India has become the first country to express displeasure at the US$ 50 visa charge as part of the new electronic system to be introduced in January. Is the Government trying to do too much too soon? The new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) replaces the free visa-on-arrival system and must be purchased online. Transit passengers ...

Sri Lanka’s economic progress gained acknowledgement when the World Bank on Thursday announced that Sri Lanka was the most business friendly country in South Asia. Yet the journey still looms long on several points. A new report from IFC and World Bank finds that the reforms implemented by Sri Lanka have helped create a much ...

Amidst woes in US and European markets, Sri Lanka’s apparel sector has survived to grow with the outlook for the next few quarters remaining positive, industry sources told the Daily FT yesterday. Whilst July saw earnings from textiles and garments increase year on year by 5% to US$ 385 million, the highest monthly value, August ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s tea production fell in September for a sixth straight month due to adverse weather in high growing areas, the State-run Tea Board said on Wednesday. Tea production in September recorded 22.93 million kg against 25.61 million kg in the same month last year. The output in the first nine months has slipped ...

Arguably the world’s most powerful leader, Barak Obama, underscored that the Eurozone crisis is “scaring the world”. It comes as no surprise then that his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner heads the international clamour for more action to solve the burgeoning sovereign debt problem that has dominated financial markets in recent times. George Osborne, Britain’s current ...

The Central Bank yesterday indicated that the economy and markets, especially money, are stable, encouraging it to leave policy rates unchanged at its September monetary policy review. It said inflation continued to moderate with the year-on-year change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index declining from 7.0% in August to 6.4% in September 2011. Annual average ...

MOST countries use electronic visa systems to solve problems, but the imposition of a US$ 50 charge for visitors could result in the opposite happening in Sri Lanka. Operators could challenge Sri Lanka’s decision to introduce a $ 50 charge for all visitors to the country from 1 January 2012. The new Electronic Travel Authorisation ...

COLOMBO (Reuters): Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 27.2 percent in September from a year earlier, continuing to rise every month on a year-on-year basis since a 25-year civil war ended in May 2009. The government is targeting annual revenue of $2.75 billion by 2016 from 2.5 million expected visitors attracted by Sri Lanka’s beaches, hills, ...

Lanka Business Coalition on HIV & AIDS had its Annual General Meeting at the Cinnamon Lake Side Hotel, Colombo on 29 September 2011 which was attended by the members of the Coalition. Membership includes all top corporates in Sri-Lanka such as John Keels, Standard Chartered Bank, Hayleys, Aitken Spence, HNB, Dialog, Chevron Lubricants, Brandix etc. ...

The Maldivian administration’s key economic strategy is to engage the private sector and enable the diversification of the economy for sustainable development, said Mahmood Razee, Minister of Economic Development in the Republic of Maldives who was in the country to attend the fourth Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Maldives Bilateral Business Council recently.   ...

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday inaugurated the country’s largest ultra modern fuel station and shopping complex in Paradise, Kuruwita along the Colombo-Ratnapura road. This trade complex includes a fuel station, a Commercial Bank branch, ATM machines, a restaurant and a super market. The KDU Group of companies has planned this commercial trade complex to ...

More inflows into service, capital, financial accounts, says CB Rupee was under pressure due to heavy imports in Aug., Sept. Currency dealers wary on rupee stability By Shihar Aneez Reuters: Pressure on Sri Lanka’s rupee currency will recede in coming months due to increasing inflows into the country’s service, capital and financial accounts, the Central ...

Sri Lanka Association of Software of Services Companies ( SLASSCOM ) and Motorola Solutions will organise the Inter-University Enterprise Mobility Software Development Competition finals on 6 October 2011. The finals will be held at Prof. V.K. Samaranayake Auditorium of University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) with the participation of Chief Guest Minister of Information ...

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama made an exclusive presentation at the International Port Security Conference in the Netherlands on 28 September 2011. Expressing views delivering the keynote address at the International Port Security 2011 conference on the subject of the past successes of securing Sri Lankan ports and the predicted ...

Balance of Payments (BOP), which includes all foreign currency inflows and outflows, recorded a surplus of US$ 1,006 million by end July 2011. Gross official reserves, excluding Asian Clearing Union (ACU) balances, increased to US$ 8,099 million by end July 2011 from US$ 6,610 million by end 2010. The improved macroeconomic environment and several initiatives ...

