Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka says Iran to give 1.5 billion dollars aid
Nov 28, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president secured 1.5 billion dollars worth of financial aid from Iran for infrastructure projects while on a three-day visit to the country, his office said on Wednesday. President Mahinda Rajapakse concluded his trip to Iran on Tuesday by signing eight memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with his Iranian counterpart […]
Sri Lanka getting hooked on debt, economists say
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is becoming addicted to debt and putting at risk the country’s future, private sector economists said. “We’re on a slippery slope of debt,” says Harsha de Silva, an economist at the LIRNEasia think tank. “If it continues the country is going to crash land. The economy will […]
Sri Lankan researcher questions MDGs, notes backward trends
Nov 24, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan researcher has questioned the importance of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) saying they did not reveal reasons for poverty and that some showed an alarming trend in the wrong direction. Priyanthi Fernando, executive director, Centre for Poverty Analysis, said MDGs and other economic indicators were good for making […]
Sri Lanka tightens monetary policy; discount rate 19-pct from December
Nov 23, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has tightened monetary policy by restricting access to a discount window and creating two policy rates, days after the Central Bank again failed to hike rates, despite raging inflation.The Central Bank loosened monetary policy in April 2007 despite criticism from independent analysts and printed 45.2 billion rupees for […]
Sri Lanka record money printing revealed
Nov 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has engaged in an unprecedented money printing and reserve appropriation drive running into 45 billion rupees to bridge a widening budget deficit that sent inflation skyrocketing in 2007, newly released data has revealed. By September 2007 total central bank credit to government (printed money) had risen to a […]
Sri Lanka seeks to develop bond market to access foreign capital
Nov 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said Thursday the government wants to develop the bond market to be able to access new sources of capital and reduce reliance on concessionary lending. The government’s main funding sources were still mainly taxes and bilateral and multilateral loans but it wanted […]
Sri Lanka sovereign bonds plummet as govt. seeks new cash
Nov 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s maiden sovereign bond has plunged in the secondary market just a month after its issue, as authorities indicated that the country may go to international markets again for new dollars. The 500 million dollar sovereign bond which was issued in late on October 23, was oversubscribed. But now […]
Sri Lanka treasuries yields shoot up as dollar honeymoon ends
Nov 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s benchmark 3-month Treasury yields shot up 33 basis points to 16.07 percent Wednesday, ending a near month long honeymoon from a sovereign bond that made markets liquid and sent rates plummeting. Due a flaw in Sri Lanka’s monetary law the Central Bank could be used by the government […]
Sri Lanka central bank promises vigilance over liquidity as inflation rages
Nov 20, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it is countering a liquidity shock to the monetary system from a dollar bond issue, though policy rates frozen at 12.0 percent remained negative compared to raging 19.6 percent inflation. A sudden conversion of 500 million dollars worth state borrowings in late October drove up […]
Sri Lanka inequality on the rise despite growth: UNDP
Nov 20, 2007 (LBO) – Inequality is on the rise in Sri Lanka despite the island making much progress in economic development, an international expert said. Overall progress in Sri Lanka has been concentrated in the western province and hides wide regional income disparities, said Neil Buhne, UN Resident Coordinator, Sri Lanka. There were pockets […]
Sri Lanka to appoint town planners to all local bodies
Nov 20, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has decided to appoint professional town planners to all local government bodies in a move that will speed up approvals and reduce corruption, officials said. The number of town planners in these bodies today is woefully inadequate, resulting in delays in getting approvals for building permits and payment […]
Sri Lanka Central Bank rejects gold reserve sale charges as criticism mounts
Nov 20, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has rejected allegations it had sold tonnes of gold reserves to fund government expenditure in recent months, while criticism mounts on the way foreign reserves are used by the authorities. It said in a statement that a fake letter was circulating that it had sold 7,000 […]