Category: Economy
Sri Lanka rescues Australia-bound boatpeople
COLOMBO, October 4, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy has rescued 70 would-be illegal immigrants drifting on the high seas in the country’s first detected case of people-smuggling since Australia tightened restrictions on asylum-seekers, officials said Friday.A naval craft picked up the Sri Lankans, including 17 women and 14 children, who had been drifting for […]
Sri Lanka to grow 6.8-pct in 2013, inflation 7.0-pct: ADB
Oct 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy is forecasted to grow 6.8 percent in 2013 and inflation would be 7.0 percent, the Asian Development Bank said in revised projections released this week. “Foreign holdings of government securities dipped in late August, which further weakened the rupee by 5 percent against the US dollar from […]
Gold prices could fall further: Fitch Ratings
Oct 03, 2013 (LBO) – Gold prices could fall below 1,200 US dollars an ounce as the United States withdraws exceptional money printing operations and speculative investment demand weakens, Fitch Ratings said.The rating agency under its methodology 1,200 US dollars an ounce was a base case for a ceiling price for the next three years […]
Sri Lanka policies help aged: UN backed study
Oct 02, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s decades long spending in education and health has made the lot of the aged among the best in Asia, a United Nations backed study has found. A study by HelpAge International, a charity which constructed a ‘Global AgeWatch Index has ranked Sri Lanka fourth in Asia after Japan, […]
‘s capital to get better water supply: ADB
Oct 01, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo and surrounding areas will get 24 hour water supply and water losses will be plugged under a new program financed with an 88 million US dollar credit, Asian Development Bank said. “Though 95 percent of Colombo is covered by a piped water supply system, the distribution […]
Building future ready enterprises in Sri Lanka
Sept 30, 2013 (LBO) – Some of Sri Lanka’s best brains from corporate, academic and research communities and panelists from the region will share their insights on building ‘future ready enterprises’. Titled ‘LBR LBO Summit on Enterprise 2.0, Building Future Ready Enterprises’, the thought-provoking, one and a half-day event will take place on Friday 4th […]
Sri Lanka inflation at 6.2 percent in September
Sept 30, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 6.2 percent in September 2013 from a year earlier, slowing from 6.3 percent in August, data from the state statistics office showed. The International Monetary Fund has said monetary policy should not be relaxed further this year, until the effects of earlier easing is seen. […]
Sri Lanka cautioned against high yield foreign debt by IMF
Sept 26, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has to be careful of borrowing from abroad at high rates, amid low growth and flat state revenues, an International Monetary Fund official said.Todd Schneider who headed an IMF mission in the wake of a successful 2.6 billion US dollar bailout, said Sri Lanka’s public debt dynamics were […]
Sri Lanka exporters moving beyond labour arbitrage
Sept 25, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s high end apparel and information technology firms are moving beyond labour arbitrage to leverage knowledge and supply chain efficiencies, officials said.“Labour arbitrage is not necessary, the way we see it,” Udena Wickramasuriya, group director at Brandix a top Sri Lanka based apparel group that also has operations in […]
Sri Lanka should keep policy on hold, make structural changes: IMF
Monetary Stance Sept 25, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should keep monetary policy on hold but make structural change to boost growth, an International Monetary Fund official said. Todd Schneider, head of a monitoring mission to Sri Lanka said external conditions have worsened with impending Federal Reserve action, and budget revenues were flat though inflation […]
Sri Lanka has to fix primary schools as well as universities
Sept 24, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has to fix its primary school system where up to half the students are failing their junior high school exam, as well as universities, researchers and productive sector officials said. “Sri Lanka has to invest more in primary schooling,” Sujatha Gamage, an educational specialist from LirneAsia, a regional […]
‘s first online investment application from UK oil services firm
Sept 19, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign investment agency said a UK based oil services firm had been the first to use its online investment application portal on September 18, within a day of its launch.Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment launched the web portal for investment applications on September 17, promising to make the […]