‘s April inflation accelerates to 6.1 percent

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 […]

Sri Lanka credit ceilings not proposed by IMF

Apr 28, 2012 (LBO) – Administrative controls imposed on Sri Lankan banks as part of a package of measures to combat a balance of payments crisis, were not among the preferred measures advocated by the International Monetary Fund, an official said. “Most economists would say a price mechanism is a good way of matching demand,” […]

Sri Lanka policy flexibility to bring longer term stability: IMF

Apr 27, 2012 (LBO) – On going policy tightening in Sri Lanka and commitment of policy flexibility, will slow growth and may push up inflation but will bring stability to sustain long term growth, an International Monetary Fund official said. “Yes, growth will slow, inflation will rise, cost of living will rise, but the balance […]

”s Jubilant

April 26, 2012 (LBO) – India’s Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, regional franchise holder for Domino’s Pizza, is investing 300 million rupees in Sri Lanka in 2012, and would spend up to two billion rupees over the next five years to support growth, an official said. “We are extremely bullish on Sri Lanka, the economy has shown […]

Sri Lanka state construction deals for local firms

Apr 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government has agreed to reserve a proportion of construction contracts for local builders in a post-war building boom while banks have also loosened up lending to the sector, an official said. Rohan Karunaratne, president the Ceylon Institute of Builders (COIB), said the construction industry had been lobbying the […]

Sri Lanka forex markets inactive

Apr 26, 2012 (LBO) – There were no deals in Sri Lanka’s forex markets Thursday and quotes have also dried up pending a meeting of bank Treasurers with the Central Bank, market participants said. Monetary policy also loosened in April due to seasonal deficit financing, which has tended to put pressure on the dollar peg […]

Offshore Potential

April 24, 2012 (LBO) – Cairn India which struck gas in two offshore wells in Sri Lankan waters last year has indicated that at least one may have commercial potential so far. The company found natural gas in two of three test wells drilled in the Mannar Basin, off the island’s north-west coast, called the […]

Sri Lanka state water board makes operational profit

April 24, 2012 (LBO) – State-run National Water Supply and Drainage Board has made a 1.9 billion rupees operational profit with higher revenues and a slight decline in non-revenue distribution. The Central Bank’s annual report said Water Board has given 95,728 new connections in 2011 growing total connections 7. 1 percent to 1.4 million. Revenues […]

Sri Lanka bank credit fall from peak in February

Apr 23, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s commercial banks loaned 55.3 billion rupees to private business in February 2012 higher than in January and state credit also remained strong but eased from records volumes a month earlier, official data showed. The data also contains the effects of currency depreciation after authorities allowed the rupee to […]

New ILO-World Bank study suggests tools to tide over economic shocks

April 21, 2012 (LBO) – Policymakers across the world should to develop a more robust labour market and expand workers social insurance cover, to tide over future economic shocks, a new report said. With a sample of 77 countries significantly affected by the crisis, representing 89 percent of global GDP and 86 percent of world […]

Sri Lanka IMF program staff report released

Apr 20, 2012 (LBO) – In perhaps a new shift to transparency Sri Lanka has released an International Monetary Fund staff report prepared to support the 7th review under its program, after suppressing them for years. Sri Lanka ended up in a balance of payments crisis by trying to defend an exchange rate without tightening […]

Sri Lanka prematurely commended for avoiding trade sanctions

Apr 20, 2012 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund has prematurely commended Sri Lanka for not imposing trade sanctions on itself, in a bid to end a balance of payment crisis brought by loose monetary policy, newly released documents show. Trade sanctions can reduce economic activity and deprive tax revenues for rulers to keep spending. […]

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