Tag: economy

Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Economic policies in South Asia are improving and people are taking ownership for policymaking and are no longer driven by multilateral institutions, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor Nivard Cabraal said.“We are now taking ownership of our own destinies,” Cabraal said at the opening of a regional symposium of senior central […]

Aug 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it is selling its own securities to remove money from the banking system, after running out of its Treasury bill stock in a bid to keep money supply growth low.But access to the window has been restricted, allowing market rates further up the yield curve […]

Aug 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has sought help from Iceland to develop its fisheries and geo-thermal resources and both countries plan to improve air travel links, the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. The request for aid was made by Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama during a visit to Reykjavik earlier […]

Aug 15, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian nations should look at re-investing foreign exchange reserves in each others’ countries instead of buying low yielding securities in developed nations, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor Nivard Cabraal said.“Our foreign reserves are bridging the fiscal deficit of developed countries at low rates,” Governor Cabraal told a gathering of […]

Aug 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s industrial exports plunged 9.3 percent in June 2008, with the key apparel sector slumping 8.9 percent, though total exports for the first six months still showed positive growth. “In fact, I cannot recall a time where I have seen such a striking dichotomy between global commodity and credit […]

Aug 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is melting its coinage and minting less valuable coins amidst booming commodity prices and rising inflation at home, continuing a tradition of monetary debasement that dates back to ancient monarchies. By collecting the Nickel/brass and Cupro/Nickel coins in circulation and shipping them to the minter for melting and […]

Aug 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa has discussed further funding from China’s Export Import Bank to expand a coal power plant, a highway and a bunkering project, the foreign ministry said. China is building a port in the southern Sri Lankan town of Hambantota, which is President Rajapaksa’s home constituency. President […]

Aug 10, 2008 (LBO) – An activist who went to court against a privatization deal has sought the removal of a member of the rate setting committee of Sri Lanka’s central bank who was faulted in a court ruling, a media report said.The Sunday Island newspaper said lawyers to left-leaning politician Vasudeva Nanayakkara had written […]

Aug 09, 2008 (LBO) – The deflation of the oil bubble appeared to take hold in August as long expected by economists who identified it as a ‘monetary shock’ from reserve currency central banks, and Iran called for a probe into the root causes of the price spike. Oil and commodity prices raced to new […]

Aug 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has said interest rates on benchmark government securities had begun to ease with the opening up of the market to foreign investors, continued liquidity and lower inflation expectations. “In line with the rate reduction in the primary market, the secondary market yield curve that represents the […]

Aug 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade ministry and the urban development authority plan to build a 15-story government complex in the suburb of Rajagiriya, just outside the capital Colombo, ministry secretary R M K Ratnayake said.The cost of the project will be around three billion rupees which will be allocated by the state […]

July 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation would head down faster in the coming months as its monetary authority had started a tightening cycle earlier than the region, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.“We are one of the few countries to start tightening early,” Governor Cabraal said. “We will also see results earlier.” He […]