Category: Policy
Central Bank maintains policy interest rates at current levels
July 06, 2018 (LBO) – Monetary Board of the Central Bank, at its meeting held on 05 July 2018, has decided to maintain policy interest rates at their current levels.Accordingly, the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) remain at 7.25 per cent and 8.50 per cent, respectively. The Board’s decision is […]
Perpetual Treasuries suspension of business extended by 6 months
July 05, 2018 (LBO) – Monetary Board of the Central Bank acting in terms of the regulations made under the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance and the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance, has decided to extend the suspension of Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL). Accordingly, PTL will be further suspended from carrying on the business and activities of […]
Transparency International calls for four key amendments to National Audit Bill
Jul 04, 2018 (LBO) – Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has released a legislative brief on the National Audit Bill detailing key amendments to be made in committee stage. The brief is being released ahead of a debate on the Bill in Parliament, Thursday. It highlights four key areas of concern with the provisions of the existing […]
No backward calculation to obtain GDP with pre-decided deflators: Stats Office
July 03, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office rejecting the recent claims on the GDP estimates said it is almost impossible to carry out backward calculations to obtain GDP with pre-decided GDP deflators. Releasing a statement, Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) said it is also not an internationally accepted practice of estimating national […]
Treasury puts record straight on central government’s outstanding debt
July 01, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s General Treasury says former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal has tried to present a different and distorted viewpoint on the Central Government’s financial statement in an article published recently under the caption “The Government’s Growth Scam”. The full statement issued by Finance Ministry is reproduced below. General Treasury […]
Sri Lanka’s outlook remains stable but is conditional on reforms: World Bank
June 28, 2018 (LBO) – World Bank says a challenging domestic political environment has already taken a toll, slowing down some reforms and complicating the stable medium-term outlook and an impending election cycle which will only elevate this risk. World Bank, releasing its June 2018 edition of the Sri Lanka Development Update said the reforms are […]
Central Bank says no involvement in manipulating GDP estimates
June 28, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank says allegations that the Central Bank is involved in manipulating Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates are totally unfounded. Central Bank issuing a statement said the sole responsibility of compiling GDP estimates is vested with the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) since 2007. “However, the Central […]
IMF working paper suggests new Keynesian models for monetary policy decisions
June 26, 2018 (LBO) – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper released yesterday suggested the Central Bank of Sri Lanka use new Keynesian models for monetary policy analysis and forecasting purposes. IMF working paper said small new Keynesian models, which are increasingly used in central banks for monetary policy analysis and forecasting purposes are […]
Heads of state institutions responsible for paying salaries to excess employees : Fin Min
Jun 18, 2018 (LBO) – The Government has decided that the Secretaries to Ministries, Heads of Departments, Chairpersons, executive officers and accountants of Government Institutions should take the responsibility of paying salaries to redundant workers they have employed in addition to the approved cadre. It is reported that there are over 7500 personnel employed in […]
‘t tolerate speculation further; if necessary will use all instruments to discipline
Jun 13, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor warned forex market players saying that if necessary he is ready to use all the instruments they have to discipline the market and the Central Bank is not going to impose an undue burden on the people.Speaking at a recent event, Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said […]
New MLA amendments to restrict financing fiscal deficit by Central Bank
June 05, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said there will be new legislative amendments to Monetary Law Act (MLA) to restrict financing the fiscal deficit of the government by the Central Bank. Currently, the Central bank has been compelled to purchase Treasury bills in the primary market at times without regard to monetary […]
‘s 4th review; approves USD 252 mn disbursement
June 02, 2018 (LBO) – Executive Board of the IMF has completed the fourth review of Sri Lanka’s economic performance under the program supported by a three-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. Completion of this review enables the disbursement of the equivalent of SDR 177.774 million (about US$ 252 million), bringing […]