Hiru News

Hiru News

Hiru News

Courtesy The Daily Mirror During the last couple of days, Sri Lanka elected a left-leaning outsider as its 9th Executive President and then went on to win a test match in Galle. No one challenged the election results; Protesters did not storm Parliament, arsonists did not torch the houses and shops, and the army did […]

Courtesy Adaderana Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘RD’ (Restricted Default) and Long-Term Local-Currency IDR at ‘CCC-’.  Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to issuers with a rating of ‘CCC+’ or below. The rating agency said sovereign remains in default on Sri Lanka’s foreign-currency obligations, while restructuring negotiations […]

Courtesy Adaderana Pledges by Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to cut taxes and make changes to the country’s International Monetary Fund bailout could keep the country’s credit risks elevated for some time, rating agency Moody’s has said. We do not expect significant disruption to the country’s reform agenda or macroeconomic policies, which include […]

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත් ෆිච් රේටින්ස් ආයතනය නිකුත් කළ, ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම් දැක්වුණේ ජනපතිවරණයේ ප්‍රතිඵලය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය දිශානතියට අවිනිශ්චිතතාවයක් එක් කරන අතර ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගතකීරීම හෝ ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ වැඩසටහන් නැවත සාකච්ඡා කිරීම ප්‍රමාද කිරීමටද හේතුවිය හැකි බවයි. මේ අතර, කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළෙඳපොළ මිල දර්ශකවල අද දිනයේත් කැපී පෙනෙන ඉහළ යෑමක් දක්නට ලැබෙනවා. සියලු‍ කොටස් මිල […]

Courtesy Hiru News Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds and stocks have dropped following the election of leftist candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake as President, sparking concerns about the future of the nation’s bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ongoing debt deals according to a report from Bloomberg. Bonds set to mature in March 2029 fell […]

Courtesy Gulf Today Sri Lanka’s economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, bolstering sentiment ahead of a crucial election that could affect policy as the country recovers from its worst crisis in decades, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Gross domestic product rose 4.7 per cent in the three months to June from a year […]

Courtesy Adaderana IANS) Sri Lanka has earned over two billion US dollars from tourism in the first eight months of 2024, the latest data from the country’s Central Bank shows. Sri Lanka earned 2.17 billion dollars in the above period, which is a 66.1 per cent increase from the same period in 2023, the Central […]

Courtesy Adaderana The overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumers Price Index (CCPI) on a Y-on-Y basis has decreased to 0.5% in August 2024 compared to the 2.4% calculated for the month of July 2024, according to the latest data released by Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics. The CCPI for […]

Lucky Sydney Sri Lanka’s economy relies heavily on various sectors to generate foreign exchange, with key earners including workers’ remittances, tourism, the tea industry, and the apparel and textile industry. Notably, remittances stand out as the sole category with no import content, making it a significant contributor to the country’s foreign income. In contrast, sectors […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said it expects inflation to remain well below its upper target of 5 percent until early next year, supporting the ongoing economic recovery by providing some relief to both livelihoods and business activities. Based on current projections, inflation is expected to […]

Courtesy Hiru News Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, has cautioned that political or social uncertainties, or reversals of recent achievements, could significantly disrupt the country’s economic reform agenda. He warned that such disruptions could lead to deviations from the planned policy trajectory, potentially resulting in severe and lasting […]

Courtesy Adaderana The Commissioner General of the Excise Department M.J. Gunasiri has dismissed claims of significant arrears in three major government revenue sources namely the Inland Revenue Department, Sri Lanka Customs, and the Excise Department as myths. Speaking at the press briefing titled Collective Path to a Stable Country” held at the Presidential Media Centre […]

Courtesy Hiru News State Minister for Investment Promotion, Dilum Amunugama, announced that Sri Lanka has secured an export income of USD 9 billion in the first six months of this year. \He also highlighted that investment agreements totaling approximately USD 800 million have been signed during the same period. State Minister Amunugama shared this information […]

Courtesy ODI,org Leading experts provide policy proposals to shift Sri Lanka’s trajectory from debt to growth ahead of crucial elections As Sri Lanka gears up for pivotal Presidential elections on 21 September, a timely new book, “Sri Lanka: from debt default to transformative growth“, provides a comprehensive roadmap to propel the nation beyond economic stabilisation […]

Democracy At Work On this week’s Economic Update, Professor Wolff devotes the entire program to explaining clearly and accessibly what government deficits are, why they occur, and who benefits from them. We show how deficits and debts reward corporations and the rich at the expense of the mass of employees. This show will equip our […]

Courtesy Adaderana The agreement for obtaining USD 300 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the implementation of power sector reforms and financial sustainability program has been signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the ADB. The Government of Sri Lanka had discussions with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to mobilize three […]

Courtesy CNA Sri Lanka must make further efforts to raise fiscal revenue if it is to maintain macroeconomic stability and restore debt sustainability, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday, after wrapping up a staff visit to the country. After September’s presidential election in the Indian Ocean nation, the global lender will discuss the timing […]

Courtesy The Statesman Sri Lanka’s economic recovery continues with real gross domestic product (GDP) posting three consecutive quarters of expansion, and growth accelerating to 5.3 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday. Sri Lanka’s economic recovery continues with real gross domestic product (GDP) posting three […]

Courtesy RTTNews Sri Lanka central bank lowered its policy rates unexpectedly by 25 basis points on Wednesday as inflation is expected to remain below the target over coming months. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate by 25 basis points to 8.25 percent and the Standing Lending Facility […]

The Homeless Romantic Ben Norton of Geopolitical Economy wrote an article that discusses the misleading accusations against China for Sri Lanka’s debt crises and economic instability. Contrary to popular belief, 81% of Sri Lanka’s external debt is owed to Western financial institutions and allies, while China holds only 10%. The West’s accusations are criticized as […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya has said that India, and Sri Lanka are working to trade in national currencies, a development that comes even as both sides have been focusing on financial connectivity. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, he said, it makes more sense to pay for […]

Courtesy Hiru News Sri Lanka’s earnings from tourism surged to over $1.5 billion in the first six months of 2024, marking a 77.9 percent increase year-on-year, according to the latest report from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). Tourist arrivals in the first half reached 1.01 million, reflecting a 61.7 percent rise compared to […]

Courtesy Adaderana In a recent interview, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe addressed misconceptions regarding Sri Lanka’s total debt, clarifying that the increase from USD 96 billion in December 2023 to a projected USD 100 billion by March 2024 is largely due to exchange rate fluctuations rather than new borrowing. […]

Courtesy Adaderana Minister of Foreign Affairs and President’s Counsel Ali Sabri, has stated that the successful debt sustainability process with bilateral creditors will provide Sri Lanka with an advantage of approximately US $ 17 billion. The minister also stated that this situation will facilitate successful negotiations regarding international sovereign debts. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali […]

Courtesy Hiru News The overall rate of inflation, as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), has decreased to 1.6% in May 2024, down from 2.7% in April 2024, according to the latest data released by the Department of Census and Statistics. This decline in inflation reflects a significant change in the economic landscape […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror Sri Lanka will be able to further strengthen its ties with Malaysia, with the Cabinet of Ministers this week giving the nod to commence the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.  The proposal for the FTA was presented to the Cabinet by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.   The […]

Tharindu Udayanga Kamburawala Courtesy LSE Blog Sri Lanka has had a long association with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since her independence in 1948 — in fact, the latest loan (in 2023) is its 17th IMF support package. In this post, Tharindu Udayanga Kamburawala analyses the trends and reasons behind Sri Lanka’s recurring reliance on the IMF, and […]