Category: Featured
Crisis-hit Venezuela near collapse, says new oil deal with China
May 17, 2016 (LBO) – Venezuela says it has reached a deal with China to improve loan terms as falling oil prices have driven the oil-exporting country into economic crisis and collapsed its currency. Venezuelan Economy Vice-President Miguel Perez told Reuters that all conditions, including loan time frames, investment amounts and non-financial aspects, had been […]
Joint Opposition MP imports first tax-free vehicle for this year
May 11, 2016 (LBO) – A Parliamentarian aligned with the joint opposition has imported a brand new Range Rover under the tax-free vehicle scheme of the Parliament, further widening the burden to taxpayers. The former Minister who usually shouts against the policies of this government is the first Parliamentarian who has cleared the vehicle from […]
OTT services, threat to Sri Lankan Telco revenues and state taxes: Dialog Chief
May 10, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s telco industry may face a threat of increasing severity arising from revenue erosion due to the impact of Over the Top (OTT) communication services, a telecom operator said. As OTT companies like Netflix, Skype, Whatsapp, and Google encroach on the telecom industry, operators need to find ways to […]
Panama Papers goes online with Sri Lankan companies on list-Updated
May 09, 2016 (LBO) – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on Monday released a searchable database of more than 200,000 offshore entities that are part of the Panama Papers investigation. The data comes from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the top players in the offshore world, and includes information about companies, […]
KLM to resume flights to Sri Lanka after nearly 20 years
May 09, 2016 (LBO) – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines says it will resume flights to Sri Lanka from October after almost 20 years of staying away due to the conflict in the island. “The first flight to Colombo is scheduled to depart on Monday, 31 October 2016. This marks KLM’s return to Colombo after an […]
‘ve crossed rubicon in climate change: Chamath Palihapitiya
May 09, 2016 (LBO) – Chamath Palihapitya, the Sri Lankan-born venture capitalist and tech visionary, highlighted several industry trends recently, ranging from Amazon’s valuation to funding fallacies in Silicon Valley. Commenting on climate change, Palihapitiya said humanity had crossed the rubicon, and new technologies will be needed to fix the problem. “Nothing takes away from […]
Structures of a nation at war still in place, say UN Rapporteurs
May 09, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs to remove many of its war time practices that are still in place that limit freedoms and rights of the populace, a United Nations special rapporteur said in Colombo. “Sri Lanka is at a crucial moment in its history. While the armed conflict has ended after more […]
Sri Lanka wants LNG-driven power, to shift away from coal: Govt official
May 06, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka wants more power generation from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), because natural gas is attractively priced in international markets, and will rely less on coal, a government official said. “It is a very compelling case to start gasifying Sri Lanka using, initially, imported LNG, and then at some point […]
Sri Lanka seeks FTAs with Singapore, Malayasia and Turkey
May 06, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is exploring free trade agreements with Singapore, Malaysia and Turkey, a minister said. ““Countries like Sri Lanka need to thrive on the export of products and services on the way to create vibrant economies,” Malik Samarawickrama, minister of development strategies and international trade, said. “We are now on […]
‘s high credit growth to private sector plateauing: Governor
May 05, 2016 (LBO) – Credit growth to Sri Lanka’s private sector by commercial banks is a key variable followed in determining monetary policy. This number has been running high in recent months, rising to 26.5 percent in February, compared with 25.7 percent in January on a year-on-year basis, although the figure is down from […]
‘s foreign debt servicing rises steadily
May 01, 2016 (LBO) – The amount Sri Lanka has spent on external debt repayment and interest has more than doubled over the last five years, Central Bank data shows. Earnings from exports, however, have not grown as much. Debt service payments increased to 4.7 billion dollars in 2015 from 1.8 billion dollars in 2011, […]
No reason to keep exporter’s money abroad: Central Banker
Apr 28, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters do not have a clear reason to keep their money abroad as the Central Bank has already removed restrictions on foreign currency withdrawals from foreign currency accounts, a senior official said. Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Nandalal Weerasinghe speaking at an event said the exporters will […]