Category: Policy
We are not exporting at least 60 products under GSP+ list of 6,000 items: PM
Sept 14, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday draw the attention of the country’s top business leaders, the underutilized opportunities they have to enter into the international market. Wickremesinghe took the example of Vietnam that expanded mainly because of the Korean investors followed by Japan and China and FTAs with […]
New Executive Director at Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI)
August 22, 2018 (LBO) – Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI). The institute is Sri Lanka’s premier think tank, named after Sri Lanka’s long time Tamil Foreign Minister who was assassinated by the LTTE. Official statement follows: “LKI’s […]
Moody’s Investors Service annual credit analysis assigns Sri Lanka B1 Negative
Aug 17, 2018 (LBO) – Moody’s Investors Service says that the credit profile of the Government of Sri Lanka (B1 negative) is supported by the authorities’ progress in implementing reforms, which entail fiscal consolidation and a build-up of foreign exchange reserves. The agency said a rating upgrade is unlikely for Sri Lanka and they would even consider […]
Central Bank to assist “Enterprise Sri Lanka” loan programme with training
Aug 17, 2018 (LBO) – Finance Ministry is to conduct training programs for all new entrepreneurs covered under the “Enterprise Sri Lanka” loan programme, district wise, along with the Central Bank officials.The decision was taken at a meeting held yesterday between the Finance Ministry, the Central Bank and the Heads of Bank of Ceylon, Peoples […]
Singapore-SL FTA revenue protection not yet gazetted but published by Treasury
Aug 16, 2018 (LBO) – Department of Trade & Investment Policy has not yet published the extraordinary gazette pertaining to the revenue protection order which deals with the preferential rates applicable to the Singapore – Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. A preferential rate is leviable and payable under the Singapore – Sri Lanka Free Trade […]
Fitch maintains negative banking sector outlook for Sri Lanka in 2018
Aug 15, 2018 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said it maintains a negative banking sector outlook for Sri Lanka as operating conditions remain challenging, which could put mild pressure on performance during the rest of 2018 and possibly 2019. The performance of Sri Lankan banks under Fitch’s coverage, however, remained fairly stable through 2017 and 1Q18, […]
Special Salaries Commission to remove public sector salary anomalies
Aug 14, 2018 (LBO) – Cabinet approval has been granted to appoint a special salaries commission to remove salary anomalies in the public sector including the Railway Department.The salaries commission will pay its attention and make an in-depth study on the provisions of the existing circulars dealing with payment of salaries and other allowances paid […]
CB Governor says bank deposit and lending rates need to come down
Aug 08, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy expressed concern on the current deposit and lending rates of the banks. Speaking at a press briefing, Coomaraswamy said it is a matter of some concern because the deposit and lending rates are as rigid as they were in the past. “In fact […]
”s ratings at B1; maintains negative outlook
July 26, 2018 (LBO) – Moody’s Investors Service has today affirmed the Government of Sri Lanka’s foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings at B1 and maintained the negative outlook. Moody’s Investors Service said the decision to affirm the rating at B1 reflects Sri Lanka’s progress in implementing the planned reform program, which entails fiscal consolidation and […]
‘s growth
By Dr. Ganeshan Wignarajah Fixing Sri Lanka’s Labour Market: Comparative Lessons July 17, 2018 (LBO) – The recently published ‘Sri Lanka Development Update 2018’1 by the World Bank focuses on creating more and better jobs for an upper middle-income Sri Lanka. It usefully analyses the state of Sri Lanka’s labour market and identifies challenges to […]
Simplifying exporter registration process is critical for export success: Study
July 10, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s current exporter registration process is unnecessarily lengthy, inefficient and unduly burdensome especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), a recent study has found.According to the main findings of a study conducted by Verité Research shows that many of these unnecessary steps cannot be justified on a rational basis. […]
Sri Lanka gross official reserves improve to USD 9.2 bn by end June
July 06, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserve position is estimated to have improved to around 9.2 billion US dollars by end June 2018, compared to 8.0 billion dollars at end 2017. The reserves include international sovereign bond issued in April, the receipt of the fifth tranche from the IMF, receipts from the […]