Tag: business

June 2, 2006 (LBO) – Naoko Ishii will take over as country director of the World Bank in August from the incumbent Peter Harrold, the bank said Friday. Harrold, a British national, ends his four-year tenure in July. Ishii, a Japanese national, has been a Director in the Japanese Ministry of Finance since 2002 where […]

May 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation rate for May rose as short supplies of consumer eatables like cream cracker biscuits, rice, bread, red onions, milk tea, fresh milk and dried chillies pushed prices up, the Census & Statistics Dept. said Wednesday. On a point-to-point basis inflation for May rose 13.2 percent over 9.2 […]

May 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation rate for May rose as short supplies of consumer eatables like cream cracker biscuits, rice, bread, red onions, milk tea, fresh milk and dried chillies pushed prices up, the Census & Statistics Dept. said Wednesday. On a point-to-point basis inflation for May rose 13.2 percent over 9.2 […]

May 30, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit – the broadest measure of international trade – expanded during the four-months to April to 1,057 million dollars, on costly oil import bill, the Central Bank said Tuesday. However, the deficit was somewhat contained as Sri Lankans residing abroad sent home 221 million dollars – up […]

May 30, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to raise import tariffs on wheat to encourage paddy sales and shore up prices, treasury secretary P B Jayasundara said Tuesday. The government recently slapped a 15 percent import duty on wheat flour and six-percent duty on imports of wheat grain. “We are planning a further upward […]

May 19, 2006 (LBO) – An upsurge in violence in the north east part of Sri Lanka could slow down progress post-conflict development projects, a top World Bank official said Friday. The bank, which lends around 80-100 million dollars to Sri Lanka each year, has a few medium-term projects in the north east. “We are […]

May 18, 2006 (LBO) – The United States Thursday gave Sri Lanka a one million dollar grant to upgrade and improve the living conditions in 40,000 transitional shelters built after the December 2004 tsunami. Nearly 20,000 people still live in transitional shelters, of which around 40 percent are in need of upgrades, the U.S. said […]

May 17, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Wednesday joined an Asian Development Bank- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development initiative to develop an action plan to combat corruption. “Knowledge – Commitment – Action against Corruption in Asia-Pacific”, a book that explores innovative reforms discussed at the ADB OECD 5th Regional Anti-Corruption Conference for Asia-Pacific in […]

COLOMBO, May 16, 2006 (AFP) – Fears Sri Lanka could return to civil war have punched a hole in investor confidence and wiped millions of dollars off the value of local shares, analysts said Tuesday The tiny Colombo Stock Exchange has shed nearly 53 billion rupees (5.3 million dollars) of its value since the crisis […]

May 15 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s balance of payments (BOP) has recorded a 150 million dollar surplus for the three months to March, the Central Bank said Monday as it maintained key interest rates for the fifth straight month. The balance of payments is a record of the island’s total payments to foreign countries, including […]

May 11 (Dow Jones)–The course of Sri Lanka’s peace process has become crucial to the country’s economy, as high oil prices threaten double-digit inflation. High oil prices may also force the central bank to hold back an anticipated cut in interest rates, which could have spurred the economy and offset some of the pressure caused […]