Tag: Finance

May 17, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will introduce an ‘Overseas Sri Lankan’ status for people who have renounced citizenship and their children which will be followed by dual citizenship later, minister Lakshman Abeywardene said. ‘Overseas Sri Lankans’ would be able to come and reside in the country dual citizenship will be given after a […]

May 14, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is expecting to increase foreign reserves in 2012 and narrow the current accounts deficit in the balance of payments, despite strong capital inflows, which will increase domestic spending power. BOP Surplus The bank is projecting a 1.25 billion US dollar ‘balance of payments’ surplus for 2012. […]

May 13, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is targeting average inflation to be around 6-7 percent and is expecting year end inflation at 7. 0 percent or below Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. While the so-called ‘annual average inflation’, is a number averaged over two years and is difficult for ordinary people […]

May 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank its key policy rate unchanged at 9. 75 percent saying monetary conditions are tightening and credit growth will moderate. The full statement is reproduced below In April 2012, year-on-year inflation as measured by the CCPI (base=2006/2007) was 6.1 per cent while annual average inflation was 5. […]

May 11, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged at 9. 75 percent saying monetary conditions are tightening and credit growth will moderate, eventually helping the exchange rate. The March loan totals may include possible forex losses on dollar loans. “With respect to monetary developments, market interest rates have […]

May 08, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will work out a surveillance program with the International Monetary Fund to boost investor confidence after a current deal with the agency ends in July 2012, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. “Thereafter the type of relationship we will have with them is something we will have will […]

May 07, 2012 (LBO) – Amid pressure from a parliamentary committee for remaining workers of state-enterprises to pay income taxes, finance ministry secretary P B Jayasundera has said all persons must get used to paying taxes. Jayasundera said even a person earning 200,000 a month only paid about 10 percent in tax and the average […]

May 4, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka on Friday raised prices of cooking gas, milk powder and cement, after a weak rupee, tax hike and higher energy prices raised costs. The price of a 12.5 kilo liquefied petroleum gas cylinder goes up by 350 rupees to 2,396 rupees from midnight Friday, Internal Trade Minister Johnston […]

May 04, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has to persist with reducing its budget gap and tighten monetary policy further if needed to ward off balance payments pressure, Fitch Ratings which confirmed a sovereign rating at ‘BB-‘ said. The outlook on the rating was ‘stable’. “The ratings reflect Fitch’s view that the authorities have taken […]

May 04, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports grew 7. 6 percent from a year earlier to 878 million US dollars in February 2012 with tea exports falling and apparels barely growing, while imports powered ahead, official data showed. In the first two months of the year exports grew only 3. 3 percent to 1.79 […]

May 02, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will keep to a 6. 2 percent of gross domestic budget gap planned for 2012 despite higher than expected interest costs amid monetary tightening, Treasury secretary P B Jayasundera said. “We will strictly adhere to the 6. 2 budget deficit announced in 2012,” he told reporters Monday. “We […]

Apr 30, 2012 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 6. 1 percent from a year earlier, accelerating from 5.1 percent in March, the state statistics office said. The index rose 0.6 percent in the month to 159.8. The food and non-alcoholic beverages component rose 1. 0 percent and non-food items rose […]