Sri Lanka to sign trade deals with China: official

June 11, 2010 (AFP) – Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang will hold talks with Sri Lanka’s president at the weekend and sign several trade and economic deals, the island’s foreign ministry said Friday. China is also building a port in the south of the island and is involved in constructing highways, power stations and petroleum […]

IMF warns Asia of spillovers from European crisis

SINGAPORE, June 9, 2010 (AFP) – The IMF warned Asia Wednesday of the potential spillovers of the European debt crisis, saying it could dampen trade, make capital flows volatile and overheat economies in the region. Greece is at the epicentre of a mounting debt crisis that threatens to spread across the eurozone and has pulled […]

Sri Lanka consumer spending rebounds: FMCG firm

June 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas group said its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) division grew revenues at double digit rates in the latest financial year and it re-launched brands as consumer spending rebounded. Sri Lanka had high inflation in 2008. It hit a peak of 28 percent in mid-2009 but fell thereafter. […]

‘s post-war boom accelerates

June 9, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s central bank raised its growth forecast for the year on Wednesday, citing strong post-war expansion in reconstruction and agriculture, particularly in former conflict zones. Cabraal also said the central bank was in the process of evaluating two international banks who have sought to open branches in Sri Lanka. […]

Sri Lanka must reduce deficits, debt; contain inflation: World Bank

June 08, 2010 (LBO) – South Asian countries like Sri Lanka must reduce high budget deficits and public debt to gain from the global economic recovery that is underway, the World Bank said in a report. The region weathered global recession much better than any other, showing remarkable resilience and is the second-fastest growing area […]

Sri Lanka outlines spending plans for 2010

June 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will spend at least 202 billion rupees on defence, 87. 8 billion rupees on roads, 53 billion rupees on health, 26. 2 billion rupees on ports and 25.1 billion rupees on water supply this year, a bill submitted to parliament said. In 2009 Sri Lanka spent 188.6 billion […]

Sri Lanka must cut business costs to lure investors: World Bank

June 08, 2010 – Sri Lanka’s investment climate must be improved and cost of doing business reduced to attract the private investment needed to speed up growth and improve people’s lives, a senior World Bank official said. Sri Lanka needs to sharply increase private investment in order to accelerate growth, Ernesto May, handling private sector […]

Sri Lanka firms struggle with rising labour costs: reports

June 06, 2010 (LBO) – A coir factory in a coconut growing northeastern district in Sri Lanka is facing labour problems and a yet another state enterprises is facing financial difficulties, media reports said. The Sunday Times newspaper said a four year old export oriented coir factory with Indian and Israeli collaboration has run into […]

Sri Lanka aims for investment grade rating by 2013: CB Governor

June 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is aiming to push its speculative sovereign rating to investment grade by 2013 by fixing government finances, keeping inflation low and growth high, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. Sri Lanka was downgraded a notch from its original rating as the country went on a deficit spending and […]

Sri Lanka and India should move for closer economic ties: president

June 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India have an opportunity to move towards closer economic ties as the end of a 30-year war opened up new opportunities, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. “We have a common heritage in trading with each other and the rest of the world,” President Rajapaksa told a […]

Sri Lanka Central Bank releases latest economic, social statistics

June 04, 2010 (LBO) – The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said it has just released its annual publication ‘Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2010’ with data on a wide range of economic and social developments. “The vast amount of data included in this publication will be of use for analysing trends in […]

Sri Lanka north-east ripe for tourism, agriculture

June 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Eastern and Northern provinces are ripe for investment in tourism, food processing and finance with infrastructure being built to improve connectivity, officials said. Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces were devastated by a 30-year war which ended last year with the military wiping out the last remnants of […]

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