Tag: Finance

December 14 – (LBO) The South Asian region, including Sri Lanka, which experienced robust growth in 2006, may face a sharper and disruptive slowdown, unless fiscal and monetary policy is tightened in time, a new World Bank report has warned. In 2006, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Asia is estimated to have grown by […]

December 13, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy grew 7.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, the island’s Census and Statistics Department said Wednesday, but an escalation in hostilities could dampen future economic progress. The department, which is the main agency that prepares the country’s national accounts, said growth during the third quarter […]

December 13 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports dipped by over 11 percent in October, the country’s Central Bank said Wednesday, on the back of a fall in exports of tea, textiles and apparel and industrial goods. Exports stood at 537.3 million dollars in October, an 11.5 percent drop on a high base of 607 million […]

December 13, 2006 (LBO) – A sudden rise in construction prices, government duties and taxes, has forced the Asian Development Bank to stump up an extra 60 million dollars to improve water and sanitation conditions in conflict and tsunami hit regions, the bank said Wednesday. Mooted under the Secondary Towns and Rural Community based Water […]

December 13, (LBO) – A newer price index covering a larger geographical area, which represented a broader socio-economic category is being scrapped because trade unions opposed it’s use to link wages, Sri Lanka’s statistics office said. This year the CCPI was spiking higher than the SLCPI with October 12-month point-to-point registering 17.2 percent in the […]

November, 05 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance ministry said Tuesday it was cutting duty on imported potatoes and onions in a bid to control rising food prices in December, as inflation in November rose to 19.8 percent. A kilogram of potatoes and onions were charged a cess of 20 rupees per kilo in a bid […]

December 01 (LBO) – Six Sri Lankan regional development banks were put on a ratings watch on Friday, rating agency Fitch Lanka said, following government plans to merge with a newly set up state bank with 30 percent dud loans. Fitch intends to resolve the Rating Watches within a period of six to nine months […]

November 30, 2006 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka shot up to 19.8 percent in November from 17.2 percent in October, the Census & Statistics Department said Thursday, as Central Bank credit to government climbed to 100 billion rupees, and real interest rates were pushed further into negative territory. Economists had been predicting that […]

November 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank showed the first signs of ending its loose monetary policy after shunting the country into a balance of payments crisis and driving consumer inflation to 19.8 percent in November, as credit to government from the monetary authority climbed towards a billion dollars. In an unusual move, the […]

NEW YORK, Nov 24, 2006 (AFP) – The euro soared against the dollar Friday in volatile trading which saw the euro surpass the 1.30 dollar mark, hitting the highest level against the US currency since April 2005, traders said. The euro was changing hands at 1.3094 dollars at 1900 GMT, up from 1.2948 dollars late […]

COLOMBO, Nov 25, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes bombed a suspected base of Tamil Tiger suicide bombers in the island’s north Saturday, the defence ministry said, as the rebels commemorated their war dead. The defence ministry said a base housing “Black Tiger” suicide bombers was hit causing “heavy damage”, but gave no details […]

November 18 (LBO) – An online poll shows that more LBO readers believe the economic growth numbers generated by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka than the Department of Census and Statistics, but a vast majority disbelieved both. The Central Bank data set has a slightly higher weight for agriculture, as a result the two […]