Category: Policy
Sri Lanka adopts Swiss procedure to handle unsolicited proposals
Aug 11, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet on Tuesday decided to include the “Swiss challenge” procedure in the government procurement guidelines to be followed on unsolicited proposals. A Swiss challenge is a form of public procurement which requires an authority which has received an unsolicited bid to publish the bid and invite third parties […]
Sri Lanka Supreme Court blocks bill raising VAT
Aug 09, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered parliament to stop considering a bill to raise value-added tax (VAT) because the drafting of the proposed legislation had not followed due process, the assembly speaker said on Tuesday. The failure to raise the tax could put in jeopardy the government’s ambitious fiscal consolidation […]
FCID collecting vital information necessary for governance: official
Aug 06, 2016 (LBO) – A stream of former government and corporate officials who have been questioned by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) of Sri Lanka in recent months is not political vindictiveness or a witch hunt, a government official said. It is the collection of key information necessary for good governance, the official […]
Malaysia’s rationalization of SOEs, lessons for Sri Lanka
Aug 05, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned public enterprises should be rationalized to focus on four main factors to future survival, a top official at PEMANDU Malaysia said. Speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2016, CEO of PEMANDU, Dato Sri Idris Jala, said the most important factor is that the SOEs should be […]
Nihal Fonseka appointed to Monetary Board
Aug 04, 2016 (LBO) – Veteran banker Nihal Fonseka has been appointed to the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Fonseka has served as CEO of DFCC Bank and on several boards such as the National Payments Council and the Financial Systems Stability Consultative Committee of the Central Bank, the Strategic Enterprise […]
Sri Lanka to introduce Public Enterprise Act next month: Malik
Aug 03, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is to introduce the Public Enterprise Act which facilitates the setting up of a Public Enterprise Development Board, a senior government minister said. This Public Enterprise Development Board will be chaired by a private sector individual. “This board consists of leading private sector CEOs and managers and […]
‘s Pemandu CEO
Aug 02, 2016 (LBO) – Malaysia’s model for economic growth in recent years has been driven by a focus on implementation, delivery and execution, Dato Sri Idris Jala, the chief executive officer of Malaysia’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit, PEMANDU, said. He was speaking on Tuesday at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2016 organized by […]
‘s economic reforms
Aug 01, 2016 (LBO) – The World Bank Board has approved a 100 million dollar credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to support the Government of Sri Lanka’s economic reform program. “Sri Lanka has been making steady progress on economic reforms, with the government aiming to create one million new jobs through a reform […]
‘s rate hike partly due to fiscal slippage on VAT: Coomaraswamy
July 29, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s 50 basis point rate hike on Thursday was partly due to fiscal slippage arising from a delay in hiking the value added tax, Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. Sri Lanka budgeted for a two percentage points of GDP reduction in the budget deficit this year, but delays to a […]
‘s PM
July 28, 2016 (LBO) – Former Governor Arjuna Mahendran has taken up an appointment as an advisor to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the area of investments, a government official said. Mahendran did not seek re-appointment for the position of Central Bank governor last month as a COPE investigation into treasury bond issues had not […]
China special investment zone to create 1mn jobs in Hambantota
Jul 26, 2016 (LBO) – The Chinese government has requested for 15,000 acres of land in Hambantota for a special economic zone that will create around one million job in this area, the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade said Tuesday. “Apart from the Chinese Free Trade Agreement, Chinese officials are also in discussions […]
POLL: Sri Lanka Central Bank expected to keep policy rates steady
July 26, 2016 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is expected to keep its key interest rates steady for a fifth straight month on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, despite signs that inflation and private sector credit growth are picking up. The central bank has tightened monetary policy twice since December to fend off pressure on the fragile rupee […]