Sri Lanka to raise electricity rates in January »
Nov 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will raise electricity tariffs by eight percent on general users who consume over 90 units a month in January 2011, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told parliament. The present tariff rate will continue for small businesses, he said during the 2011 budget speech. The government will reduce the tariff by [...]
Motor vehicle registrations up to 30,000 in three months »
By Jagdish Hathiramani In the three months alone since the easing of duties on motor vehicle imports, Sri Lanka has witnessed an increase to 30,000 motor vehicles registered from 10,000, according to Dr. D.S. Jayaweera, Director General of the Development Finance Department of the country’s Ministry of Finance and Planning, who implied that this situation [...]
Sri Lanka inflation slows to 4.3-pct in July »
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 4.3 percent in July 2010 from a year earlier, down from 4.8 percent in June, the fifth straight monthly fall, the government statistics office said. But the 12-month moving average, which is a lagging indicator spread over two years and has been [...]
Sri Lanka biscuit maker gets sales edge with European quality award »
June 16, 2010 (LBO) – A European taste and quality award won by Sri Lanka’s Maliban Biscuit Manufactories should give it an edge in marketing both locally and overseas, officials said. Lucky Weerasuriya, Maliban chief executive officer, said good manufacturing practices and use of imported raw materials helped achieve the quality that won them the [...]
Sri Lanka’s satellite: Lost in space? »
By Nalaka Gunawardene Some things that start with a loud bang end with the softest whimper. A current example is Sri Lanka’s plans to launch its own satellites. In an interview with Business Times last Sunday (6 June 2010) on a range of issues, the head of the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) disclosed that the [...]
Sri Lanka partly shielded »
A fiscal and monetary prudence program backed by the International Monetary Fund and donor loans will partly shield Sri Lanka from the fallout of a European credit confidence crisis, Standard and Poor’s rating agency has said. High spending Greece was one of the first countries to be hit by jittery investors who are nervous about [...]
Budget delayed: IMF deal in the balance »
Speculation was rife yesterday that the government would call off its three-year Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF as prescribed budget deficit targets would be hard to keep with the 2010 budget being further delayed. However, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the targets were on track and the IMF deal was not under [...]
Weekly Market Focus »
The market activity in the Colombo Stock Exchange witnessed mixed results as the week which began on a positive note endured a temporally blip but recovered and ended marginally up as investors looked to exploit on capital gains. The benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) was up 16.31 points week on week to close at [...]
Political uncertainty drives Sri Lanka shares down »
2010-02-12 Sri Lankan shares fell for a third straight session on Thursday on political uncertainty amid clashes erupted in the capital following the arrest of losing opposition presidential candidate. The All-Share Price Index of the Colombo Stock Exchange closed 49.50 points or 1.31 percent to 3,724.84 after hitting a record 3,806.78 in the previous session. [...]
Fiscal imbalance risk to economy »
By Devan Daniel The IMF says Sri Lanka’s monetary outlook is sound but the country faces medium term risks driven by the fiscal position and the country faces medium term risks on this front and fiscal imbalances could make it difficult for the Central Bank to maintain price stability. “Sri Lanka has come out from [...]
