Sri Lanka cabinet approves USD1.5bn development bond issue

Jan 11, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to borrow 1.5 billion US dollars from the issuances of development bonds this year. Borrowings from domestic sources is estimated to be at 1,129 billion rupees and foreign sources is estimated to be 450 billion rupees. The domestic borrowings will mainly consist […]

Sri Lanka should rethink immigration, diaspora policies: Hausmann

Jan 10, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should rethink its immigration, diaspora and product development policies so as to encourage more complexity in exports, economist Ricardo Hausmann of Harvard University said in Colombo on Monday. Immigrants and diaspora bring with them significant know-how and skills necessary for the setting up of new industries, a process […]

‘s credit rating upgrade depends on IMF compliance: Fitch

Jan 10, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s potential improvements in sovereign credit profiles will depend on the country’s level of compliance with IMF conditions, as implementation risks are often high, Fitch Ratings says. Support from the IMF has helped to mitigate external liquidity risks and reduced the medium-term default risks in several frontier markets that entered […]

PM says land identified for industry needs for next decade

Jan 06, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lankan government has already identified lands for the industry needs in the country for the coming 10 to 15 years, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said. Addressing a gathering at the RIGID Tyre Plant event Wickremesinghe said the government is ready to formulate new laws for investors while encouraging them […]

CCC seeks business community support for CBSL independence

Jan 06, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s leading business chamber has called on the business community to support and embrace the Central Bank’s Roadmap 2017 which announced a shift in monetary policy making towards a flexible inflation-targeting framework away from the current money supply targeting framework. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said the Monetary Policy […]

CB Governor vows to stop wasting external reserves to defend rupee

Jan 03, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s unsustainable practice of defending the external value of the rupee through market intervention should be stopped, the Central Bank Governor said. Presenting the Road Map for Monetary and Financial Policy for 2017, Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said recent experience has clearly demonstrated that it is unsustainable to maintain an […]

‘s 2017 economic growth to be 5.5-6.0 pct: Central Bank chief

Jan 03, 2017 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka economy is expected to expand between 5.5 percent and 6.0 percent in 2017, higher than last year’s estimated pace of at least 4.5 percent, central bank governor Indrajith Coomaraswamy said on Tuesday. However, there could be some downside risks facing growth this year, Coomaraswamy told a gathering in […]

Sri Lanka Foreign Reserves increase to USD6 Bln in 2016: CB

Jan 03, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves were around six billion dollars at the end of 2016, up from 5. 64 billion dollars at the end of November, the Central Bank said on Tuesday. The increase was due to swap arrangements and 200 million dollars from Japan and the World Bank as budgetary […]

Sri Lanka’s prosperity improved in 2015 from previous year: Central Bank

Jan 03, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s prosperity has improved to 0.864 in 2015 from 0.804 in the previous year, the Central Bank statistics showed, as measured by the Sri Lanka Prosperity Index (SLPI). The SLPI is a composite indicator that measures and compares the level of prosperity of the country and across its provinces. […]

Economic development with thrust on education: Finance Minister

Jan 02, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake says there will be sustained economic development in the new year with a thrust on education spending. A new health insurance policy and more infrastructure spending are among the significant proposals being implemented in education, he said. Over 4.5 million children between the […]

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