Category: Economy and Markets
Central Bank of Sri Lanka maintains policy interest rates
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 05 October 2022, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels of 14.50 per cent and 15.50 per cent, respectively. In arriving at this […]
Bileeta Partners with USAID CATALYZE Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD) to offer tech support to SMEs
Bileeta, one of Sri Lanka’s top ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions providers, has joined hands with USAID CATALYZE Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD), to provide cutting-edge ERP solutions to eligible SME customers, through a special grant programme. These solutions will be provided in collaboration with and through partnerships facilitated by PSD with financial institutions, […]
How a country in economic turmoil is still ripe for investors
For businesses in the field of large-scale manufacturing, a critical factor that determines their future and success is a key decision made at their very inception- the location. More often than not, businesses in these fields which start operations in their respective nations look into expanding into international markets to set up base, to further […]
Transitioning from hawkish to dovish; 75-pct probability for policy rates to remain unchanged: FCR
First Capital Research (FCR) believe that CBSL may consider maintaining the monetary policy rates at its current levels in the upcoming policy review meeting allowing a soft landing from its hawkish to dovish stance. However, given the necessity to provide monetary stimulus to prevent further weakening of the economy and the notable improvement in majority […]
Keerthi Gunawardane takes over as new President of FCCISL
At the 47th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce & Industry Sri Lanka. (FCCISL) Keerthi Gunawardane was elected as the President to take over the reins from first lady president of Shirley Jayawardane. FCCISL was set up in 1973, FCCISL is the largest and most representative apex business organization of Sri […]
EU releases Euro 1.5 million to respond to growing humanitarian needs in Sri Lanka
The EU has released €1.5 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the ongoing socio-economic crisis affecting millions of people in Sri Lanka. The new EU funding will mainly focus on multipurpose cash interventions to respond to the basic needs of the population, among which food, health, education and protection. Humanitarian assistance will target the […]
Earnings from exports increased by 10-pct to USD 1.2Bn in August
Earnings from the merchandise exports increased by 10.24 % y-o-y to US$ 1,213.7 Mn in August 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles. The EDB Chairman & CE, Suresh D. de Mel, congratulates the exporters for […]
Exporters pessimistic over outlook on economy and export orders, SMEs more vulnerable to crisis: Report
The latest bi-annual Export Barometer Survey indicates that exporters are increasingly concerned about the implications of the expected contraction of the Sri Lankan economy in the latter half of 2022 on export orders, with SMEs particularly vulnerable to the intensifying economic crisis. The third in a series of surveys conducted by the Ceylon Chamber of […]
NCPI based headline inflation at 70.2-pct in August 2022
Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index increased to 70.2% in August 2022 from 66.7% in July 2022. This increase in Y-o-Y inflation was mainly driven by the monthly increases of both Food and Non-Food categories. Accordingly, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 84.6% in August 2022 from 82.5% […]
Sri Lanka can learn from Hyderabad to strategize its economic turnaround: Hilmy Cader
According to MTI Consulting, Sri Lanka is facing a ‘Perfect Storm’, a concurrence of multiple socio-economic challenges that has dealt an unprecedented blow to the country. “This is also a great opportunity to dismantle incremental legacy strategies. Instead, go ‘Ground Zero’ and approach it as building an entirely new economic model,” said Hilmy Cader, CEO […]
Dialog Axiata Group to Invest USD 152.4 Million in Sri Lanka
Dialog Axiata Group, the largest Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) operating under the aegis of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), announced the entering into of two supplementary agreements with the BOI for the investment of an additional sum of USD 152.4 Mn (LKR 56.7 Bn) in Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications and ICT Infrastructure on […]
USAID signs new five-year agreement with Sri Lanka
Building on the USAID Administrator Samantha Powers’s recent visit, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung announced today that the United States, through USAID, will provide an additional estimated $65 million (more than 23 billion Sri Lankan rupees) in assistance to Sri Lanka over a five-year period. The assistance falls under the Development Objectives Assistance […]