Tag: Finance

June 01, 2008 (LBO) – A strong balance of payments position and a strong currency is giving stability to Sri Lanka’s external sector. But it is at odds with the high inflation the country has been seeing in recent months. Q: What about the EU? Is the situation better there? A: In the EU it […]

May 31, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ruling politicians are to come up with plans next week to reduce energy use, with the petroleum bill being identified as the biggest threat to the country, senior ministers said. Trade minister Bandula Gunewardene said the country last year spent 2.4 billion dollars on oil imports compared to […]

The World Bank is considering giving Sri Lanka a crisis loan to tackle galloping food prices, the global financial institution’s vice president said on Friday.“The fund is targeting some 800 million dollars for countries such as Sri Lanka that have been hit by the food crisis,” Patel said. The solution for Sri Lanka, he said, […]

May 30, 2008 (LBO) – Inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital hit a new high of 26.2 percent in May up from 25.0 percent on a new index, while an index showing higher inflation was scrapped, the government’s statistics office said. Increases were seen in the food, clothing and footwear, housing and fuels, house maintenance, health […]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Sri Lanka called on Western powers Thursday to be wary of imposing sanctions for its alleged human rights violations, warning that the action could worsen the island’s long-running ethnic conflict.The United States and the European Union have withheld various aid programs and are debating whether to withdraw special trade benefits from Sri […]

May 29, 2008 (LBO) – A top official of a government body said freezing prices of government output was an ‘economic crime’ because the popular concept of ‘government bearing the burden’ had no factual basis. “Suppressing prices and freezing them is an economic crime,” head of Sri Lanka Railways Lalithasiri Gunaruwan told reporters. “It is […]

May 27, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the International Red Cross warned Tuesday that soaring food prices are exacerbating the misery of millions of poor people already suffering in war zones from Chad to Afghanistan.“The recent rise in food and fuel prices is making life even harder for poor people already struggling to cope […]

May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Trade liberalisation may not necessarily lead to economic growth and lower poverty, with state intervention in recent financial crises showing the market may not have all the answers, a meeting of South Asian policy makers was told. This leads to growth which in turns results in poverty reduction. But it […]

May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka employers grouping, unions and the government are in discussions to raise minimum wages in the country, an official said Tuesday. Deputy director general of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Kanishka Weerasinghe said discussions have started with the department of labour and other stakeholders for around three dozen types […]

May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has the world’s biggest public sector which is too big a burden on the poor, and the public service must do more to drive economic growth, a senior minister has said.The recruitment to the public sector on an ad hoc basis and the availability of non-performance based benefits […]

May 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said inflation would be higher than targeted in 2008, as the monetary authority found it difficult to counter pressures from rising commodity prices, especially oil. “In the circumstances there is a strong likelihood of the actual 2008 inflation being significantly higher than the previous estimates..,” the […]

May 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s labour minister threatened to mandate a private sector wage hike the same day the island’s monetary authority said it was trying to contain ‘second round’ effects on inflation. The minister of labour, Athauda Seneviratne told our sister site vimasuma.com that the government had decided the private sector should […]