Tag: economy

Apr 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state run petroleum distributor Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has lost 28.6 billion rupees in 2010 as due to rising cost and arbitrary political control of its retail prices, official data show. Sri Lanka has no cost-basis for fuel pricing and prices are controlled by arbitrary by the state while […]

MANILA, April 26, 2011 (AFP) – Soaring global food prices threaten to push tens of millions of Asians into extreme poverty and cut the region’s economic growth this year, the Asian Development Bank warned in a report Tuesday. Cereal inventories globally will shrink further unless production rises at least 2.0 percent this year, the report […]

Apr, 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised import duties on several categories of petrol-engined cars and three wheelers with steeper increases seen in larger hybrid vehicles, which had exceptionally low taxes earlier, officials said. At the current rates even the large hybrids are taxed at a lower rate than smaller petrol cars. Update […]

Apr 22, 2011 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan private-public sector partnership has been able to acquire five international patents in nanotechnology in its first year of operations in a drive to commercially exploit the technology. Similarly, the export of nano carbon tubes and nano titanium dioxide in place of the raw minerals that are exported […]

Apr 21, 2011 (LBO) – Labour productivity in Sri Lanka’s industry rose 10.6 percent in 2010 racing ahead of economy-wide gains which were dragged down slower increases in agriculture and services, according to official data. Overall labour productivity in all three sectors rose 6.6 percent from a year earlier to 343,000 rupees. Labour productivity is […]

Apr 20, 2011 (LBO) – Gold futures hit a new high of 1,500 US dollars an ounce amid concerns about the US currency and budget deficits, with one state passing a law to make gold and silver legal tender. Modern fully paper fiat money, which a central bank can pass to the population in unlimited […]

Apr 19, 2011 (LBO) – Profits of Sri Lanka’s central bank fell 65. 1 percent to 11.7 billion rupees in 2010 as the cost of domestic monetary operations and rupee appreciation generated losses but made capital gains from gold sales. In 2009 the Central Bank made profits of 33. 6 billion rupees largely as a […]

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2011 (AFP) – For the first time a top credit ratings agency has seriously hinted the United States might be forced to welch on its debts, a warning experts say could herald dramatic changes for the country and the world. In the world of credit a “AAA” rating is a gold star […]

Apr 19, 2011 (LB) – India was the largest source of foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka in 2010 with 110 million US dollars followed by Malaysia with 72 million US dollars and the United Arab Emirates 66 million dollars, the Central Bank said. “It is necessary for Sri Lanka to attract more non debt […]

Apr 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka faces a balance between inflation and growth, a top International Monetary Fund official said as prices continue to rise and the Central Bank has taken the first steps to tackle loose monetary policy. Anoop Singh, director of IMF’s Asia and Pacific department said that Sri Lanka has been […]

Apr 17, 2011 (LBO) – The expansion of Sri Lanka state workers seen since 2004 has taken a breather in 2010 reducing a key form of tax banditry practised by rulers, the latest official data shows. In 2010 however the state also froze wages helping bring down the budget deficit. However analysts say rather than […]

Apr 17, 2011 (LBO) – An attempt by the state to deduct further sums money from salaries of Sri Lanka’s private sector workers to create a ‘pension’ has run into further opposition with the draft law being challenged in court, a media report said. The Sunday Times newspaper said Ceylon Bank Employees Union had challenged […]