New tax concessions for integrated resorts

The Cabinet of Ministers of Sri Lanka once again appears to have approved investment concessions for three super luxury integrated resort projects, the recent gazette notification published showed.

Exports up 13.2% in December

The export earnings rose 13.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 986.1 million while the import expenditure expanded 2.1 percent YoY to US $ 1.56 billion in December2013.

January tourist arrivals up 32%

Sri Lanka received 146,575 tourists during the month of January (2014), up 32.6 percent from the corresponding month of the previous year, data released by the country’s tourism authority revealed.

Rubber prices take a dip in new year

Sri Lanka’s rubber prices have seen a considerable decline since the beginning of the new year, an analysis of the Colombo rubber auction prices by Mirror Business showed.

Bloomberg forecast on SL slightly positive

Bloomberg’s regular economic forecast on Sri Lanka showed a sense of relative optimism for 2014 on many indicators, though they remained below the Central Bank’s overly ambitious estimates for the ensuing years.

City hotel occupancy down in 2013

The average city hotel occupancy rate during the year 2013 stood at 65 percent, down from 70 percent in 2012, despite an increase in tourist arrivals, Colombo City Hotels Association Chairman M. Shanthikumar said.

Lankan business environment main attraction for FDIs: CCC President

Sri Lanka’s business climate stands as the island’s strongest attraction for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), a factor which must be greatly improved on through targeted reforms, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Chairperson and Lion Brewery CEO, Suresh Shah said.

Financial sector consolidation progress satisfying: CB

Satisfactory progress has been made on the consolidation of banking and non-banking sectors of the country, Central Bank in a recent statement said.

StanChart forecasts another rate cut end 1Q

Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) says the Central Bank is likely to further cut key policy rates if no significant improvement was recorded in private sector credit growth amid falling headline inflation.

Policy rates won’t change in next 3 to 6 months: Cabraal

Sri Lanka’s interest rates are at an appropriate level and the Central Bank probably will keep borrowing costs steady for the next three to six months if current conditions persist, Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was quoted as saying to Bloomberg.

CB dismisses statistic manipulation charges

The Central Bank yesterday dismissed recent allegations of manipulating economic statistics by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), saying that such allegations are “unfounded and baseless.”

FTA with China next boost for Lankan apparel sector: JAAF

Efforts to drive the Sri Lankan apparel sector into a new growth phase may hinge on the success of the potential free trade agreement (FTA) in the offing with China, according to Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) Secretary General Tuli Cooray.

Tourist arrivals top 1.2mn for 2013 after data validation

Sri Lanka Tourism yesterday said it had topped the arrival target of 1.2 million tourists set for 2013, after it adopted a new method of calculation.

Sri Lanka to change inflation index to cover whole nation

Sri Lanka will change its inflation index to change the basket of items and broaden coverage to the whole nation rather than just the capital city, the state-run statistics office said yesterday

SL’s remittance inflow to moderate with fresh demand for services sector

Sri Lanka expects a moderation in the growth of remittance inflows in the future, owing to structural changes that are expected to take place in the economy.

Pak’s latest GSP with EU, opportunity for Sri Lankan exporters: Qureshi

Sri Lanka’s second largest trade partner in SAARC is looking for more Lankan exports in the coming year, while also eyeing Sri Lanka’s sugar sector entry,

Latest bond issue mirrors investor confidence: CB

The relatively low rate at which Sri Lanka sold its latest US $ 1 billion bond issue reflects the confidence international investors have placed in the sovereign bond issuances of Sri Lanka, the Central Bank said yesterday.

Sri Lanka begins sale of 5-year sovereign bond

Sri Lanka yesterday commenced the sale of her sixth international sovereign bond. International rating agencies Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s rated the bond at ‘BB-(EXP)’, ‘B+’ and ‘(P)B1’, respectively, in line with their respective sovereign credit ratings assigned to the country.

Central Bank cuts lending rates by 50bps

The Central Bank yesterday compressed the policy rate corridor to 150 basis points (bps) from the current 200 points, by cutting the rate for the lending of overnight funds to the banking system by 50 basis points, claming “volatility in the interbank call money market has reduced substantially.”

New foreign banks entering market should incorporate business locally: CB

New foreign entrants to Sri Lanka’s banking sector will be required to incorporate their businesses locally commencing from 2016, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal.

Oil prices up on escalating South Sudan violence

Crude edged higher in Asian trade yesterday on supply concerns following escalating violence in oil-producer South Sudan, but gains were capped as dealers sat on the sidelines awaiting fresh leads after the festive season.

Trade chambers should be more vocal in policy issues: Mathai

All Sri Lankan trade and business chambers must work together to foster improved standards of debate and discussion around economic and even social policy according to outgoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Dr. Koshy Mathai.

Lankan spice exports up 40% during Jan-Oct

Export of Sri Lankan spices increased sharply to 40.4 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) from January to October of this year, boosted by a drastic rise in exports of pepper and Cloves, according to Spices & Allied Products Producers’ & Traders Association (SAPPTA) statistics.

Lankan banks to adapt to BASEL III 2014

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (CB) will implement the third and the latest installment of Basel Accords— BASEL III beginning 2014, requiring the banks to further strengthen their capital buffers and also wanting them to decrease bank leverage, according to a CB official.

Sri Lanka Tourism launches major ad campaign in China

Sri Lanka Tourism welcomed a 13-member group from China’s ‘Travel Channel’, at the Bandaranaike International Airport, who arrived here to promote the Island aggressively in China via the Channel starting from January 2014.

Govt. proxy borrowing could pose additional risks: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautioned the government for using banks and other financial institutions to borrow overseas on its behalf, as it could pose additional risks to the financial system.

Government in talks with India to amend FTA

The Sri Lankan government has started fresh talks with India, in a bid to bring changes to the existing Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as the controversial Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has not come to fruition due to protest from various quarters, a top bureaucrat disclosed.

December policy rates on hold

The Central Bank kept the policy rates unchanged for the month of December amid the recent pick up in the private credit and debt repayments by stateowned corporations, cutting the burden on state banksandthegovernment.

IMF expresses concern over income tax reduction

International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed concerns over the recent budget proposal to reduce personal income tax rates, and described it as an act of giving away the money government badly needed.

Ship suppliers call for stronger lobbying eyeing 2015 budget

Sri Lanka’s ship supplier industry must look to float a common bond in order to increase its lobbying power and push for concessions not granted with Budget 2014, according to Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Harbour Master, Captain Ravi Jayawickrama.