Tag: economy

SIRAMBIADIYA, November 15, 2009 (AFP) – In a village deep in west Sri Lanka, one of the island’s few remaining communities of African descent breaks into song — a poignant elegy to a disappearing culture. The music starts with a slow, gentle rhythm played on a tambourine, spoons and coconut shells, before it builds to […]

Nov 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank, which maintains a soft peg with the US dollar, said gold would be an ‘important anchor’ for its foreign reserves, which have zoomed in 2009 with large foreign inflows.Gold has hit new highs in recent weeks, with the US dollar again weakening under extended loose monetary […]

Nov 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic growth is projected to touch 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 allowing the country to return to a higher growth path from 2010, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.Cabraal said government tax revenues, another direct indicator of economic activity, have also picked up. “Overall we […]

November 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top general, Sarath Fonseka, the architect of the army’s victory over Tamil rebels who was switched to a more ceremonial position, quit Thursday, a military source said.Fonseka declared during a visit to the United States last month that he was willing to shed his uniform and take up […]

MARAWILA, November 11, 2009 (AFP) – For 50 young Sri Lankans who had paid up to 1,500 dollars each for the chance of a new life, a five-week voyage in the hold of a fishing boat ended in an Australian camp for illegal migrants.Their families had sold property and whatever other assets they had to […]

Nov 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is to recruit 17,000 graduates from state universities unemployable in productive sectors, expanding an already bloated public sector, ahead of planned national polls due early next year.Graduates from state universities, who are educated at the expense of the people through general taxes, have successfully cultivated a perception […]

Nov 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is in a battle to dampen high public inflation expectations after capping price rises in the island’s capital Colombo to low single digits for more than a year.In 2009 the Central Bank is hoping to end the year with inflation at 3.5 percent after seeing only […]

Nov 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan workers should ask for to 3.0 to 5.0 percent annual wage hikes with the Central Bank targeting low inflation in the future, the island’s most senior Treasury official said. The output of Sri Lanka’s people have largely appropriated by a top heavy state sector. Last year more than […]

Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released country report and staff papers covering the background and economic analysis leading up to a stand by loan to the island in July.Sri Lanka’s economic management has improved in recent months with both inflation and interest rates coming down, but external borrowings have […]

Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – Farmers and fishermen have been among the main borrowers under a Sri Lankan government loan scheme to revive economic activity in the former northern war zone, the Central Bank said. It said in a statement that a total of 1,875 loans valued at 264 million rupees has been disbursed under […]

Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has a “moderate risk” of external debt distress over the 2009-14 period, an International Monetary Fund staff analysis has said. “All debt indicators are projected to remain below indicative thresholds under the program baseline scenario,” the IMF said. “This conclusion rests heavily on the satisfactory implementation of the […]

Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – Labour unions in several key state-owned utilities have rejected a government offer of a pay hike and said they would start a ‘work-to-rule’ from Wednesday that could slowdown economic activity. The joint trade unions of state refiner, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), National Water Board, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and port […]