Tag: Finance

Aug 29, 2008 (LBO) – Consumer prices increases in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo fell to 24.9 percent in the 12-months to August from 26.6 percent in July, government statistics showed.Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has kept monetary policy tight from the beginning of the year under a strict reserve money targeting regime, which was further […]

August 27, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan jets carried out retaliatory attacks against Tamil Tiger rebels on Wednesday, a day after the guerrillas used a light aircraft to bomb a key naval facility, officials said.Tens of thousands of people have died since the LTTE launched a separatist campaign in 1972 to carve out a homeland […]

Aug 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in the first six months of the year reached 425 million US dollars with telecoms bringing in most of the money, the investment promotion office said.Sri Lanka’s telecom firms have been pouring billions into network expansion in the last few years, but the […]

Aug 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government will run out of working people to tax in the future, as retirees increase and the workforce shrinks, creating a crisis that will leave a rapidly ageing population unprotected, a top financial analyst has warned.To recieve instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘act (space) […]

Aug 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is getting help from Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve government finances, the regional lender said, four years after the island returned to excessive government spending, money printing and high inflation. The Japan Special Fund is giving a 300,000 US dollar grant to help Sri […]

Aug 22, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will host a South Asian Economic Summit (SAEA) from August 28, where civil society, academics, private sector and state representatives can debate economic issues, a Colombo-based think thank said. Former Nepalese finance and foreign minister Bekh Thapa, former Bangladeshi foreign minister Kamal Hossain, former SAARC secretary generals Ibrahim […]

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 […]