Category: Featured
President inaugurates 4th SAARC Public Procurement Conference
(PRESS RELEASE) – The Fourth South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference commenced under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo, Monday. The Conference will continue until February 23 in Colombo and Kandy. The Conference is an annual learning, knowledge and experience sharing, and networking event for the Heads of Public Procurement Agency or Authority […]
Sri Lanka rated ‘Mostly Unfree’ in new report: Heritage Foundation
Feb 21, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka slipped to be rated as a ‘Mostly Unfree’ country this year in the Index of Economic Freedom, with the lack of government integrity and judicial freedom contributing towards the slip, a new report showed. The US-based Heritage Foundation, in their annual Index of Economic Freedom, said that economic […]
‘s public sector expanded 39-pct during past decade
Feb 21, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s public sector, excluding the semi government sector and three forces, expanded 39 percent in the last ten years, a census conducted by the statistics office showed. Preliminary results of the census show that by last year Sri Lanka’s public sector alone had a workforce of 874,395 which is […]
Sri Lanka may stop hydro power generation by end April
Feb 20, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to stop hydro power generation by the end of April if the prevailing dry weather condition continues, the power minister said. Power Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya participating in Kegalle Development Committee meeting today stated that priority has to be given to save water for drinking and not […]
World’s largest car, truck carrier to call at Hambantota port
Feb 20, 2017 (LBO) – MV Hoegh Tracer, the world’s largest pure car and truck Carrier (PCTC), belonging to Hoegh Autoliners AS, Oslo, is scheduled to call at Hambantota port during the first week of March 2017 under its local agency Diamond Shipping Services (Pvt.) Ltd. The vessel is plying under MIAF service (Middle East, […]
Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA to be finalised in 2017: Singapore PM
Feb 20, 2017 (LBO) – The Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) between Sri Lanka and Singapore will hopefully be finalised this year, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said following a dinner with Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe. In a FB post on Saturday, Lee said, “We talked about the FTA that we are negotiating, which we hope to […]
Sri Lanka to review public sector cadre, redeploy excess
Feb 17, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will conduct a cadre review to determine the total cadre requirement of the public sector and provincial councils. The review is expected to forecast public sector staff needed for the year 2020 based on the optimum cadre identified for 2017. “In case excess employees are identified at any […]
Sri Lanka to forge ahead despite external pressures: Ravi
Feb 17, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finances are improving despite global turmoil, Brexit and higher interest rates in the US, backed by a Fitch Ratings outlook upgrade, the finance minister said. “State revenues in 2016 rose to over 13 percent of gross domestic product from around 10 percent and the budget deficit had come […]
‘s NITF gets reinsurance cover for agriculture
Feb 17, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Insurance Trust Fund says they have procured a reinsurance program for its agriculture insurance schemes. “This reinsurance programme will provide support to agricultural insurance schemes funded by NITF including the recently launched National Agricultural Loan Protection Scheme,” NITF said in a statement. “The cover has been arranged […]
Google loon may leave Sri Lanka, corruption accusation baseless: Harin
Feb 16, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s controversial Google loon pilot project may be withdrawn from the country as a result of a spectrum issue with the International Telecommunication Union, the telecommunications minister said. Harin Fernando told reporters Thursday that Sri Lanka has so far delayed facilitating pilot tests by allocating the required spectrum of […]
With foreign debt servicing of USD4 bil, cabinet approves sovereign bond
Feb 16, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister says the island’s total domestic and foreign debt service payments for 2017 is estimated to be around 1,480 billion rupees. In a cabinet memorandum Karunanayake said total foreign debt service payments including foreign currency denominated debt amounts to 609.4 billion rupees (4.04 billion dollars) in 2017. […]
Indonesia donates 5,000MT of rice to Sri Lanka
Feb 15, 2017 (LBO) The Indonesian government will donate 5,000 metric tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka following a request of President Maithripala Sirisena through the local ambassador in Jakarta. The consignments to be shipped in a few days are expected to arrive in Colombo in March, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. […]