SRI LANKA has ambitious goals for development and needs investment to push up growth to the expected levels of eight per cent or more. Even though the country has fared well in 2010 and 2011 by posting eight per cent and 8.3 per cent growth consecutively for the first time in history, there is increasing ...

 Admits growth may be slower but insists that all assistance will be given for investment Despite a growth downgrade in 2012, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal insists that the Government is focused on encouraging private sector investment and will provide maximum assistance. Cabraal made these points as the Guest Speaker at the American Chamber ...

Holders of UnionPay credit and debit cards can now withdraw money from more than 500 ATM terminals in Sri Lanka of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, under a partnership between the Bank and China UnionPay. This partnership between the country’s largest private bank and one of the world’s largest payment card schemes will facilitate visits ...

The Central Bank on Friday said earnings from exports increased by 7.6% to $ 879 million in February 2012 while expenditure on imports increased by 27.9% to $ 1,581 million over the corresponding month of the previous year. The largest contribution to export earnings in February 2012 was from industrial exports. Industrial exports grew by ...

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) signed a cooperation agreement with the Chamber for Promotion and Economic Development of the BRICS Countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) called ‘BRICS-PED’ recently. This special agreement will initially promote an identified range of products/services between Sri Lanka and BRICS Countries and facilitate alliances on reciprocal ...

The highest oversubscription ever seen for a Sri Lankan international bond in April and KPMG’s latest positive Change Readiness Index ranking for Sri Lanka show the growing international investor confidence in the country, which prefers patient investments to hot money. “Sri Lanka has entered a new era of development thanks to the visionary leadership of ...

Sri Lanka spent Rs. 56 b on above-the-line advertising in 2011 Taking wing to India for meetings is a usual routine for any business leader attached to a multinational in Sri Lanka as most such organisations have their regional offices in India. During a recent visit to India, the hype surrounding IPL – 5th edition ...

The National Development Bank’s (NDB) corporate mission ‘to be dominant in the financial services sector, creating superior long-term shareholder value and contributing to economic development in Sri Lanka’ remains true to its roots even today, as it stays committed to fulfil its mission towards the nation, while creating long lasting relationships with its stakeholders. The ...

President Mahinda Rajapaksa this week invited Korean business community to invest in Sri Lanka and to be a partner in the prosperous march of our nation. “I can confidently assure you that you will truly be happy that you took such a decision,” the President said, addressing the Sri Lanka-Korea Business Forum hosted by the ...

CB asks banks overnight for their forex commitments for Thursday and Friday; steps up bank visits Convenes meeting with treasury heads of banks; rupee crisis figures in monthly CB-bank CEOs meeting as well Dealers say no room for speculation given the very narrow net open positions; new rules apart from lack of dollars could be ...

As a tenfold growth in Sri Lanka – Qatar bilateral trade being reported, the first ever joint trade talks between Sri Lanka and fast growing Qatar are now in the offing. “We are now interested in convening the First Joint Council meeting between Sri Lanka and Qatar under the 2012 Agreement at an early date” ...

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is working with micro-insurance company SANASA Insurance to develop flexible, affordable, weather-based agricultural insurance products in Sri Lanka to minimise the impact of crop losses due to floods or droughts. IFC is helping SANASA Insurance expand access to insurance for up to 15,000 small farmers by offering ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s tea production fell 22.6 per cent year-on-year in March, the state-run tea board said on Tuesday, with industry experts attributing the drop to adverse weather. Sri Lanka’s March tea output was 27.21 million kg compared to 35.13 million kg in March 2011. Production in the first quarter dropped 6.7 per cent to ...

Reuters: The Central Bank said on Friday that despite heavy depreciation pressure on the rupee, there was no need to intervene in the market as the country would see $ 574 million of inflows within a month. On Friday, the currency was trading near its record low of 131.60 per dollar, hit on 19 March ...

The Central Bank, in its latest Annual Report, has downgraded its growth forecast for 2012 from eight per cent to 7.2 per cent. This is due to a combination of adverse global developments and the negative effects of domestic policy misalignments. The contractionary measures introduced to address the imbalance in the trade account (i.e. to ...

By Cheranka Mendis Tourist arrivals in March this year had been the highest ever for the month at 91,102 – reflecting a 21.3% growth over last year. The merry March brought the total for the first quarter to 260,525, up by 21% over the corresponding period of last year. End March performance accounts for 26% ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday emphasised that favourable and consistent policies leading to higher private sector investments were critical for Sri Lanka to achieve higher growth. In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) for 2012 released in Colombo yesterday, the ADB said that despite the improved political and economic environment, growth in ...

Divya Lagoon Resort opened its doors in Kalpitiya recently, making it the first star class luxury boutique hotel to be constructed on the Dutch Bay, in the new Tourism Zone of Kalpitiya Built on four acres of land, Divyaa Lagoon Resort, nestled between the Dutch Bay Lagoon and the Dutch Bay, captures the true essence of ...

The Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) has launched its second edition of Guide to Investors on Industrial Relations Practices and Labour Laws in Sri Lanka. EFC said that with the Government actively encouraging foreign direct investment in various sectors such as knowledge services, leisure and tourism, apparels and manufacturing, the launch of its guide was ...

Whilst expressing confidence over the outlook for 2012 the Central Bank in its 2011 Annual Report says that the key challenge facing Sri Lanka in 2012 is managing the numerous risks arising from global developments. It said given the uncertain outlook for global commodity prices, especially oil, the challenge ahead would be to maintain inflation ...

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday said that Mahinda Rajapaksa Government has achieved highest economic growth in Sri Lanka’s post independence history and has brought stability to the economy within a short period of time of after the defeating of terrorism. This statement Minister Rajapaksa made at the Economic Planning Review meeting held at the ...

Whilst expressing confidence on the outlook for 2012 the Central Bank in its 2011 Annual Report said there are several  immediate challenges facing Sri Lanka. Here are some key highlights of Central Bank’s recommendations Diversification of export products and markets Higher foreign inflows A price mechanism for oil Energy conservation and efficiency Labour market and ...

In the recent past we have seen many success stories reported from the Eastern province, be it the new hotels that have been built, the staging of the world surfing championships in Arugam Bay, new infrastructure that is bringing about strong economic growth. The GDP growth of almost 20 per cent registered in 2011 is ...

Central bank Governor says country is targeting per capita income of $4,000 by 2015Ajit Nivard Cabraal is a man intimately associated with the economic development of Sri Lanka. Well before he became the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, in 2006, Cabraal was the chief economic adviser to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was ...

The challenges Sri Lanka has to face in its march towards development are manifold. Although the war has ended the wrong political ideologies, the proposals and timetables it created are still in operation. By Government Information Department Additional Director General Chandrapala Liyanage Similarly, various social activity groups and individuals and organisations operating under the advice ...

Parliamentary accountability The Parliament, as the country’s foremost representative institution, has the sole authority over national resources and financial allocations and concurrently has a prominent role to play in fiscal responsibility, the budgetary process, economic development and effective transparent economic and financial management, with a view to assuring sustainable growth an...

Tilan Wijeyesekera was inducted as the new President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing(SLIM) for the year 2012/13 at the AGM concluded last week. The event took place at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel amidst a gathering of some of the nation’s best marketing professionals. Wijeyesekera at the age of 34 becomes the youngest President ...

By Cassandra Mascarenhas Sri Lanka is ripe for investment and should exploit its strategic location to attract more foreign investment, while not losing focus on its traditional markets were the general views expressed at the Expo 2012 Symposium on Trade, Investment and Tourism. Held yesterday, the symposium featured a line-up of representatives of many sectors, ...