Category: Economy and Markets

SINGAPORE, September 18, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka was one of the 23 countries that opposed a plan to overhaul the voting shares of the International Monetary Fund. Voting rights or access to funds are determined on member’s economic growth, openness to trade, the amount of reserves they hold and the volatility of each economy. […]

PUERTO DE LOS CRISTIANOS, Spain, Sept 17, 2006 (AFP) – A second boatload of some 200 clandestine immigrants from Asia has been spotted on its way to the Canary Islands, this time from Guinea Bissau, police said here Saturday. “It’s carrying around 200 Asians and probably left from Bissau,” Agustin Brito Machin, secretary general of […]

SINGAPORE, Sep 17 (LBO) – Though other South Asian nations are doing reasonably well in fighting inflation Sri Lanka’s central bank must be more vigilant and do more to stabilize prices, a senior IMF official said. “The mainstay of monetary policy is to maintain financial stability and low inflation. South Asian economies are doing reasonably […]

SINGAPORE, Sept 16, 2006 (LBO) – The practice of Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries that spend massive public resources on subsidies do not help the poor, World Bank Chief Paul Wolfowitz said. “Subsidies are often given as an excuse to cushion the poor,” Wolfowitz said during an informal meeting with South Asian journalists […]

SINGAPORE September 16, 2006 (LBO) – Historically high global oil prices have overtaken a three decades old ethnic conflict to emerge as the biggest challenge Sri Lankan economy has to face in recent times, the country’s Central Bank governor said Friday. We like to keep the discussion channels open between the World Bank and the […]

SINGAPORE, September 16, 2006 (LBO) – Workers’ remittances is turning out to be an attractive sources of foreign financing for countries like Sri Lanka, which can sometimes use them as a buffer against oil shocks, the International Monetary Fund said Saturday. But they may be of only limited value in absorbing shocks and reducing vulnerability […]

Singapore September 15, 2006 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund Friday asked domestic policymakers to be nimble and adapt to external risks like inflation and high oil prices that is threatening to disrupt global economic growth. The Washington based global financial watchdog and biggest financial backer, is also keen to boost its surveillance role of […]

Singapore September 15, 2006 (LBO) — Singapore Friday appeared to be willing to soften on an earlier ban of allowing civil society groups to participate in the annual World Bank-IMF meetings next week, following sharp objections from the international lenders “However, we cannot guarantee that all 27 activists will be admitted to Singapore,” it said. […]

SINGAPORE September 15, 2006 (LBO) – In addition to curries, saris and a passion for cricket, Sri Lanka shares similar problems with South Asian countries, but rapid economic growth is now creating the ‘political space’ for policy and institutional reforms, the World Bank said. “The Sri Lankan government was (last year) elected on a platform […]

Sri Lanka’s central bank is asking the country’s licensed money changers to raise more dollars to be allowed to continue in business. They are expected to buy foreign exchange from tourists and those who return from working abroad and deposit it in commercial banks. According to their license, money changers cannot sell foreign exchange back […]