Category: Money
‘s Central Bank to remain unchanged
Nov 29, 2019 (LBO) – The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance. Accordingly, the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) will remain at their current levels of 7.00 percent and 8.00 percent, respectively. The Board said it […]
Sri Lanka announces tax reliefs; cuts VAT to 8-pct, removes PAYE, WHT & Capital Gains Tax
Nov 27, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new Cabinet of Ministers has given its approval to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) and various other taxes, Co-Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana said. “Required amendments and gazette notifications are currently being prepared,” Gunawardana told reporters. “This will be a stimulus to all areas of the economy and […]
Central Bank expresses its strong objection to statement released by Fitch Ratings
Nov 21, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank says that it strongly objects to the statement released by Fitch Ratings today as it depicts the complete opposite of the realised positive market response, followed by the assumption of duties by the President. Releasing a statement, the Central Bank said the domestic foreign exchange market, […]
Sri Lanka election result increases policy uncertainty: Fitch Ratings
Nov 21, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s presidential election significantly increases policy uncertainty and could prompt loosening that exacerbates fiscal weaknesses and a rollback of reforms, Fitch Ratings says. However, whether these risks materialise remains to be seen as a clear policy direction may only start to emerge after parliamentary elections. Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the […]
Sri Lanka stocks up after GR election victory
Nov 18, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s All Share Index rose 94 points or 1.56 percent to 6,117 points in the first half of the day of trading following the election victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the new President. Stock indexes were up across the board with index heavy John Keells Holdings showing a gain […]
Sri Lanka official reserves at USD7.8bn by end October
Nov 08, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves were 7.8 billion US dollars (USD7,783.6mn) by the end of October, up from 7.6 billion US dollars in September, the latest Central Bank data showed. By the end of October, the foreign currency reserves were 6,757 million dollars while the reserve position in the IMF […]
Sri Lanka FDI down in first half of 2019: Dips in service and infrastructure sectors
Nov 05, 2019 (LBO) – The Central Bank says that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) including loans to projects approved by the Board of Investment (BOI), decreased by 61.3 percent during the first half of 2019 compared with the same period last year. The island received US 553.2 million dollars in the first six months of […]
‘s EFF with USD164mn disbursement
Nov 02, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank should maintain a data-dependent monetary policy, completing the sixth review of the country’s extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the IMF said. The completion of the sixth review, upon the granting of a waiver of non‑observance for the end‑June 2019 performance criterion on the […]
Advocata supports recommendation to allow AG dept representation at COPE
Oct 29, 2019 (LBO) – Advocata, a local think tank has welcomed the recommendation to include representatives of the Attorney General’s (AG) Department at Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) proceedings and urges the government to prioritise this suggestion. The third report of the COPE was presented to the parliament on the 23rd of October, 2019. […]
First Capital recommends investors to increase exposure in mid-long tenor bonds
Oct 24, 2019 (LBO) – First Capital Research recommends investors to increase overall fixed income portfolio exposure to 50 percent from 45 percent. The firm also recommends cutting carrying portfolio to 15 percent from 30 percent and to increase trading portfolio to 35 percent from 15 percent. “We recommend cutting short tenor maturities of the […]
Sri Lanka inflation at 5-pct in Sept 2019
Oct 22, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased to 5 percent from 3.4 percent recorded in August on a year-on-year basis, the Department of Census and Statistics said. The NCPI for all items for the month of September 2019 was 130.6. An increase of 0.9 index points or 0.7 percentage […]
Financial Action Task Force delists Sri Lanka from Grey List
Oct 21, 2019 (LBO) – The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global policy setter on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), has delisted Sri Lanka from FATF’s Compliance Document which is more commonly identified as “the Grey List”. The decision was taken at the FATF Plenary held during 13-18 October 2019 […]