Tag: Finance

May 30, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka wants foreign investors to set up joint ventures where the output will be allowed to be sold to the domestic market, investment promotion minister Lakshman Abeywardena said, amid fears of new protectionism.When import duty protected industries expand, the state also loses tax revenues as taxes that would have […]

May 30, 2014 (LBO) – The outlook for Sri Lanka’s economy was positive with low inflation and stronger growth driven by exports, but the country should watch out for a slowdown in developed nations and a domestic drought, an International Monetary Fund official said.Todd Schneider, who headed mission for annual ‘Article IV’ consultations, said recent […]

May 30, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 3.2 percent in the year to May 2014, slowing from 4.9 percent in April, though prices rose 0.6 percent during the month, data from the state statistics office showed. As credit is weak the exchange is facing appreciation pressure, but the Central Bank has kept […]

May 29, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lankan firms are experiencing a downturn, despite apparently high gross domestic product growth last year due to weak domestic consumption growth, an economist said.Amal Sanderatne, head of Frontier Research, an economics consultancy said their clients are asking why demand is weak when Sri Lanka registered the second highest economic […]

May 29, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has allowed foreign investors to buy debt securities of unlisted private companies also relaxed a series of exchange controls on letters of credit and education expenses. The liberalization will takes effect from May 28, the Central Banks said. The full statement from the Central Bank is reproduced below:- […]

May 29, 2014 (LBO) – Foreign direct investments into Sri Lanka doubled from a year earlier to 442 million US dollars in the first quarter of 2014, investment promotion minister Lakshman Abeywardena said.This year Sri Lanka is expecting 1.5 billion US dollars Minister Abeywardena said. He said 36 percent of the investments came into tourism, […]

May 28, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank did not want the rupee to appreciate quickly and had bought dollars heavily in the market to prevent an appreciation and help exporter profits, Deputy Governor, Ananda Silva said.Analysts say a flurry of dollar purchases in excess of inflows then pressure the exchange rate which may […]

May 27, 2014 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank said it would loan 175 million US dollars to build roads and boost the state university system to generate graduates that more employable.ADB will give 100 million US dollars for Sri Lanka government’s skills sector development program which plans to reduce a mismatch between the competencies […]

May 26, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s balance of payments surplus or the gap between international receipts and payments widened to 828.8 million US dollars, the Central Bank said as weak domestic credit dampened imports. However when credit is weak not all of the inflows are spent, generating excess liquidity in the domestic money markets […]

May 25, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s information technology chamber is has organized a forum on workplace diversity, with a top Microsoft executive and academic to deliver the keynote speech. Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) is hosting the breakfast briefing on Increasing Diversity and Inclusiveness in the Contemporary Workforce on Tuesday […]

LONDON, May 24, 2014 (AFP) – French economist Thomas Piketty’s best-selling book on income inequality is flawed by errors in his data, the Financial Times newspaper said Saturday.An investigation by the British broadsheet found there was little evidence in the 43-year-old’s original sources to underpin his argument that an increasing share of total wealth is […]

May 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Employee’s Provident Fund is running out of new cash to repay beneficiaries as the private sector population age rapidly but attempts by the state to deny withdrawals at maturity will be resisted, a legislator said.Withdrawals were 48.7 billion rupees in 2012 and 50.2 billion rupees and the cash […]