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Sri Lanka offers tax breaks for R&D, royalties
Nov 21, 2013 (LBO) – To encourage research and development a tax deduction will be raised to 300 percent, and royalties will be made tax free, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said delivering the 2014 budget speech.Royalties on new patents will be made tax free for 7 years. President Rajapaksa who is also finance minister said the […]
Sri Lanka state carriers to get US$200mn bailout
Nov 21, 2013 (LBO) – State-run SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka will be given 200 million US dollars bailout in the 2014 budget, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.Ceylon Electricity Board has turned around and Ceylon Petroleum has cut losses. SriLankan will get 150 million US dollars and Mihin Lanka will get 50 million US dollars. Both […]
Sri Lanka expects 8.0-pct growth, 5.2-pct budget deficit in 2014
Nov 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is expected to grow 8.0 percent in 2014 with inflation of less than 6 percent and the budget deficit is expected to be brought down to 5.2 percent of gross domestic product, the Central Bank has said.Global commodity prices have however softened in recent weeks, with coffee prices […]
Sri Lanka presents budget amid slow economy
Nov 21, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is presenting at budget to the parliament for 2014 today amid tight economic conditions that has reduced tax revenues in the first half of 2013.Sri Lanka was expected to cut the budget deficit to 5.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2013 and go for a tighter target […]
Sri Lanka stocks 0.2-pct lower
Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed lower with telco and diversified stocks losing ground amid foreign selling, brokers said. Distilleries closed flat at 187.00 rupees and Touchwood Investments closed 10 cents lower at 2.80 rupees. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 15.62 points lower at 5,793.53, down 0.27 percent. The […]
Bangladesh cracks down on unions after wage unrest
DHAKA, November 20, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladesh police have arrested three union leaders over deadly protests against a new minimum wage for garment workers that have forced hundreds of factories to shut, an officer said Wednesday. Police arrested the trio over their roles in the protests which have left two people dead in key industrial […]
Sri Lanka port leases tanks to Litro Gas
Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – State-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority said it had leased liquefied petroleum gas tanks in a facility at newly built Hambantota port to another state run firm.The LPG distribution firm was acquired by the state when Shell sold out. Three tanks with a capacity of 6,000 cubic metres each had been […]
Sri Lanka weak state revenue raises queries on taxless growth: legislator
Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s weak revenue collections in the first half of the year raised questions about the accuracy of gross domestic product estimates, an opposition legislator who is also an economist has said. Sri Lanka is recovering from a balance of payments crisis largely driven by credit taken by state enterprises […]
Sri Lanka state revenues down in first half, current expenses flat
Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues were down 7.6 percent to 481.7 billion rupees in the first half of 2013 with tax revenues down 5.1 percent to 458.7 billion rupees, official data showed.“The only result is that the producers’ money is confiscated for the benefit of a bureaucracy that adds insult to […]
Sri Lanka has to guard against external risks: IMF
Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has expressed a commitment to keep the budget deficit down next year, but the country has to guard against external risks and boost its business climate, a top International Monetary Fund official said. Meanwhile Shinohara said a lower deficit would also reduce the need for future foreign borrowings. […]
‘s LB Finance Rs2.0bn debt oversubscribed
Nov 19, 2013 (LBO) – A 2.0 billion rupee debt sale by Sri Lanka’s LB Finance has been oversubscribed and close on its opening day, an official said.The offer is managed by Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka. LB Finance, a registered finance company offered debt paying 14 percent monthly ( annual effective rate of 14.93 […]
”’ by RAM
Nov 19, 2013 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka said it has given a ‘BBB+’ rating to a proposed 2.0 billion subordinated debt issue by LB Finance, a notch below its ‘A-‘ domestic entity rating. As such the Company’s funding composition remained dominated by deposits increasing to 76.71% as at end-August 2013. In line with the […]