Tag: economy

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is seeking to increase revenue for its cash-strapped Treasury by jacking up taxes on cigarettes and liquor, days ahead of the presentation of its annual budget, officials said. The tax on cigarettes has been raised by a rupee and that on a litre of 100 percent […]

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 6.6 percent in October from a year earlier, accelerating from 5.8 percent in September, the government’s statistics office said. It was the sixth straight monthly increase in inflation and was driven largely by price increases in food and beverages. During October prices […]

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan economist and opposition United National Party lawmaker Harsha De Silva has defended his criticism of government policy, saying efforts to tarnish critics were uncalled for. The newspaper said some of the recipients of the emailed note were “furious over the call for the elimination of so called ‘traitors’ […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka exports grew 7.0 percent to 760.3 million US dollars in August 2010, with industrial exports up 7. 8 percent to 574 million dollars though apparels continued to weaken, official data showed. Imports were up 36.9 percent to 8,669 million US dollars with consumer goods up 45.1 percent to […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed LOLC group and Browns Investments, a private firm, have bought into the island’s Sierra group which has interests in construction, cable manufacturing and fertilizer in a 1.6 billion rupee deal. LOLC, a financial firm had earlier also bought a hotel group. The two firms had bought a […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has higher than ‘optimum’ foreign reserves, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said as a wide interest rate differential with the island’s anchor currency, official borrowings and International Monetary Fund injections boosted reserves. As long as sterilization continues (rupee injections), economic participants get unlimited ammunition to hit the exchange […]

Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has marginally improved its score in a global corruption index but governance is still so bad that it ranks among other countries seen to be very corrupt, a statement said. “The score indicates that these countries continue to have a serious corruption problem in their public sector.” In […]

Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – A call by a stockbroking firm to immediately identify and eliminate “traitors” who may question a “noble” government goal of making the “motherland” a financial hub of South Asia, has stirred up a storm, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s Daily FT business daily said the call was contained in […]

Oct 27, 2010 (LBO) – A report on reforms to Sri Lanka’s complex national and regional taxes has recommended using information technology to make it easier to charge and pay taxes, a statement from the president’s office said. The report by the presidential commission on taxation was handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday after […]

Oct 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has lifted price controls on rice originally imposed to prevent a sharp price spike caused by low harvests and state controls that prevented imports from coming in to stabilize prices. The government’s information office said the consumer affairs authority has lifted a 70 rupee per kilogram price cap […]

Oct 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has made a ‘re-commitment’ to fiscal prudence and a promotion of public private partnerships is a pragmatic recognition of private sector strengths that will help improve finances, a top economist and retired public servant had said. Former central bank governor A S Jayewardene said a recent speech by […]

October 21, 2010 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government has said its troops collected more than four million dollars worth of gold jewellery during the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels. Chief government whip Dinesh Gunawardena told parliament on Wednesday that security forces picked up the precious items during the final months of the decades-long […]