Economy

Issuing an Economic Alert, Standard Chartered said that they did not see space for further easing in monetary policy, given the inflation risks remaining high. The bank thus expects the current rates to remain stable at least until 1Q’ 2014.

Amid ship owners shifting survival mode, smaller ship yards filing for bankruptcy and the damp general global economic outlook, Colombo Dockyard PLC, a Sri Lankan listed ship building and repair firm saw its net profit plunging as much as 55 percent to Rs.337.4 million in 1Q’13 over the same quarter last year.

Iraq, a leading buyer of Sri Lankan tea has urged authorities to strengthen the process with regard to the packaging, certification and shipping of teas to avoid adulterated tea reaching Iraq.

Treasury bill yields plunged in the first bill auction after a 50 basis point policy rate cut by the Central Bank last week, the data released by the Public Debt Department of the central Bank showed.

The annual gratuity provision of Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) will increase by an average of between Rs.175-225 million per company as a result of recent wage hike, according to the Planters Association of Sri Lanka.

Despite numerous attempts by the Central Bank to justify the country’s current gross external reserve position that now stands at US $ 6.9 billion or equivalent to 4.5 months of imports, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers this to be relatively low by most criteria and has urged the authorities to strengthen the reserve position.

Sri Lanka's Central Bank is expected to keep key monetary policy rates steady for the fifth straight month on Friday, a Reuters poll showed, and analysts predict at least a quarter percentage point cut in June as both the central bank and the country's treasury secretary have signaled

Sri Lanka’s March export income drop moderated 2.8 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 837 million, resulting the trade gap to narrow 29 percent YoY to US $ 704.5 million, the data released by the Central Bank showed.

The economically-active population aged 10 years and above- popularly known as a country’s labour force - declined in Sri Lanka by 1.1 percent to 8.465 million due to migration of economically active persons during 2012, the Central Bank annual report showed.

With the construction of the first phase of the South container terminal project nearing completion, the first berth will open up for ship traffic starting July, enabling the Colombo port to accommodate mega vessels that was not possible before, a top Sri Lanka Ports Authority official said.

Sri Lanka’s March tea production rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier due to favourable weather, pushing up output of the island nation’s top agricultural export by 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013, data from the state-run Tea Board showed on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s export income fell 2.9 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to US $ 797.5 million in February with both agricultural and industrial exports slowing down, the data released by the Central Bank showed.

Sri Lanka's export income fell 2.9 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to US $ 797.5 million in February with both agricultural and industrial exports slowing down, the data released by the Central Bank showed

Issuing the sovereign credit rating and the country outlook for 2013, Fitch Ratings yesterday affirmed Sri Lanka's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB-'

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in the month of February rose 11.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 93,232, helped by increased arrivals from East Asian and Western and Eastern European blocks, the official data provided by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed.

The likely loosening of the monetary policy will increase the savings - investment gap, which narrowed to 6.6 percent of GDP or Rs.503 billion in 2012, increasing the dependency on foreign financing to feed the investment hungry nation, a global bank alerted.

The recent wage increase granted to plantation sector workers has pushed the cost of production of Sri Lankan teas to the highest in the world, the Planters’ Association of Ceylon claimed.

Cairn India Limited said it is currently evaluating the options of converting gas into commercial use, one and a half years after identifying natural gas in the Sri Lanka’s Mannar Basin.

Bangladesh is tipped to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka to strengthen bilateral trade between the two nations, according to visiting Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Ambassador, Mohammed Shahidul Haque.

The roof tile industry which was on the decline has been revived under Divi Neguma national programme, with 156 tile factories back in operation.