Category: Economy

Mar 04, 2014 (LBO) – A free trade deal that is being negotiated in countries bordering the Bay of Bengal, will open new avenues for co-operation, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaska said meeting of the regional grouping.ASEAN is usually looked upon as an example of a successful regional organization. ASEAN (the Association of South East […]

Mar 04, 2014 (LBO) – Profits at Singer Sri Lanka Plc, a consumer durables retailer, fell 71 percent to 93 million rupees in the December 2013 quarter from a year earlier, but sales are no longer shrinking, the firm said. The group reported earnings of 74 cents per share. For the full year to December […]

Mar 04, 2014 (LBO) – A directive by Sri Lanka’s central bank has plugged a hole in newly introduced International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which made accounts of banks opaque and confused the general public and even analysts. Under IFRS, banks which were earlier disclosing total non-performing loans and deposit with break downs to the […]

Mar 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation in February 2014 was measured at 2.5 percent by an index compiled by private citizens, coming below the 4.2 percent indicated by the state statistics office.Sri Lanka’s credit growth has been weak in the past year and the Central Bank has also been sterilizing foreign exchange purchases. […]

Feb 28, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 4.2 percent in the 12-months February 2014, down from 4.4 percent in January, the state statistics office said.The widely watched Colombo Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent during the month. Annual average inflation, a lagging indicator averaged across two years eased to 6.0 percent in […]

Feb 20, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s prosperity has risen by 6.8 percent over 2012 according to an index compiled by the Central Bank, which has been revised with additional parameters being added. “The Prosperity Index enables national policy makers, provincial authorities, and business and community stakeholders to measure the prosperity of provinces in a […]

Feb 20, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is battling to keep the country supplied with coins as metal prices go up and coins disappear from circulation into piggy banks and places of worship.The Central Bank estimates that 20 to 30 tonnes of Sri Lankan coins are accumulated at Temples and Churches in India […]

Feb 17, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank kept policy rates steady in February signaling that gilt rates are bottoming out but said longer term lending rates have more room to fall. The central bank said it was keeping the rate at which excess money is drained from the banking system at 6.50 percent […]

Feb 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bank should lend more to businesses associated with ports, airports, health and information technology to make use of expanded capacity in the economy, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. Sri Lanka’s government has developed infrastructure in recent year with ports, airports and roads generating extra capacity and opportunities […]

Feb 12, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves rose 4.6 percent to 7,200 million in December 2013 from a year earlier, despite payments to the International Monetary Fund and losses on gold holdings, official data showed. But in pegged exchange rate monetary systems ‘reserves’ are invested abroad such as in liquid US Treasuries and […]

Jan 31, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 4. buy 4 percent in the 12-months to January 2014, down from 4.7 percent in December, the state statistics office said.But external inflation usually generated by reserve currency central banks like the Federal Reserve has also started to moderate and if Fed tightens or normalizes […]