Veemansa Initiative, Veemansa Initiatives’ discussion on ‘external debt situation in Sri Lanka; Are we heading for a resolution or crisis?’.  The Governor Central Bank is confident all debt obligations will be met.   –         The Central Bank Governor affirms the government’s commitment and ability to honor all debt obligations. –         Sri Lanka to mobilize domestic […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved Sri Lanka’s request for USD 180 million loan for the Covid-19 emergency and crisis response facility to be disbursed through the Bank of Ceylon (USD 90 million) and People’s Bank (USD 90 million), Sri Lankan Embassy in Beijing said. The loan application was […]

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Colombo, February 12 (newsin.asia): India’s Deputy High Commissioner, Vinod K.Jacob, has said that India-Sri Lanka bilateral trade gap has narrowed since 2018. We have been able to reduce the trade gap in 2018 and 2019 and made our trade more balanced. According to the latest data from the Sri Lankan side, in 2020, […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror In response to internet media reports about India asking for the settlement of US $ 400 million currency swap as an act of retaliation for the cancellation of the port project, the Indian High Commission said a rollover facility for the settlement of had been granted for the Central Bank of […]

MICHAEL HUDSON AND PEPE ESCOBAR Courtesy UNZ Review High-ended retailer Saks Fifth Avenue added private security, fencing and barbed wire ahead of a Black Lives Matter protest in New York, June 7. 2020. (Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons) Michael Hudson and Pepe Escobar last month took a hard look at rent and rent-seeking at the […]

By Sugeeswara Senadhira/Ceylon Today Colombo, December 21: In the final phase of the separatist war when the European Union threatened Sri Lanka with withdrawal of the GSP plus duty concessions, President Mahinda Rajapaksa called a meeting. Rajapaksa asked Minister G L Peiris how much the country would lose due to the withdrawal of GSP plus. […]

Courtesy Adaderana State Minister for Money, Capital Market & State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal stated that the Government intends to follow a fair and a consistent tax policy without killing the proverbial ‘golden goose.’ Speaking exclusively to Indeewari Amuwatte at the ‘@HydePark’ program on Ada Derana 24, the State Minister expressed the following: The most important thing […]

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Colombo, December 20 (Sunday Times) – The Government has started talks with the World Bank to secure a Rs. 10 billion loan for the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19, The Sunday Times reported quoting a Senior Government official. The official said the Government was seeking a soft loan while also looking at […]

By Sugeeswara Senadhira   Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Colombo, December 18 (Daily News): Gone are the days of military blocs. The new-in is multilateral platforms for economic, trade and strategic cooperation. Sri Lanka became a founder member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with much hope of becoming a major economic beneficiary. Before long, these […]

by Sanath Nanayakkare Courtesy The Island Growth rebounded to 1.5% in 3Q reflecting great recovery of the economy after the economic contraction in 1Q and 2Q of this year signaling a near normalcy, therefore, the predicted robust turnaround of 5.5% growth for next year is not an ambition, it is an achievable goal, State Minister […]

Courtesy Hiru News According to the 2021 budget, the people of this country are to receive several concessions. Today (11) we inquired about the government’s plans to raise money to provide these concessions.

by Melani Manel Perera Sri Lanka’s first state-owned wind farm is inaugurated. It is expected to generate 100 megawatts and save 20 billion litres of diesel in 20 years. A Chinese company will build a car tire factory near a port operated by a Chinese company. The country’s dependence on Beijing is growing. Colombo (AsiaNews) […]

Reuters Dec 8 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan shares rose for an 11th straight session on Tuesday, riding on gains in financial and industrial stocks. * The benchmark stock index ended up 1.39% at 6,564, its highest closing level since Feb. 23, 2018. * Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index rose to 326.2 million […]

By Saman Indrajith Courtesy The Island Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa’s questions on the management of the government reminded him of a person that drives recklessly knocks down a person and then queries from the latter what happened, State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday told Parliament. The […]

