Economy

Though there is a lot of hype created through monthly arrival figure produced and disseminated by the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority (SLTDA), tourism earnings have failed to lift the bottom lines of Lankan hoteliers, with luxury hotel operators being the hardest hit category.

Sri Lanka’s Mannar Basin has a greater chance of being endowed with natural gas than oil, a top official of Cairn Lanka, which has established the country’s first working petroleum system in the Mannar Basin said.

Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Petroleum Corp (Ceypetco) has finalised a term contract for the purchase of nearly three million barrels of oil products for delivery over a six-month period from PetroChina, industry sources said yesterday.

Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Dr. D. Purandeswari has expressed satisfaction over Sri Lanka’s economic progress and infrastructure development, during her meeting with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa at his ministry recently.

Sri Lanka’s January tea production will be negatively impacted by frost damage, a scenario caused by extreme temperature fluctuations during a very short period of time, a tea broker in the country said.

India has asked Sri Lanka to keep its sensitivities in mind while allocating oil blocks in the waters that separate the two countries.

The Government Securities market (G-Sec) comprising of treasury bills and bonds is expected to see a complete overhaul with the establishment of an e-trading platform for the secondary market, according the Central Bank (CB) Governor. This is amongst the many reforms and improvements planned for 2013.

The lack of a clear definition as to what constitutes a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) in Sri Lanka may be working to the benefit of larger enterprises seeking tax concessions, according to private research firm, Verite Research.

Tourist arrivals reached a historic peak in December 2012 at a recorded 122,252 arrivals during the month, against 97,517 arrivals in 2011.

Budgetary allocations for Sri Lanka’s education sector fall short by approximately Rs.14.2 billion when compared to allocations presented in the Budget Speech by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Verité Research, a private research firm, which provides strategic analysis for corporate and government institutions in Asia said in a report.

To make the most when interest rates are down, the government is to issue Treasury bills worth Rs.20 billion and Treasury bonds worth of Rs.9 billion through the auction that will take place today and tomorrow, the Public Debt Department of the Central Bank said.

The Monetary Board of Sri Lanka yesterday decided to keep the policy rates unchanged during the first month of 2013, following a 25 basis points rate cut last December to spur growth.

The weakened economic growth in the South Asian region in 2012 is expected to pick up in 2013 with the Sri Lankan economy poised to grow at 6.8 percent, despite the Central Bank’s forecast of a 7.5 percent growth, a World Bank report said.

Further hikes in fuel and electricity prices are expected in the coming months as a result of government’s attempt to curb losses incurred by stateowned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), thereby creating inflationary pressures, a report said.

The Sri Lankan rupee edged down yesterday due to importer dollar demand, but currency dealers said foreign inflows into government securities could boost the currency in the near term.

Sri Lanka Customs is set to go fully online from end March 2013, with the implementation of latest version of Automated System for Customs Data, widely known as ‘ASYCUDA World’, , according to the Treasury Secretary.