Category: Policy
Analysis: Sri Lanka foreign reserve dilemma hinges on Central Bank objectives
Oct 05, 2015 (LBO) – Acting quicker than it did in early 2012, the decision by Sri Lanka’s Central Bank to give up defending the rupee in September of this year bodes well for a quicker recovery of foreign exchange reserves. But enamored with an additional objective of economic development, that goes beyond financial and […]
Sri Lanka slaps 100-pct margin on car LCs: Finance Minister
Oct 02, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will impose a 100 percent margin deposit on car import LCs with effect from today, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told at a media briefing held in Colombo.According to data Sri Lanka’s expenses on vehicle imports has doubled to 744 million US dollars for year 2015 compared to 374 […]
Sri Lanka not actively pursuing IMF option: CB Governor
Sept 30, 2015 (LBO) -Sri Lanka is not actively pursuing funding from the International Monetary Fund, the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told Lanka Business Online. “The IMF is always available. I wouldn’t say that was something we were actively pursuing. There is no need for it as we have sufficient reserves,” he said. “But […]
Sri Lanka may consider IMF option: Finance Minister
Sept 30, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may consider an International Monetary Fund program option after the budget but only under our terms and conditions, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told Lanka Business Online. “It will only happen on our terms,” Karunanayake said. Sri Lanka will have the option of considering bilateral lenders or an IMF […]
Sri Lanka rupee shows mixed performance versus intl currencies
Sept 30, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rupee has had a mixed performance against international currencies so far this year, the central bank said. “The Sri Lankan rupee appreciated against the Australian dollar by 9.5 percent and the euro by 0.3 percent while depreciating against the Japanese yen by 6.9 percent, the pound sterling by […]
Sri Lanka’s biggest challenge of good governance is re-establishing and strengthening democracy says PM
Sep 30, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s biggest challenge of good governance is re-establishing and strengthening democratic society in which government plans to achieve within next two years, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told a forum on Tuesday.“Today in Sri Lanka the biggest challenge of good governance applies to all of us in terms of re-establishing […]
Sri Lanka wants holding company structure for public enterprises: Governor
Sept 29, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is looking at setting up a holding company which will own equity stakes in public enterprises, the central bank governor said. The aim here is to improve good governance and restructure under-performing ones, he said. “The government wants to evolve a holding company which will own equity […]
Sri Lanka to strengthen economy despite global scenario: Ravi K
Sep 29, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance minister Ravi Karunanayake said that the government would continue to strengthen the economy despite the current global situation.“I am ready to make a special statement on the fiscal situation of the country within the next couple of days,” Karunanayake said. “We will also explain how the emerging […]
Free flow of information vital for financial markets: CB Governor
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – A free flow of information is vital for financial markets to grow, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told media on Monday. He was responding to a question posed by Lanka Business Online about concerns of market participants that they should censor information when dealing with the media. Some […]
Report of a spat with officials an exaggeration, says Governor
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor said on Monday that a media report of a spat with senior officials over transfers that had proved controversial was a gross exaggeration. The report alleged that senior officials were holding a meeting when the heated discussion ensued. The transfers were part of a regular […]
Sri Lanka currency now competitive after float: CB Governor
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s currency is now competitive after being floated last month and will support export growth, the central bank governor told media on Monday. “Like other currencies in emerging markets, the Sri Lankan currency has also adjusted to become slightly weaker against the U.S. currency,” Arjuna Mahendran, the central bank […]
Sri Lanka RDA engineers write to PM over DG demotion
Sept 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority Engineers’ Association (RDAEA) has written to the Prime Minister regarding the demotion of the Director General of the RDA as they have not yet received a response from the President’s office, a union official said. “We have written to the President, and we had a […]