Courtesy Hiru News Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says that challenges need to be managed through fresh strategies to strengthen the country’s economy in the next few years. The Prime Minister was addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Forum organized by the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce via video technology. The challenges facing our government in 2020 […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Cabinet and the government have decided that Sri Lanka will no longer obtain foreign loans to implement projects, says Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. He mentioned during the online press conference held to inform Cabinet decisions, earlier today (01). The Minister said that in the future, the government will use Build–operate–transfer (BOT), […]

Courtesy Adaderana President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2020 today (01), said Sri Lanka’s over-reliance on loans must come to an end and insisted on attracting more foreign direct investments while encouraging local investment to drive the country’s economic growth. Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2020, themed Roadmap for Take-off: Driving a People-Centric […]

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Earlier, a 40-year loan at an interest rate of 0.1% was expected from Japan to fund the project Colombo, November 30: Now that the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government has finally decided to get India, Japan and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to jointly develop the Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) in Colombo […]

Xinhua COLOMBO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) — Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance on Friday dismissed Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating as an assessment based on uncorroborated facts. “We do not accept this downgrade as it fails to recognize the robust policy framework of the new government for addressing the legacy issues, including the […]

Courtesy  Hiru News The Ministry of Finance has responded to Fitch Ratings downgrading Sri Lanka to ‘CCC’.  Issuing a statement the MoF states that Fitch Ratings have failed to recognize the robust policy framework of the new Government for addressing the legacy issues, including the concerns raised by Fitch Ratings, and ensuring ongoing economic recovery […]

Courtesy Reuters LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt to CCC” on Friday, warning that the country was at increasing risk of missing debt payments due to the coronavirus pandemic. Heavily reliant on tourism and garment exports for foreign exchange reserves, the island nation has been hit hard by […]

By Dr. C. G. Ilangakoon Courtesy Ceylon Today It was with absolute pride and delight, the voters of Sri Lanka as a whole watched the address to the Nation, delivered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 18 November 2020, certainly to the exclusion of few political hypocrites of opportunism, rejected by the people. He articulated the […]

By Gitanjali Marcelline Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Undoubtedly, increasing the retirement age has its merits, but one also wonders if, under the present trying economic circumstances, the Sri Lankan private can manage to keep employees for five extra years. Colombo, November 21(newsin.asia) : When presenting the budget for 2021 a few days ago, the Sri Lankan government […]

Rohan Abeygunawardena ACMA, CGMA Financial & Management Consultant The Covid19 epidemic has disrupted the economies of almost all the countries in the world including Sri Lanka. The finance chiefs of both public and private sector should take a fresh look at the activities and projects under their purview when preparing budgets. The Zero Based concept […]

Courtesy Adaderana Following is a statement issued by the State Minister of Money & Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal on 30th October 2020 With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries including Sri Lanka, observed a contraction in economic activity, reduction in foreign exchange earnings, decrease in revenue collection, and increase […]

Courtesy Asia Times Pompeo to visit Delhi, Colombo, the Maldives and Jakarta in coming days; US wants Rajapaksa government to loosen ties with Beijing, but it has already proposed a free-trade agreement with China Sri Lanka’s government bonds fell heavily on Friday after the United States urged the country’s government to make difficult but necessary […]

By Umesh Moramudali Courtesy The Diplomat Both the share and the type of loans from China are changing as Sri Lanka wrestles with persistent balance of payment issues. The recent visit of Yang Jiechi, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member and previously China’s foreign minister, to Sri Lanka sparked interest among many. To begin with, Sri […]

By Shiran Illanperuma Courtesy NewsIn.Asia On the “Chinese debt trap” Kohona said that 90% of Sri Lanka’s debt is owed to Western and multilateral financial institutions COLOMBO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua): Sri Lankan exporters should particularly take advantage of the annual China International Import Expo set to open next month to boost exports, Palitha Kohona, Sri […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale 55 largest SOEs delivered net Return on Assets (ROA) of only 0.64% in 2017. The combined losses among the loss-making entities reached Rs.87bn in 2017 compared to Rs.42bn in 2016. Some are in deep trouble. The Petroleum Corporation carries a negative equity. Sheer incompetence and corruption have pushed Sri Lankan Airlines close […]