Tag: Finance

Sept 01, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports grew 13.7 percent to 3.6 billion US dollars in the first half of 2010, and imports expanded 42.1 percent amid an economic recovery, expanding the trade deficit by 108 percent to 2.8 billion US dollars, official data show. In the month of June exports grew 23.4 percent […]

Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance secretary, a key policy maker in the current administration has backed freer trade which can improve people’s liberties and propel the country on a higher growth path. Sri Lanka has seen flourishing free trade from during the times of ancient kings. Jayasundera said the country was looking […]

Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 5. 0 percent in August 2010 from a year earlier, up from 4. 3 percent in July, the government’s statistics office said. The Colombo Consumer Price index increased 0. 5 percent during the month, against no growth in the month of July. […]

TOKYO, August 27, 2010 (AFP) – Japan’s consumer prices continued to slide while the unemployment rate fell for the first time in six months in July, the mixed data Friday illustrating the fragility of the country’s recovery. Japan’s core consumer price index fell 1.1 percent in July from a year earlier, government data showed, marking […]

Aug 26, 2010, Palo Alto (LBO) – Though US economic growth is ‘fizzling out’ there is unlikely to be a double dip recession and new ad hoc stimulus measures should be avoided to give a sense of stability for economic agents to act, a top monetary economist has said. “My own view is that for […]

Aug 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan government tax revenues have risen sharply after import duties on vehicle imports were slashed, a senior finance ministry official said. The government earned 1,700 million rupees in July alone on vehicle import tax revenue after import taxes were slashed in June, S R Attygalle, director-general of fiscal policy […]

Aug 23, 2010 (LBO) – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Sri Lanka said the island’s programme with the fund is on track with the government being able to meet the budget deficit target of eight percent of Gross Domestic Product. “End-June performance criteria on domestic budget borrowing, reserve money, and net reserves have […]

Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – Northern Sri Lanka, where education was highly valued before war retarded its growth, has potential to be transformed into a ‘knowledge economy’ from its traditional agrarian cum fisheries base, a statement said. An open forum on ‘Pathways to Knowledge-based Development’ in northern Jaffna is being organised by the Point Pedro […]

Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it has cut its reverse repurchase rate by 50 basis points to nine percent with immediate effect, while keeping the repurchase rate steady at 7. 25 percent to support an economic recovery as inflation eased. “While inflationary pressures in the domestic economy have continued to […]

Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan are providing financial aid to help Sri Lanka restore infrastructure and provide livelihood training for thousands of people displaced by war, a statement said. The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, administered by ADB, is extending a 2.5 million US dollar grant for a […]

Aug 18, 2010 (LBO) – India’s Mahindra and Mahindra group is planning to make investments in Sri Lanka initially in tourism and financial services and also increasing vehicles sales in the island, an official said. “Sri Lanka can provide a platform for large multinationals like us,” Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the […]

Aug 18, 2010 (LBO) – Asian Development Bank (ADB) said its Vice President Xiaoyu Zhao will visit Sri Lanka from 19-21 August for talks with the government and to visit ADB funded projects especially in the former northern war zone. The bank said in a statement Zhao will review ADB support for the reconstruction and […]