Tag: Finance

Dec 11, 2013 (LBO) – US-based Moody’s Corporation said it had acquired Amba Investment Services, a securities research outsourcing firm that has operations in Sri Lanka, India and Costa Rica.Amba is expected to bring revenues of 39 million US dollars in 2013.It will operate as part of Copal Partners a unit of Moody’s Analytics. “Amba […]

Dec 10, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment said its investor service department had been shifted to the 6th floor of Colombo’s World Trade Centre building.The new office was opened by investment promotion minister Lakshman Abeywardene on Tuesday.The department has a staff of over 100 facilitating nearly 1,000 BOI approved firms with processing […]

Dec 09, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate had risen to 4.5 percent in the first half of 2013 from 3.9 percent a year earlier, reversing several years of labour market tightening official data showed.The total number of unemployed had risen to 401,000 for the first half of 2013 from 324,000 a year earlier, […]

NUSA DUA, December 7, 2013 (AFP) – Commerce ministers on Saturday approved a trade deal securing a new lease on life for the World Trade Organization which could give a $1 trillion boost to the global economy. “It is so agreed,” Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan told delegates at a WTO conference in Bali following […]

Dec 06, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s drive towards trade restrictions and import substitution may hurt the country, as autarky has consistently failed elsewhere, an International Monetary Fund official has warned.Mathai meanwhile warned that such policies will also ultimately hurt exports. “It will be much more efficient – rather than from an accounting sense trying […]

Dec 04, 2013 (LBO) – A 24-bed hospital built with support from the United Sates has been opened in Palai, Northern Sri Lanka, the US Agency for International Development said. USAID said the Palai hospital is part of nine hospitals being funded by Civil Military Support Element (CMSE) from the US embassy, NGO Medical Teams […]

Dec 04, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports surged 35 percent in October 2013 from a year earlier to 1.04 billion US dollars driven by a recovery in US and European demand with apparel exports growing 46 percent to 436 million US dollars. Industrial exports rose 34 percent to 771 million US dollars. “Exports of […]

Dec 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has signed up 105 investment agreements worth 1,942 million US dollars so far in 2013 and 870 million US dollars of foreign direct investments have flowed in by the third quarter, officials said.Investment promotions minister Lakshman Abeywardene said third quarter FDI was up 41 percent from a year […]

Dec 03, 2013 (LBO) – A prominent opposition legislator in Sri Lanka has slammed attempts by the current administration to prune state expenditure, especially subsidies to special interest groups, which have to be financed by more taxes on the people.Farmers get fertilizer subsidies and also tax protection from imports, keeping Sri Lanka’s food prices higher […]

Dec 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation is easing and has weathered recent external turbulence well but the country has to be careful about external borrowing and effects of recent rate cuts, the International Monetary Fund has said. In the first post-program monitoring discussion with Sri Lanka, the IMF has also warned against a […]

Dec 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s third integrated resort in Colombo with a 300 million US dollar investment will have 80 percent foreign investment, officials said.Tax breaks for the two projects were delayed following protests. Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa administration has come under fire for lowering gaming taxes to 5 percent and lifting value added […]

Dec 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is estimated to have received about 1. 2 billion US dollars of foreign direct investment by November 2013, investment promotions minister Lakshman Abeywardene said. For 2013 Sri Lanka targeted 2.0 billion US dollars of investments and it is not clear whether the target will be met. The data […]