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Sri Lanka will not curb imports to maintain peg: CB Governor
Feb 01, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will not curb imports to stabilize the exchange rate, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said as a peg with the US dollar came under pressure from strong credit growth. “There has been an exponential growth in imports such as vehicles and gold and this is a reflection of […]
Sri Lanka shares end down 1.1-pct
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed weaker Tuesday after rising sharply at the opening, as profit-taking came in with turnover also slumping, , brokers said. The main All Share Price Index closed down 1.12 percent (64.22 points) at 5,691.34, while the more liquid Milanka index fell 1.02 percent (50.94 points) to close […]
Scanned Access
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Ports Authority plans to install bar code readers at Colombo port to speed up the movement of vehicles moving containers, a senior official said. Truckers have complained of lengthy waiting times of sometimes 6-8 hours to get in or out of the port. The existing gate pass system […]
Sri Lanka war torn irrigation works get IFAD boost
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said it is giving a 22 million dollar loan to Sri Lanka to rebuilt irrigation works, which will help 7,000 farmer families in former war-torn areas. The money will be used to improve downstream irrigation infrastructure of the Iranamadu reservoir in Kilinocchi in […]
Sri Lanka lifts ban on tea estates harvesting timber
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – A Sri Lanka state decision to allow commercial timber to be harvested will increase the supply of fuel wood for use in tea driers helping cut production costs, an industry body representing private managers said. “We are confident this decision by the government will benefit not only the estate sector […]
Sri Lanka testing new tea plants
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is testing new varieties of tea that have better ability to tolerate drought and disease, the head of the island’s tea research outfit said. Gerry Jayawardena, chairman of the Tea Research Institute, said the new types of tea plants were needed given changes in climate and consumer preferences […]
Sri Lanka January inflation slows to 3.8-pct
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital rose 3.8 percent in January 2012 from a year earlier, slowing from 4.9 percent in December 2011, the state statistics office said. Prices measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in January 2012 after rising 1.2 percent during December 2011. Annual […]
Sri Lanka central bank clarifies IMF interest rates
Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it would only have to pay a higher interest rate for International Monetary Fund loans exceeding 300 percent of the country quota, and lower balances would only attract a rate of a little over 1.0 percent. The IMF has effectively suspended its 2.6 billion US […]
Sri Lanka sells long bonds
Jan 30, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has sold 10-year bonds to yield 10. 25 percent and 20-year bonds to yield 11. 0 percent at an auction Monday, the state debt office said. The debt office said 1,000 million rupees of 2022 bonds and 1,026 million rupees of 2032 bonds were sold. Dealers said a […]
Sri Lanka shares close up 0.5-pct
Jan 30, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan closed higher Monday, on the back of Friday’s gains but a strong rally at the opening petered out towards the end as investors booked profit, brokers said. “Foreign participation stood at 18.3 percent of the total market activity and at the end of the day foreign investors were […]
Lease Business
Jan 30, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Citizens Development Business Finance Plc, a registered leasing firm, said profits fell 25 percent in the December 2011 quarter to 157 million rupees from a year earlier, mainly due to lower non-fund based income. Net assets rose from 1.0 billion rupees to 2.06 billion rupees from March to […]
Sri Lanka tea industry poverty still high: FAO
Jan 30, 2012 (LBO) – Poverty levels in Sri Lanka’s tea industry are still too high and need to be addressed as a matter of priority, a senior official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation said. The FAO is also involved in the island’s tea industry and is supporting the National Institute of Plantations Managements […]