Category: Economy and Markets
‘s expensive social safety net at crossroads
July 20, 2007 (LBO) – Tiny homesteads, tea gardens on hillocks nestled above rain fed paddyfields lining the roads, are typical of the rural village of Omantha, where its poor inhabitants depend on agriculture for a living. . The village, in the Kalutara district, is just 50 kilometers of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo and […]
Sri Lanka, India reach deal on mutual professional recognition
July 20 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India has recognized each other’s professional standards, organizations senior official negotiating a wide-ranging trade and services agreement with India said. “We have almost finalized the text of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA),” Manel de Silva, Director-General of Commerce of the Commerce Department, told LBO in an interview. […]
Sri Lanka given Japanese aid to clear mines
July 20, 2007 (AFP) – Japan said Friday it was giving 3.2 million dollars to clear land mines in Sri Lanka even as government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels stepped up attacks against each other. The money will go to five international mine clearing charities and help civilians to go back to their homes in […]
Sri Lanka promises eastern economic revival
July 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday promised to wage an economic war to revive eastern areas of the country recently re-taken from the Tamil Tigers. “Economic freedom is as important as freeing territory,” the President said as the government held a televised ceremony to mark the fall of the last […]
Sri Lanka seeks foreign aid for captured province
July 16, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government said Monday it would seek foreign aid to rebuild a key province recently wrested from the Tamil Tiger rebels after months of fighting.The rebels have admitted losing control of Thoppigala, formerly a key stronghold, but said they would revert to guerrilla tactics there. Donors would be […]
Sri Lanka money rates up, equities quiet Monday
July 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka interbank call rates spiked to 20 percent Monday and the rupee was steady with state names offering spot dollars at 111.75 rupees, dealers said. On Friday the rupee closed at 111.75/80 to the dollar. The proposals to choose lead managers for a 400 million dollar government bond offering […]
‘s lagging growth blamed on leftists, beggar mentality, big government: poll
July 15, 2007 (LBO) – Thirty years after Sri Lanka started to open its economy, a poll by an influential weekly has shown overwhelming approval for liberalization, with some saying reforms were not deep enough in areas like education. Respondents to the Sunday Times poll said while private sector workers had to work long hours […]
Sri Lanka, ILO to probe use of child labour in agriculture
July 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Labour Ministry has sought the help of the International Labour Organization to do a survey to find out if the country’s agriculture sector uses child labour. They are today the most vulnerable of the farming and fishing communities and their rights to a decent and dignified childhood free […]
Sri Lanka unemployment rate falls
June 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2007 fell to 6.2 percent, its lowest ever rate, from 6.8 percent in the same 2006 quarter, continuing the steady declining trend seen in recent years, the Central Bank said. The total number unemployed was estimated as 462,000 for the first […]
Sri Lanka to re-build areas taken from Tamil Tigers
July 13, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka announced Friday it would mark the fall of the last Tamil rebel bastion in the east of the island with the launch of an ambitious reconstruction plan. Sri Lanka’s 35-year-old conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives, and over 5,200 people have been killed in fighting in the […]
Sri Lanka to choose lead managers to US$400mn bond by end July
July 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would appoint lead managers to a 400 million dollar sovereign bond issue by the end of this month, the government’s debt office said. International investment banks have been asked to submit proposals by July 16, and the joint lead managers to the issue would be appointed by the […]
Sri Lanka petro chief calls for national hedging policy
July 12, 2007 (LBO) – The head of Sri Lanka’s state petroleum utility has called for a national policy on oil hedging for the longer term as international bankers were due to present a fresh proposal on short-term hedging. An accumulation of profits in any import firm would reduce demand in the aggregate economy, resulting […]