Sri Lanka has to guard against external risks: IMF

Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has expressed a commitment to keep the budget deficit down next year, but the country has to guard against external risks and boost its business climate, a top International Monetary Fund official said. Meanwhile Shinohara said a lower deficit would also reduce the need for future foreign borrowings. […]

Sri Lanka state revenues down in first half, current expenses flat

Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues were down 7.6 percent to 481.7 billion rupees in the first half of 2013 with tax revenues down 5.1 percent to 458.7 billion rupees, official data showed.“The only result is that the producers’ money is confiscated for the benefit of a bureaucracy that adds insult to […]

Sri Lanka weak state revenue raises queries on taxless growth: legislator

Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s weak revenue collections in the first half of the year raised questions about the accuracy of gross domestic product estimates, an opposition legislator who is also an economist has said. Sri Lanka is recovering from a balance of payments crisis largely driven by credit taken by state enterprises […]

Sri Lanka port leases tanks to Litro Gas

Nov 20, 2013 (LBO) – State-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority said it had leased liquefied petroleum gas tanks in a facility at newly built Hambantota port to another state run firm.The LPG distribution firm was acquired by the state when Shell sold out. Three tanks with a capacity of 6,000 cubic metres each had been […]

Sri Lanka consumer durables group, sales, profits drop

Nov 18, 2013 (LBO) – Profits and revenues at Singer (Sri Lanka) Plc, a top consumer durables seller dropped 67 percent to 62 million rupees in the September 2013 quarter from a year earlier, amid tight economic conditions.Furniture, transport and agro products also dropped. But communications sector rose to 871 million rupees from 338 million […]

Commonwealth puts on united front after summit rifts

COLOMBO, November 17, 2013 (AFP) – Commonwealth leaders agreed Sunday on steps to tackle high debt and poverty as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.Following a three-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced that a communique had been […]

Small states seek Commonwealth backing for cheap credit at Sri Lanka meet

Nov 17, 2013 (LBO) – Small states are seeking endorsement from Commonwealth leaders at a in their bid to regain access to cheap finance from multilateral lenders, at a summit meeting in Sri Lanka. Without the ability to depreciate the currency, rulers lose the principle ability to impoverish the population and their path is clear […]

Colombo Declaration after Sri Lanka Commonwealth summit

Nov 17, 2013 (LBO) – Leaders of Commonwealth nations have issued a declaration after meeting in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo calling for ‘equitable’ growth, better education and inclusivity for women, youth and the disabled.The full statement is reproduced below:- Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 15-17 November, 2013 Colombo Declaration on Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable […]

Mauritius pulls out of hosting 2015 CHOGM: PM

PORT LOUIS, November 15, 2013 (AFP) – The prime minister of Mauritius said Friday his country was withdrawing as host of the next Commonwealth summit as a result of his decision to boycott this year’s meeting in Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka has been accused of widespread human rights abuses against its Tamil minority as well as […]

” on rights: Cameron

COLOMBO, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron urged Sri Lanka Saturday to move “further and faster” to address allegations of war crimes, saying the issue would remain high on the international agenda. “The Sri Lankan government needs to go further and faster on human rights and reconciliation,” Cameron told a press […]

Sri Lanka rejects international war crimes probe

COLOMBO, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – A top minister rejected pressure Saturday for an international probe into alleged war crimes at the end of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, saying the government would “definitely” not allow one.“Why should we have an international inquiry?We will object to it … Definitely, we are not going to allow it,” […]

Sri Lanka GDP grows 7.8-pct in 2013 third quarter: Census Dept

Nov 15, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product expanded 7.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 from a year earlier, and accelerating from 6.8 percent in the second quarter, the state statistics office said.The statistics office said agriculture grew 7.0 percent against a 0.5 percent contraction last year with tea down 5.1 […]

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