Category: Economy
Sri Lanka cabinet approves downgrade back to low income country
Cabinet has approved a proposal to downgrade Sri Lanka to “low income” category on the World Bank list with the aim of getting access to concessional funding from international organizations. “International organizations had informed the Finance Minister to downgrade Sri Lanka back to the lower income category as access to concessional funding would be easier,” […]
Sri Lanka’s real GDP is expected to fall by 9.2-pct this year & a further 4.2-pct in 2023: World Bank
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is deepening with unsustainable debt and a severe balance of payment crisis on top of lingering scars of the COVID-19 pandemic. Debt restructuring and the implementation of a deep reform program are critical for Sri Lanka’s economic stabilization, says the World Bank in its twice-a-year update, underscoring the need for Sri Lanka […]
CCPI inflation would start falling down from this month: CBSL Governor
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor expects that the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) will start falling down from this month and to follow a disinflation path in the period ahead. “We expect CCPI at the end of the month to be lower than what we saw in the last month,”Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “That trend […]
Central Bank of Sri Lanka maintains policy interest rates
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 05 October 2022, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels of 14.50 per cent and 15.50 per cent, respectively. In arriving at this […]
How a country in economic turmoil is still ripe for investors
For businesses in the field of large-scale manufacturing, a critical factor that determines their future and success is a key decision made at their very inception- the location. More often than not, businesses in these fields which start operations in their respective nations look into expanding into international markets to set up base, to further […]
Transitioning from hawkish to dovish; 75-pct probability for policy rates to remain unchanged: FCR
First Capital Research (FCR) believe that CBSL may consider maintaining the monetary policy rates at its current levels in the upcoming policy review meeting allowing a soft landing from its hawkish to dovish stance. However, given the necessity to provide monetary stimulus to prevent further weakening of the economy and the notable improvement in majority […]
Keerthi Gunawardane takes over as new President of FCCISL
At the 47th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce & Industry Sri Lanka. (FCCISL) Keerthi Gunawardane was elected as the President to take over the reins from first lady president of Shirley Jayawardane. FCCISL was set up in 1973, FCCISL is the largest and most representative apex business organization of Sri […]
EU releases Euro 1.5 million to respond to growing humanitarian needs in Sri Lanka
The EU has released €1.5 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the ongoing socio-economic crisis affecting millions of people in Sri Lanka. The new EU funding will mainly focus on multipurpose cash interventions to respond to the basic needs of the population, among which food, health, education and protection. Humanitarian assistance will target the […]
Earnings from exports increased by 10-pct to USD 1.2Bn in August
Earnings from the merchandise exports increased by 10.24 % y-o-y to US$ 1,213.7 Mn in August 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles. The EDB Chairman & CE, Suresh D. de Mel, congratulates the exporters for […]
NCPI based headline inflation at 70.2-pct in August 2022
Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index increased to 70.2% in August 2022 from 66.7% in July 2022. This increase in Y-o-Y inflation was mainly driven by the monthly increases of both Food and Non-Food categories. Accordingly, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 84.6% in August 2022 from 82.5% […]
Sri Lanka can learn from Hyderabad to strategize its economic turnaround: Hilmy Cader
According to MTI Consulting, Sri Lanka is facing a ‘Perfect Storm’, a concurrence of multiple socio-economic challenges that has dealt an unprecedented blow to the country. “This is also a great opportunity to dismantle incremental legacy strategies. Instead, go ‘Ground Zero’ and approach it as building an entirely new economic model,” said Hilmy Cader, CEO […]
USAID signs new five-year agreement with Sri Lanka
Building on the USAID Administrator Samantha Powers’s recent visit, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung announced today that the United States, through USAID, will provide an additional estimated $65 million (more than 23 billion Sri Lankan rupees) in assistance to Sri Lanka over a five-year period. The assistance falls under the Development Objectives Assistance […]