Tag: Finance

NEW DELHI, March 31, 2007 (AFP) – South Asian officials Saturday recommended observer status for Iran at next week’s regional summit which will be dominated by trade amid warming ties between rivals India and Pakistan. China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United States already have observer status with the eight-nation South Asian […]

March 31, 2007 (LBO) – Community-based disaster warning system technologies and their effectiveness were tested in a recent study conducted in 32 villages Sri Lanka’s coastal belt. This project was started after the devastating Asian tsunami that claimed the lives of more than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka. It was funded by the International Development […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) – The gap between petrol and diesel prices in Sri Lanka has widened further overnight with a hike of 7 rupees a litre by state owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation with the second player Lanka IOC following suit. The retail prices of a litre of 90-Octane petrol is now 104 rupees, 95-Octane […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said Friday it had met its targets for first quarter reserve money expansion, a sign that it had the ability to control raging inflation. Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said it had maintained its first quarter target for reserve money growth of 254 billion rupee […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse Friday called for increased productivity and efficiency in both the state and private sector to sustain the momentum of economic growth which hit record levels last year. The growth of 7.4 percent achieved last year despite many challenges proved the validity of the government’s defence […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) – Consumer price inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo fell by 1.7 percent in the month of March though the 12-month difference in price levels was still high at 19.5 percent, data from the statistics office showed Friday. Analysts says unions are likely to oppose any attempts to short change them […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank called for better government budgets to avoid money printing, changes in badly run state firms, more private sector involvement in infrastructure to reduce further build-ups in government debt, in it annual report Friday. Last year the GDP deflator, the broadest measure of inflation at 10.5 percent […]

March 29, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka grew by a blistering 7.7 percent in 2006, which is the highest on record, the country’s statistics office said Thursday. The Department of Census and Statistics said agriculture grew by 6.1 percent, industry by 8.4 percent and services by 7.8 percent. “We are encouraged to see that all […]

March 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state investment promotion body which runs industrial parks said they were not affected by a Tamil Tiger air raid, including one near the targeted air base. The Board of Investment (BOI) runs two large industrial parks in Katunayake near the airport and in Biyagama as well as a […]

March 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs more monetary tightening and a smaller budget deficit to improve its economic fundamentals and bring inflation down, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday. We do think monetary policy would have to be tightened further, ADB Country Economist Johanna Boestel said. The Central Bank can succeed in […]

March 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would offer an immediate 20 percent bonus in stationary for kids who break their piggy banks and deposit the coins in the banking system, officials said. “If children break their piggy banks and bring the coins back to circulation we will give exercise books, pens and rulers to […]

March 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities are struggling to restore investor confidence a day after Tamil Tiger rebels launched an audacious air attack that stunned the defence establishment, officials said. The two sides agreed to a Norwegian-arranged truce in 2002, but successive talks broke down. Tamil Tiger rebels carried out their first air […]