Tag: business

Feb 20, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is battling to keep the country supplied with coins as metal prices go up and coins disappear from circulation into piggy banks and places of worship.The Central Bank estimates that 20 to 30 tonnes of Sri Lankan coins are accumulated at Temples and Churches in India […]

Feb 17, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank kept policy rates steady in February signaling that gilt rates are bottoming out but said longer term lending rates have more room to fall. The central bank said it was keeping the rate at which excess money is drained from the banking system at 6.50 percent […]

Feb 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bank should lend more to businesses associated with ports, airports, health and information technology to make use of expanded capacity in the economy, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. Sri Lanka’s government has developed infrastructure in recent year with ports, airports and roads generating extra capacity and opportunities […]

Feb 12, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves rose 4.6 percent to 7,200 million in December 2013 from a year earlier, despite payments to the International Monetary Fund and losses on gold holdings, official data showed. But in pegged exchange rate monetary systems ‘reserves’ are invested abroad such as in liquid US Treasuries and […]

Jan 31, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 4. buy 4 percent in the 12-months to January 2014, down from 4.7 percent in December, the state statistics office said.But external inflation usually generated by reserve currency central banks like the Federal Reserve has also started to moderate and if Fed tightens or normalizes […]

HONG KONG, January 27, 2014 (AFP) – Asian markets sank on Monday following the worst losses on Wall Street in seven months, with investors gripped by renewed fears over emerging economies days ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve policy meeting. Japan’s Nikkei, which was the best performer last year, continued its 2014 downtrend as the […]

LONDON, January 24, 2014 (AFP) – British Prime Minister David Cameron was on Friday to insist that the “re-shoring” of jobs from countries such as India and China could be a key factor in spurring European economic growth.Cameron is due to tell the World Economic Forum being held in the Swiss town of Davos that […]

COLOMBO, January 22, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main statistics office Wednesday said a senior official who denounced alleged government pressure to inflate economic growth data would be sacked after he was found guilty of leaking confidential information. Statistics chief Gunawardena denied that he was under pressure to change economic data to suit the government […]

COLOMBO, January 22, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan investigators arrested a ruling party politician who failed to turn up to his trial for the Christmas Day killing of a British tourist two years ago, police said Wednesday.Sampath Vidanapathirana, a councillor in the southern region of Tangalle, was tracked down and arrested in the capital Colombo […]

Jan 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is targeting 2.5 billion US dollars in foreign direct investors in 2014 with 2013 estimated to have drawn about 1.3 billion US dollars, a minister said. Investment promotions minister Lakshman Abeywardene said FDI inflows had reached 870 million US dollars by September and full year data was still […]

Jan 07, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s key business chambers have called for a probe on official statistics following reports on how an official was allegedly asked to boost gross domestic numbers in a court filing. “If such doubts were to persist, it would lead to a lack of credibility on a range of published […]

Jan 05, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation measured by a private consumer price index rose 4.8 percent in the 12 months of 2013 in line with the 4.7 percent measured by the state statistics office. In Feb 2012, the rupee was floated, allowing the peg to fall to around 118 to the US dollar […]