Tag: economy

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bloated public sector has consumed a bulk of the additional tax collections in the first five months of the year, with the salary bill rising 30 percent, data released by the finance ministry shows. During the last three years the treasury and revenue authorities have tightened loopholes and […]

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices shot up to 17.6 percent in the year to July with the index growing 2.8 percent in the past 30 days, the government’s statistics office said Tuesday. . In the year to June inflation was only 13.0 percent, but monthly inflation has been edging up on […]

July 29, 2007 (AFP) – The recent escalation in fighting in Sri Lanka has not derailed the nation’s economy, with the island on track to record its fastest growth in nearly three decades, according to the central bank. Conflict between government troops and Tamil rebels has claimed more than 5,200 lives since late 2005, with […]

June 29, 2007 (LBO) – Less political victimization and better benefits have seen workers of privatized Sri Lankan companies opting out of trade unions, a recent survey showed. Meanwhile, the government has said it will close Sri Lanka’s privatization arm, the Public Enterprise Reform Commission, as the sale of state assets was no longer a […]

July 27 (LBO) – Small countries like Sri Lanka would have been better off had world trade talks succeeded as the alternative is bilateral trade deals with stronger, increasingly protectionist economic partners, a top European economist said. Protectionist sentiment was on the rise in established capitalist countries who feel threatened by the emergence of new […]

July 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s balance of payments is under control despite the steady loss of foreign reserves in the past few weeks and the rupee coming under pressure, Central Bank officials said. The country has been losing foreign reserves since April when international reserves peaked in the wake of tight monetary policy […]

July 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would choose more than one lead manager to the upcoming sovereign bond issue, with evaluations of bids to begin soon after a beauty parade ends this Friday, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. “We want to increase Sri Lanka’s reach to a broader spread of investors,” Cabraal told […]

July 25, 2007 (LBO) – Investment banks vying to lead-manage a sovereign bond issue have started to make detailed presentations to the Sri Lanka government as official data showed that the country’s foreign reserves were coming under pressure. The beauty parade is expected to be completed this week with banks making proposals for 400 and […]

July 25, 2007 (LBO) – Negative views about Sri Lanka’s economy are promoted by terrorists, terror sympathizers, promoters of political agendas and people who are unaware of the real picture, the country’s Central Bank governor said. “We are not saying Sri Lanka is perfect. We have a lot of room to grow. We have a […]

July 24, 2007 (LBO) – A Chinese trade and investment delegation is visiting Sri Lanka and is especially keen on doing business in the construction sector, Board of Investment officials said Tuesday. The team, from the China Council for the Promotion of Investment (CCPIT) in Shanghai, held talks with Investment Promotion Minister Sarath Amunugama and […]

July 23, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has warned of higher inflation in July as authorities started to apply brakes on rising interest rates by expanding domestic assets of the banking system. Analysts say the reserve outflow, which is believed to be fiscally induced, picked up pace further in early July. Sri Lanka’s […]

July 20, 2007 (LBO) – Tiny homesteads, tea gardens on hillocks nestled above rain fed paddyfields lining the roads, are typical of the rural village of Omantha, where its poor inhabitants depend on agriculture for a living. . The village, in the Kalutara district, is just 50 kilometers of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo and […]