Category: Policy
Sri Lanka petrol price raised to Rs138 per ltr
Jun 11, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government will increased the price of 92 Octane petrol by three rupees to 138 rupees for a litre from midnight yesterday. The price revision was done under a pricing formula introduced by the Finance Ministry in 2018. Prices of three other fuels remained unchanged, according to a statement. […]
Central Bank will impose lending cap if Sri Lanka banks do not cooperate: CBSL Chief
Jun 03, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Monetary Board would need to consider whether they impose a lending cap if the banks are not cooperative enough to reduce the high lending rates, Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy warned. The Central Bank recently imposed a cap on deposit rates with the intention of bringing down lending […]
Amidst elevated market lending rates, private sector credit contracted notably: CBSL
May 31, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank on Friday said the market lending rates remained downward rigid, despite the measures already taken while the private sector credit showing a notable contraction. Sizable liquidity injections through the reductions in the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) along with appropriate and prudent open market operations (OMOs) have […]
Sri Lanka Central Bank cuts SDFR and SLFR by 50 basis points
May 31, 2019 (LBO) – The Monetary Board of the Central Bank, at its meeting held on 30 May 2019, has decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 50 basis points to 7.50 percent and 8.50 percent, respectively. The Central Bank […]
World Bank to allocate USD 250mn policy based guarantee to Sri Lanka for external borrowings
May 29, 2019 (LBO) – The World Bank has offered 250 million US dollars worth policy based guarantee to Sri Lanka for the external borrowings, the Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. According to the Governor, under this facility Sri Lanka can leverage the guarantee four times over to borrow money from the international market […]
First Capital Research allocates 95-pct probability for a policy rate cut
May 27, 2019 (LBO) – First Capital Research has allocated a 95 percent probability for a policy rate cut in May 2019 as they are of the view that policy intervention is inevitable to revive the overly sluggish economy and credit growth. “Despite the Road Map towards a single policy rate, we believe a rate […]
Strong possibility of a rate cut; interest rate decline to boost stock market: Capital Trust
May 26, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy has hinted a strong possibility of a policy rate cut at the next monetary policy review meeting scheduled on 31 May 2019. According to the Governor there is a strong case for relaxing monetary policy. “All options are there, it could be a […]
IMF approves extension & USD164mn disbursement; grants waivers to Sri Lanka for performance criteria
May 14, 2019 (LBO) – The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has completed the fifth review of Sri Lanka’s economic performance under the program supported by an extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Completion of this review, upon the granting of waivers of nonobservance for the end‑December 2018 performance criteria on […]
Prime Minister urges business community to place their trust in government
May 03, 2019 (LBO) – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urges the business community to place their trust in the government and says steps have been taken to resolve the current situation as early as possible and ensure the smooth flow of economic activity. A delegation of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce led by Chairman Rajendra Theagarajah […]
Central Bank wants to reduce lending rates to SMEs by 200 bps in near term
Apr 29, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank expects the lending rates to reduce by around 200 basis points to SMEs in the near term that would reduce excessive cost of funds borne by the financial sector. The Central Bank said it observed high interest rates charged on lending products and excessively high interest rates […]
CB introduces real time notifications for transactions in Govt securities via SMS, Email
Apr 08, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank which operates and maintains the LankaSecure system has introduced an SMS, Email alert service from 25th March 2019 to enhance the awareness of investors in the government securities.The SMS, Email alert is a service that sends real-time notifications to investors in government securities for each and every movement […]
Policy rates could be reduced in future if current trends continue: Central Bank
Apr 08, 2019 (LBO) – Monetary Board of the Central Bank today said that they are of the view that, if the current trends in global financial markets, trade balance, and credit growth continue, policy interest rates could be reduced in the period ahead, given well-anchored inflation and inflation expectations. Projections, as well as inflation expectations, […]