Category: Economy

Oct 06, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is facilitating imports to maintain growth by selling reserves and not trying to defend a particular exchange rate, Deputy Governor Dharma Dheerasinghe said. Equity markets inflows which were about 150 million dollars negative will turn positive towards the end of the year with investments from the […]

Oct 06, 2011 (LBO) – The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Sri Lanka’s biggest fund with 976 billion rupees in assets and managed by the central bank, has increased investments in the stock market. A central bank statement said the EPF’s total assets, which had grown an annual 14.6 percent, are expected to reach a value […]

Oct 05, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has announced a 15 billion rupee reverse repo cash auction to inject liquidity which can stabilize spiking rates in the overnight market, dealers and analysts said. The reverse repo auction will help cap rates with the monetary authority acting as a central counter party, analysts said. […]

Oct 04, 2011 (LBO) – Policymakers must look at an economy as a whole and not focus only on certain aspects, Sri Lankan central bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. Factors like the exchange rate, interest rates, unemployment and growth were all interconnected, he told a meeting of the Asian Bankers Association in Colombo Tuesday. Concern […]

Oct 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should continue reconciliation and reconstruction efforts in the former war-torn regions, Japan’s envoy to Colombo said after giving more funds for de-mining. Japan’s envoy to Colombo Kunio Takahashi gave a grant of 780,000 US dollars (85 million rupees) for demining in the Sri Lanka’s north. Ambassador Kunio said […]

Oct 01, 2011 (LBO) – Visiting Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang will address a business forum in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, where a high level delegation of Vietnamese businessmen will also be taking part, the island’s largest trade chamber said. “They are also interested in tourism projects such as eco-tourism, spiritual tourism, inbound and outbound […]

Sept 30, 2011 (LBO) – Japan is helping Sri Lanka rebuild flood damaged roads and irrigation networks and strengthen capacity to cope with future disasters through a seven billion yen (9. 0 billion rupee) project the country’s aid agency said. Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) which administers Japanese aid said a concessionary loan was agreement […]

Sept 30, 2011 (LBO) – Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo slowed to 6. 4 percent in September from 7.0 percent in August, though the index itself gained 0.3 percent during the month, the state statistics office said. International commodity prices have eased in recent weeks. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 0. 1 percent […]

NEW YORK, September 28, 2011 (AFP) – Visa policies that keep skilled workers from settling in the United States amount to “national suicide,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday. “These businesses will hire American workers, and immigrants are more than twice as likely as those born in America to start a new company,” he […]

Sept 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will shift several prisons in prime city centres including the capital Colombo to make way for commercial development, minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. Matara and Galle prisons will be shifted to Pitabeddara in the Matara district. The cabinet of ministers had approved a proposal by the prison reforms ministry […]

Sept 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka had recorded a balance of payments surplus of 1,006 million US dollars by July 2011, with official foreign reserves climbing to 8,099 million US dollars, the Central Bank said. Foreign inflows to the state, including a billion dollar sovereign bond was 2,754 million US dollars and foreign direct […]

BERLIN, September 27, 2011 (AFP) – Germany told the United States Tuesday to stop pointing the finger at Europe for its own economic ills while debt-hit Greece promised to do its utmost to avert a financial meltdown in the eurozone. Elsewhere in the German capital, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou insisted that Athens was pulling […]