Category: Featured
Infrastructure: Negotiating position crucial in structuring deals, say experts
Nov 09, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government must pay attention to increasing its negotiating strength when seeking commercial borrowing and entering into partnerships with the private sector, financing experts said. This process involves announcing long-term plans, with properly structured projects in the pipeline, and building institutional capacity to structure deals, they said. “As a […]
Public investment in bus, railway a priority before monorail, says transport experts
Nov 05, 2015 (LBO) – From an economic standpoint, Sri Lanka should first develop its bus and railway transportation before spending public money on more expensive monorail, transport sector experts said at the LBR LBO Infrastructure Summit. A Japanese transportation master plan for Colombo, upgraded and approved by University of Moratuwa, envisaged three alternatives for […]
Sri Lanka needs a common framework for pensions: economists
Oct 09, 2015 (LBO) – All elderly in Sri Lanka should have access to at least one reliable, affordable and adequate pension, economists said. “An adequate pension is essential to ensure income security for elderly, without being dependent,” Nisha Arunatilake of Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka said. She was speaking at the National […]
Sri Lanka to revive Sathosa with help from Singapore
Oct 09, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state owned retail chain Lanka Sathosa aims to get support to revive from Singapore as the retail chain is making continues losses, ministry of industry and commerce said in a release. Lanka Sathosa owned more than 310 outlets around the island. “We are restructuring LAKSATHOSA and are still […]
Sri Lanka vehicle prices to increase with new customs valuation basis
Oct 08, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance minister has signed an extraordinary gazette to change the basis on which customs calculates the value of certain motor vehicles, and prices of some vehicles may increase by almost 50 percent, car dealers said.With this order the actual transacted FOB value of the vehicle has been excluded […]
Japan to provide 45 bn Yen loan under comprehensive partnership-Updated
Oct 06, 2015 (LBO) – Japan will provide a 45.4 billion Yen (380 million dollar) loan under a ‘Comprehensive Partnership’ arrangement that will include expansion of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. The agreement was announced during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to Japan after meetings with Japanese Prime […]
Analysis: Sri Lanka foreign reserve dilemma hinges on Central Bank objectives
Oct 05, 2015 (LBO) – Acting quicker than it did in early 2012, the decision by Sri Lanka’s Central Bank to give up defending the rupee in September of this year bodes well for a quicker recovery of foreign exchange reserves. But enamored with an additional objective of economic development, that goes beyond financial and […]
Opinion: Consuming GMOs is least of our problems
Oct 04, 2015 (LBO) – For a sector so essential to Sri Lanka, it seems the public understanding of agriculture is rather poor. This may be why we have lagged behind other Asian countries in terms of crop productivity. One sign of this — almost all vegetable seeds are now imported. Agriculture experts have watched […]
‘s govt plans to intervene in tea prices with purchases of Rs300mn
Oct 01, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantation ministry said that it plans to300 million rupees from the auction to artificially raise the price of tea with savings from the money that government subsided for tea small holders.“We have passed this proposal to ministry of economic affairs and policy which is under the prime minister,” […]
“Megapolis” Sri Lanka’s road to better sustainable development: Minister
Oct 01, 2015 (LBO) – Mega cities are important to transform Sri Lanka into a smart country and Colombo will remain as the epicenter for economic activities, Minister Champika Ranawaka said.“The proposed Megapolis concept is now underway and will span from Negombo to Beruwela and the Colombo city will be functioning as the epicenter,” Megapolis […]
Sri Lanka not actively pursuing IMF option: CB Governor
Sept 30, 2015 (LBO) -Sri Lanka is not actively pursuing funding from the International Monetary Fund, the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told Lanka Business Online. “The IMF is always available. I wouldn’t say that was something we were actively pursuing. There is no need for it as we have sufficient reserves,” he said. “But […]
Sri Lanka’s biggest challenge of good governance is re-establishing and strengthening democracy says PM
Sep 30, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s biggest challenge of good governance is re-establishing and strengthening democratic society in which government plans to achieve within next two years, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told a forum on Tuesday.“Today in Sri Lanka the biggest challenge of good governance applies to all of us in terms of re-establishing […]