Tag: business

Mar 26, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports surged 23.3 percent to 898.0 million US dollars in January 2014, and the trade gap narrowed 5.9 percent to 755.9 million US dollars amid low credit growth, official data showed. Industrial exports rose 23.6 percent to 691.6 million US dollars with apparel also up 23.4 percent to […]

Mar 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s commercial bank credit to business contracted 42.1 billion rupees in January 2014 to 1,369.7 billion rupees from a month earlier, while central bank credit to the state rose, official data show. The central bank said the contraction in January came from a reduction in gold-backed loans and repayments […]

Mar 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs ‘broad based radical reform’ of the public service to combat corruption and end a process where competitive tendering for state projects has become an exception, a legislator said. Some analysts however say corruption cannot be tackled or rule of law upheld without re-building Sri Lanka’s broken public […]

Mar 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said it was seeking to build a society that thrives on merit and enterprise as it marks 175 years. In 1883 tea auctions had begun in Colombo and in 1898 the Chamber had provided space. The auctions are conducted by the Ceylon Chamber of […]

Mar 21, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is holding a policy rate corridor at 6.5 to 8.0 percent, the Central Bank said amid benign credit growth and inflation.In 2011 a drought which reduced hydro power generated was accommodated by the banking credit which eventually saw the rupee falling to 130 from 100 to the US […]

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2014 (AFP) – New Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen kept the central bank firmly on the path set by predecessor Ben Bernanke Wednesday, shrugging off recent economic weakness as largely weather-caused. The Fed slightly cut its forecast for economic growth, trimming the high end of the ranges by 0.2 percentage point to […]

Mar 20, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has released a breakdown of foreign assets and gold holdings in official forex reserves for November 2013 as well as liabilities involving swaps and other payments.Foreign currency liabilities involving forex swaps and official loans due for repayment were also given on the liabilities side. For the next year […]

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2014 (AFP) – Moody’s lowered its credit rating for Argentina by one step Monday, citing a sharp fall in the country’s reserves and inconsistent economic policies.The fresh blow to the country came as Buenos Aires reported that prices rose 3.4 percent in February over January, taking the annual inflation pace to more […]

Mar 18, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s lubricant market is estimated to have stagnated or contracted further in 2013, on top of a decline in 2012, Chevron’s unit in the island said while cautioning against state attempts to expand trade freedoms of the people. Anti-Competitive The firm spoke out against state moves to relax a […]

Mar 17, 2014 (LBO – A 10 million US dollar warehouse and logistics centre will be set up in Sri Lanka by Glowbal Outlet Stores, a firm founded by Canadians of Lebanese origin, the state investment promotion agency said.Ramzey Hammound president of Glowbal Outlets and Board of Investment of Sri Lanka chairman Lakshman Jayaweera had […]

Mar 17, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product grew 7.3 percent in 2013 with the economy estimated to have grown 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the state statistics office said. For the full year, agriculture grew 4.7 percent, industry 9.9 percent and services 6.4 percent. Sri Lanka is […]

Mar 14, 2014 (LBO) – Unsolicited deals and awarding massive state contracts without competitive bidding has become the norm in Sri Lanka paving the way for corruption and inflated costs for the tax payer, legislators have charged.The constitution along with one in 1972 is also blamed for destroying the country’s independent public service headed by […]