Category: Economy
Depreciation will help some equity sectors, ease uncertainty: Bartleet Religare
Sept 06, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s depreciation last week will help export-related stocks and banks listed on the market, Bartleet Religare Securities said. From a foreign investors’ point of view, the depreciation takes away uncertainty that has been weighing on the market. “Foreign investors saw the devaluation coming and some did exit. Others didn’t […]
Foreign holding of Sri Lanka govt securities falls during week
Sept 05, 2015 (LBO) – The holding of Sri Lanka government securities by foreign investors reduced to 350 billion rupees in the week to September 02, from 375 billion rupees in the previous week, information from the central bank showed.Foreign investors held 457 billion rupees worth of government securities at the beginning of the year. […]
‘t allow artificial devaluation, high interest rates
Sep 04, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake says an artificial devaluation of the rupee will not be allowed, and he will push for low interest rates in the future.“There are realistic situations in the world we have got to face today, but that does not mean that we will […]
Sri Lanka to receive USD1.1 bn under RBI swap arrangement: Central Bank Governor
Sept 03, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will receive the balance 1.1 billion dollars from the Reserve Bank of India to boost foreign reserves under a 1.5 billion dollar swap arrangement, the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran confirmed to Lanka Business Online. On April 30th, Sri Lanka obtained 400 million dollars under this arrangement, which […]
Sri Lanka govt must be consistent, speak with one voice: Pathfinder Foundation
Sep 03, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lankan think tank Pathfinder Foundation urged the new national unity government to speak with one voice on necessary, urgent economic reforms and “operate in a well-coordinated and consistent manner.” “The new government, which, has committed to operate in a consensual spirit (sammuthi vaadi), needs to speak with one voice […]
‘s SMEs need more growth capital to be competitive: ADB
Sep 03, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s and the rest of Asia’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) need finance to help them grow into dynamic, internationally competitive companies, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said.This is key to strong, sustainable growth in Asia as the world recovers from the recent global economic slowdown, says […]
Sri Lanka accounting body urges govt to maintain & publish accounts
Sep 02, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Institute of Chartered Accountants, a professional accounting, body urged the government to maintain accounts and publish them, as the government is answerable to the public for how they use income.“Public sector is a very important area.We are making all endeavors for government to move in to accounting which […]
Oil prices volatile after OPEC comments, now down 3 pct
Sept 01, 2015 (LBO) – Oil prices remained volatile in Asian trade on Tuesday plunging three percent after an eight percent rally earlier on reports that OPEC was willing to talk to other producers to achieve reasonable oil prices.A downward revision of U.S. output data had propelled a sharp three-day rally. Brent Crude was quoted […]
Sri Lanka key interest rates held unchanged in monetary policy review
Aug 31, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Monetary Board held key interest rates unchanged on Monday citing low inflation, steady foreign remittances and earnings from tourism. Dollar inflows expected to bolster foreign reserves contributed to the decision, the monetary authority said. The Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of […]
Sri Lanka’s August deflation unchanged at 0.2-pct
Aug 31, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has reported a deflation in August 2015 of 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month after March 1995, statistics department said. Year on year inflation of Food Group has decreased from 2.5 percent in July 2015 to 2.2 percent in August 2015 while Non‐food Group increased by ‐2.5 […]
Interview: Sri Lanka BOP pressured by consumer spending, external woes
Aug 28, 2015 (LBO) – Post-war stimulus packages by Sri Lanka’s government have pushed up consumption demand which is now having an adverse impact on the trade deficit and balance of payments. This is one reason for the negative BOP position so far this year, Shiran Fernando at Frontier Research said. “We are in consumption […]
ADB to triple Sri Lanka education sector lending to USD1bn
Aug 28, 2015 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will support Sri Lanka’s human capital development for the next five years though strengthening education to help the Indian Ocean Island to become a competitive economy.“Lending for education will be more than tripled to one billion US dollars for the next five years,” […]