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has released its latest data folder, Sri Lanka Socio-Economic Data 2011. The current data folder is the 34th volume of the series. This easy- to- carry data folder contains 88 statistical tables and 12 charts covering the latest information on socio economic conditions in Sri Lanka, human resources, national ...

Introduction Growth has stalled in the global economy. Stock markets have plummeted. Risk appetite has declined and there has been a flow of resources to safe havens. The IMF has stated that the world economy has entered its most dangerous phase since the financial crisis of 2008. The ammunition available to policymakers is much reduced ...

Justice and fair-play is paramount Justice and fair-play are of paramount importance to all members of the world family consisting of 193 nations expecting justice and fair-play equally. It is the principle on which the United Nations was established in place of the less-effective League of Nations, in order to settle differences among nations based ...

AS Sri Lanka celebrated World Tourism Day yesterday, it seems an opportune time to discuss the positives as well as the challenges facing Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Government on Tuesday unveiled ambitious plans to provide employment in the tourism industry to one in seven people on the back of a 50 per cent earnings ...

Last week’s My View talked about six popular fallacies of currency or exchange rate appreciation which both the authorities and the public have tended to harbour in themselves. Of them, the following three were discussed in detail: Fallacy One: The government can fix the external value of a currency at any level it wishes. Fallacy ...

In its march towards development, Sri Lanka is still seeking the assistance of bilateral and multilateral organisations as well as greater input from foreign investors, Governor of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund for Sri Lanka, Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama said in a statement to the IMF. Given ...

Gives comprehensive address highlighting issues of developing countries Shoots down discriminatory practices by developed countries Outlines post-war development, reiterates stance against terrorism Backs Palestine, Cuba and Africa By Nisthar Cassim in New York In his much-anticipated address to the UN, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday took a comprehensive local, regional and world view, with...

With the World Bank announcing that the world economy is teetering on “a new danger zone,” it is of paramount importance for governments and financial power-houses to restore confidence through concrete policies and systematic financial planning. This is the order of the day, given the recent pessimistic report on the world economy delivered by Morgan ...

With the cessation of the 30-year ethnic war and with the economic stability the growth momentum in the country was maintained and the economy grew by as much as 8%. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has been positive in continuously reviewing and bringing interest rates and inflation levels under control. This direction enabled the ...

The policy changes, reforms and modernisation since Budget 2011 appears to have been the context of a presentation made to the Joint Apparel Association Forum in July 2011 by the “leading light” in finance, planning, treasury management and economic development. Sri Lanka background 2000-’10 The presentation articulates the background issues experienced from 2000 to 2010. ...

Sri Lanka’s ambition to stage the 2018 Commonwealth Games could receive a further boost today with the arrival of a European delegation that will play a key role in the crucial vote that decides the host city in November. As the race to host the event reaches its final stages, the Hambantota 2018 bid is ...

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has declared that all facilities are now available in Sri Lanka for investment and the country has become one of the most attractive for the latter. “Sri Lanka is now one of the safest countries in the world. It has political stability. Infrastructure facilities such as water, electricity, highways have ...

Asian Development Bank (ADB) remains upbeat on Sri Lanka retaining its growth forecast unchanged for 2011 and 2012 though revising South Asian regions figure in its latest update. Releasing its Asian Development Outlook Update, ADB indicated Sri Lanka’s 8% growth forecast for 2011 and 2012 is intact and is in line with its original estimate. ...

In collaboration with Education New Zealand, Sri Lanka plays host to the New Zealand Education Fair once again this year, inviting students across the country to explore academic opportunities in tertiary education in this welcoming, scenic and trusted educational destination. Prospective students now have the opportunity to discover a wide sphere of educational opportunities at ...

Private sector borrowing in first half of 2011 tops Rs. 200 b; cumulative figure surpasses Rs. 1.7 trillion markCredit boom to private sector continues unabated with the amount extended in the first half topping Rs. 200 billion and the end June cumulative figure surpassing the Rs. 1.7 trillion mark. The estimated Rs. 209 billion lent ...