Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka gross borrowings to rise by Rs85bn next year
Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to borrow 740 billion rupees in 2008, to bridge the budget deficit and roll-over existing debt in 2008, a bill put before lawmakers this week showed. Last year the government got parliamentary nod to raise 655 billion rupees but lack of cheap concessional debt has pushed […]
Sri Lanka opposition says Fitch Ratings wrong, insists on defaulting bond
Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) said an assessment by a rating agency that a future administration run by the party would repay a sovereign bond that is now being marketed is wrong and insisted that it would default. The UNP has said the attempt to raise around […]
S&” rating confirmed
Oct 09, 2007 (LBO) – Standard and Poor’s has confirmed Sri Lanka’s B+ sovereign rating on the eve of a maiden global bond offer, but warned that excessive commercial borrowing could reduce support for the rating. Fitch Ratings had given the bond a BB- rating, a notch higher than S&P but with a negative outlook. […]
” bond: Fitch
Oct 08, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s opposition United National Party is not expected to “willfully default” a proposed 500 million dollar sovereign bond if the party comes power in the future, Fitch Ratings has said. The 500 million dollar proposed bond ran into controversy after UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said […]
Fitch gives Sri Lanka sovereign bond BB- rating; warns against bad budgets and war
Oct 08, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has given a speculative BB- rating for Sri Lanka’s upcoming sovereign bond but warned that a worsening conflict could cause a credit downgrade and called for lower inflation and better budgets. “Steering inflation back down to single digits will be essential for sustaining strong economic growth and containing […]
Sri Lanka starts selling sovereign bond
Oct 08, 2007, (LBO) – Sri Lanka is starting road shows in a number of financial centres to sell its maiden sovereign bond with teams from the finance ministry and central bank already having left the island, officials said. The government said in July that the it was hoping to raise 500 million dollars through […]
Rocketing Sri Lanka prices prompt calls for inflation targeting
Oct 06, 2007 (LBO) – The overshooting of a self-declared Central Bank 10 percent inflation target for 2007 is strengthening the case for reforming the institution and bringing legislated inflation targeting to Sri Lanka. . In January 2007 the Central Bank issued a monetary policy road map promising to debauch the internal value of the […]
‘s Sri Lanka lending hit by shifting policies and conflict
Oct 05, 2007 (LBO) – Asian Development Bank (ADB), the second largest lender to Sri Lanka, says two decades of aid has mixed results and the relevance of its current 5-year lending program has ‘diminished’ due to conflict and shifting government policy. Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) policy supporting loans, conflict assistance and agriculture sector lending […]
Sri Lanka treasuries yields edge up with high spending
Oct 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka treasuries edged up again this week as a high budget deficit drained funds from the domestic markets and the central bank fought to limit money printing in a bid to avoid further inflation. . The average yield of the benchmark 3-month treasuries went up 20 basis points to […]
Sri Lanka flirts with flour price controls as inflation rages
Oct 03, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka consumer affairs ministry said it was amending laws to bring a Singapore-owned flour mill under its control as rising global wheat prices drove bread prices in the island to record levels. Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunewardene said the law governing the country’s consumer protection authority has a specific […]
Zimbabwe hikes rates by 15,000bp as Sri Lanka holds rates steady
Oct 02, 2007 (LBO) – Zimbabwe has hiked overnight discount rate by 15,000 basis points to 800 percent while the rate at the unsecured last resort window has been upped to 850 percent, a market day after Sri Lanka froze policy rates. “These levels will be reviewed regularly without prior warning,” Zimbabwe’s central bank governor […]
” over sovereign bond
Sept 29, 2007 (LBO) – The controversy over a sovereign bond took a new turn with Sri Lanka’s finance ministry saying the country’s president could approve any foreign borrowing, in a statement sent to selected local media. Questions had also been raised about the timing of the issue, in the light of turmoil in global […]