9.3 percent respectively for the […]
Data is the lifeblood of decision-making
Mar 20, 2018 (LBO) – Data is the lifeblood of decision-making, without which policy makers are unable to make informed, effective and evidence-based decisions that lead to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). “For a country such as Sri Lanka, with established digital infrastructure, and 20.4 million people, gathering data should be more cohesive, and […]
Business mission from New Zealand to arrive in April
Mar 20, 2018 (LBO) – A group of 20 delegates representing 13 innovative New Zealand companies will arrive in Colombo on 2nd April for a 3-day visit to continue forging business and trade links with Sri Lanka. The delegation, led by New Zealand Trade Commissioner for Sri Lanka, Ralph Hays, builds on the momentum of […]
Dialog invests Rs262.5mn for new Data Centre JV in Sri Lanka
Mar 20, 2018 (LBO) – Dialog Broadband Networks, a fully owned subsidiary of Dialog Axiata has entered into a joint venture with St. Anthony’s Property Developers to establish, operate and manage a Data Centre in Sri Lanka. As per the shareholders agreement signed between both parties on 16 March 2018, Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Limited […]
Sri Lanka must enhance fiscal income to offset narrowing external drains: Fin Min
Mar 19, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance minister says the island must optimize utilizing local resources with a well-managed and efficient tax system as a pro-growth catalyst. My contention is that the new Inland Revenue Act will bring a paradigm shift to taxation in this country that is in line with our policy of […]
Sri Lanka official reserves rebound to USD7.9bn in February
Mar 16, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves have improved to 7,914.33 million US dollars by the end of February from 7,672.75 million dollars in January, official Central Bank data showed. Reserves improved to 7,952.58 million dollars by the end of last year but reduced in January. Foreign currency reserves were 6,894.42 million […]
‘s Koggala EPZ earns USD122 Mn in 2017
Mar 14, 2018 (LBO) – The Board of Investment’s (BoI) Koggala Export Processing Zone (KgEPZ) contributed US 122 million dollars worth of exports earnings in 2017, emerging as a major economic centre in the South and an important contributor to the economy. The working population in the zone currently stands at 14,070 of which 80 percent […]