Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka bills yields edge lower
May 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill yields edged down 02 to 05 basis points as the government sold 12.9 billion rupees worth of securities, including a roll-over of 10 billion rupees. The government sold 3.1 billion rupees of 3-month bills, 4.1 billion rupees of 6-month bills, and 5.6 billion rupees of 12-month […]
Sri Lanka central bank “deeply distressed”‘s IMF remarks
May 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it was “deeply distressed” over doubts raised by Britain’s foreign minister about the use of money from an expected International Monetary Fund loan. IMF money goes into the balance sheet of the central bank, which is a separate entity from the finance ministry. Through the […]
Sri Lanka working on alternatives to IMF money: CB Governor
May 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is working on a back-up plan with other countries to boost foreign reserves in addition to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said.“All of us must have a plan A, plan B, plan C and plan D if possible and we are working […]
Sri Lankan youth in former war zone get US training
May 14, 2009 (LBO) – The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it is providing training scholarships to 500 young people from Sri Lanka’s north and east which is recovering from decades of war.The scholarships are given through the agency’s Unlimited Potential Partnership program (UPP) which currently provides workforce training programs in three key […]
Sri Lanka central bank sees room for rate cuts
May 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said there was more room to cut rates and hinted that the monetary authority may return to a single signal policy rate.So far this year the monetary authority has cut its de facto main signal rate, the penal reverse repo rate, from […]
Sri Lankan stocks down, rupee weakens
May 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares weakened Wednesday, as retail investors took defensive positions, while the rupee lost ground against the dollar on fears an International Monetary Fund bailout might get delayed, brokers and dealers said. The rupee opened at 117.50/117.70 and fell to 117.60/117.90 levels by late afternoon trade, dealers said. At […]
Sri Lanka submits seabed claim to UN
May 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka formally presented its claim for sovereignty over an extended continental shelf around the island under international law to the United Nations last Friday, government officials said. The claim will be considered at the 24th session of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to be […]
Sri Lanka stocks down, rupee loses ground
May 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares came down Tuesday on fears that a 1.9 billion dollar International Monetary Fund bailout was delayed, while the rupee weakened against the dollar, brokers and dealers said. The rupee opened at 117.05/117.25 and fell to 117.25/0117.45 levels by late afternoon trade. In the stock market the All […]
Sri Lankan shares up, rupee steady
May 11, 2009 (LBO) – Profit taking helped to subdue gains in Sri Lankan stocks Monday while the rupee continued to hold against the dollar, traders and brokers said. The rupee opened the day at 116.70/117.00 levels and strengthened to 116.50/70 levels by mid afternoon but weakened by late afternoon to trade at 117.00/117.10, dealers […]
Sri Lanka Jan-Feb state revenues shrink 10.6-pct
May 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues have fallen 10.6 percent in the two months to February 2009, amid a slowing economy and collapsing imports while expenses are still rising, the latest official data shows. Inflation It is unusual for Sri Lanka’s revenues to fall on an absolute basis. Coupled with inflation, Sri […]
Sri Lanka central bank net forex buyer in April: official data
May 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has bought 37 million dollars from forex markets in April 2009 in the first full month after ‘floating’ the rupee ahead of an International Monetary Fund bailout, the latest official data shows. The rupee depreciated despite a collapsing import bill. Sri Lanka’s central bank has also […]
‘s private sector must lead post-war revival: UNDP
May 10, 2009 (LBO) – Re-building Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north and east should be eventually driven by the private sector, rather than an unsustainable donor-financed state sector, a senior United Nations Development Agency (UNDP) official said. Douglas Keh, head of UNDP in Sri Lanka, also said good governance and a government commitment to devolving adequate […]