Good governance activist and former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayaratne is raising issues of accountability on the part of Central Bank over past management of foreign exchange, following the 2012 Budget’s devaluation move. “With the Budget directing the Central Bank to depreciate the Sri Lanka Rupee by 3%, the Central Bank ...

Multilateral donor emphasises devaluation should help exports, reserves Opines 2012 Budget consistent with earlier plans Withholds eighth tranche of $ 2.6 b loan; mission in Jan The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Sri Lanka’s devaluation of its currency was a “step in the right direction” that should favour export competitiveness and preserve foreign ...

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) – The outlook for Pakistan’s economy for the current year ending June 2012 is “challenging,” with global investors more risk averse, the IMF said on Tuesday, adding that ongoing security concerns are likely to limit capital inflows. The country’s authorities have expressed commitment to implement reforms in an attempt to enhance ...

Reuters) – The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday that Europe’s debt crisis risked plunging the global economy into a “lost decade” and said it was up to rich nations to shoulder the burden of restoring growth and confidence. Christine Lagarde told a financial forum in Beijing that European plans to bolster ...

Reuters: The head of Europe’s bailout fund said on Friday he does not expect to reach a conclusive deal with Chinese leaders during a visit to Beijing but expects the surplus-rich country to continue buying bonds issued by the fund. Klaus Regling, chief executive of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), said the bailout deal ...

BEIJING (Reuters): China urged the European Union on Monday to deal with its debt crisis as soon as possible and prevent contagion from spreading, as the country’s number four-ranked leader arrived for a visit of the continent, including Greece. “We hope that the EU countries concerned will reach a comprehensive settlement plan as soon as ...

Representatives of 28 members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) including Sri Lanka met in Bangkok on 11 and 12 October to discuss Asia-Pacific perspectives on the agenda of the G20 summit to be held in Cannes, France, on 3 and 4 November 2011. Central Bank of ...

China’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record $3.2017 trillion at the end of September, compared with $3.1975 trillion at the end of June, the country’s central bank said Friday The country’s forex reserves have ballooned in recent years, fuelled by strong foreign investment

Putin hails France, Germany euro bank support plan as “positive signal” Says US is taking “parasitic” advantage of dollar dominance By Gleb Bryanski BEIJING (Reuters): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the crisis-hit euro zone had enough resources to resolve its own troubles without support from Russia and fellow BRICs countries. As ...

Reuters: More than 100 million rural Chinese people will settle in towns and cities in the next decade, testing provision of welfare and services as a new generation of migrants turn their backs on farming, according to a new government report. The National Population and Family Planning Commission report forecast that by 2020, China’s urban ...

Resumes Reverse Repo Auctions A liquidity crisis in the market forced Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to reintroduce the reverse repo auction at Wednesday’s trading, an action which it last resorted to when the war was on; two years ago. The auction was repeated in the last two working days of last week as ...

Leif Lybecker Eskesen, Chief Economist for HSBC India and ASEAN will visit Sri Lanka this week. During his visit, he will address the Bank’s corporate customers on ‘Asia’s Inflation – Growth Tango: who’s dominating the dance?’ at a special Power Breakfast, scheduled to be held on 7 October 2011, at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. Leif ...

IMF urges more exchange rate flexibility CB defends interventions as necessary More discussions expected in Washington this week Reuters: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said there has been no timetable set for a review of Sri Lanka’s progress under a $2.6 billion loan, the precursor to disbursement of the programme’s eighth tranche. The global ...

CBSL’s ER Stance As long as Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) owned Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has sufficient rupee liquidity and foreign exchange (forex) reserves, it can play around with the exchange rate (ER), a banker told this reporter. CBSL’s gross official forex reserves as per available statistics were US$ ($) 8.1 billion ...

Last week, media were abuzz with two reports on how undesired exchange rate movements could worry governments. One was a currency under pressure for appreciation in the market and the other was a currency moving in the opposite. Swiss Franc: One way Journey to Appreciation The first was the case of the Swiss Franc which ...

of its staff mission said Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves ...

LONDON: Here’s a bold prediction to feed Western worries that power is shifting inexorably to the East: China’s yuan could overtake the US dollar as the world’s principal reserve currency as soon as next decade. Beijing has been promoting the use of the yuan beyond its borders since 2009 to settle trade transactions. The resulting ...

TOKYO: Japan unveiled a $100-billion effort to help companies cope with a surging yen, signalling that officials may be resigned to the currency remaining high. The government will release foreign-exchange reserves to the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation for funding to aid

By Dr. S. Narapalasingam The current moves of the powerful government in post-war Sri Lanka are mainly for sustaining the wartime military strength, preventing the resurrection of the smashed LTTE and developing the infrastructures, notably the roads and rail network,...

COLOMBO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's gross foreign exchange reserves have risen to a record high, the central bank said on Thursday, thanks to a $1 billion inflow from the island nation's 10-year sovereign bond sale last week.

Fitch Ratings today (21) affirmed Sri Lanka’s long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘B+’, and simultaneously revised the Outlook to ‘Positive from Stable’. Following is the full text published by Fitch on Sri Lanka: Fitch Ratings has today affirmed Sri Lanka’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ...

The Central Bank has said that the remittances made by expatriate Sri Lankans have steadily increased. The foreign Exchange reserves have increased by 3.8 billion US dollars since the country was liberated from terrorism. Financial aid received by people in the North and East, as well as sustained

Sri Lanka may not tap loans from the International Monetary Fund immediately as foreign-exchange reserves have climbed to a record, Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama said.

By Rakteem Katakey and John Duce Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora traveled to Nigeria, Angola, Uganda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela this year, leading a record number of delegations to gain oil for the world’s third-fastest-growing major economy....