Category: Economy and Markets

Dec 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation is strongly linked to government credit, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report released this week, clearing the private sector of blame for rapidly rising prices. . IMF said bank credit to the private sector has accelerated in Sri Lanka in recent years, but the […]

Dec 06, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee extended gains against the greenback Thursday as panicky exporters sold dollars fearing more ‘carry trade’ style activity from hedge funds, dealers said, after authorities relaxed foreign investor limits on local bonds. Sri Lanka government securities offer attractive rates of around 19.00 percent a year for macro […]

Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is trying to better spread the benefits of economic growth and reduce income disparities which have widened in recent years, a senior minister said. The government wants to help the private sector to improve its links with farmers in outlying rural communities, Minister of Export Development and […]

Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – A new index to measure inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, showed that prices had risen by 19.3 percent in the past 12 months, a tad lower than the 19.6 percent measured by the existing index. The government’s statistics office which computes price indices says the Colombo Consumer Price Index […]

Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Recent weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s economy have come from internal policies, and a plan to stop market pricing Diesel and Kerosene in 2008 may destabilize the economy further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. “Fiscal consolidation, if delivered without delay, would provide scope for private sector-led growth, reduce debt […]

Dec 03, 2007 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for further reforms of Sri Lanka’s state electricity utility which looks set to make a 20 billion rupee loss this year. Many of the losses in the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) were financed by loans from state banks posing a threat to the […]

Dec 02, 2007 (LBO) – Zimbabwe’s rocketing prices which are starting to take almost the same path as the 1920’s German hyperinflation, could be halted by scrapping its central bank, a top economist has said. Since 1997 inflation has surged 1,030,217 percent and economic activity in the country measured by gross domestic product per capita […]

Dec 01, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is about to release an inflation index that shows a lower level inflation a top official said, making the island the latest country to change indices in the face of runaway inflation from money printing. Rising inflation has prompted calls for legislated inflation targeting and full independence for […]

Nov 30, 2007 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Sri Lanka may be heading towards a foreign debt crisis unless the island changed its recent habit of borrowing commercial dollars to bridge high budget deficits. IMF’s executive directors in an assessment after the international monetary watchdog completed its annual Article IV […]