The Cabinet nod has been granted to submit the draft Appropriation Bill for 2023 to parliament with an estimated total expenditure....

The Central Bank is widely expected to hold its key rates steady this week, when the monetary board meets tomorrow (Wednesday) to review its monetary policy for the seventh time of the year, after delivering a cumulative 950-basis-point hike through

Sri Lanka’s official unemployment rate increased in the second quarter ended in June as the unprecedented economic crisis pushed many out of work amid sky-high interest rates, import restrictions, soaring.....

Inflation in capital Colombo, as measured by the year-on-year (YoY) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), rose to 69.8 percent in September, from 64.3 percent in August, as the crisis-struck nation continues to battle with exorbitant pri

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the world is keenly watching how Sri Lanka will recover from the “self-inflicted” economic crisis, the worst in its post-independent history, by negotiating with its creditors for financing assurances

While the pandemic in the last two years created a segment of people identified as ‘new poor’, who were on the brink of poverty, the economic crisis, which soon followed, tipped them down below the poverty line, sending the country’s official p

Sri Lanka recorded its highest merchandise export income so far for this year in the month of August amid increased export...

Sri Lankans could be in for a long drawn-out path out of the economic misery that they have dug themselves into, as the prevailing cost of living crisis could grind on for years with inflation staying higher than the pre-crisis level, even after a ye

Any fund disbursements from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to crisis-hit Sri Lanka could be at least 3-4 months away from now....

One of Sri Lanka’s most important development priorities must be to grow its stock of decent jobs and ensure inclusive access to them, particularly by women and young people, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said.

The multiple crises in Sri Lanka have intensified long-standing worrisome features of the country’s labour market, a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) revealed.

Sri Lanka will present its programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its official and private creditors tomorrow for the first time, seeking debt relief, as the US $ 81 billion crisis-hit economy seeks to turnaround its fortunes.

Even after the jumbo hikes in the fuel prices a couple of months ago to bring energy prices to cover full cost and to cut losses at the Ceylon.....

While the broader economy contracted by 8.4 percent in the second quarter ended in June, the construction activities, which contributed an outsize 9.5 percent to the overall economic output, shrank by nearly twice as much as in the same period, indic

The government revenue in the first half of 2022 jumped the most in recent times as Value Added Tax (VAT) and a slew of other taxes were raised effective from June as part of broader fiscal sector reforms....

The budget to host the mega tourism delegation from India, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) convention, is extended by Rs.34 million, due to the escalating cost of operation in the island nation.

Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted the most in two years in the quarter ended June (2Q22), the first full quarter since the country plunged into a deep economic crisis followed by social and political upheaval, which disrupted mos

As the country’s tax system is undergoing a complete overhaul to ensure that the government raises adequate revenues to ensure its fiscal deficits are kept at a sustainable level, the financial and tax experts are calling for the removal of a wide

Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and services sectors are already seeing widespread layoffs, non-renewal of employment contracts....

In what appears to be another notable development in the space of external sector advances made as of late, the Central Bank had become a net absorber of foreign exchange after being a net seller for eleven consecutive months since the country starte

Sri Lanka’s Balance of Payment (BoP), which was racing past last year’s levels until recently, is slowing down after the Central Bank....

Sri Lanka will receive an emergency assistance loan amounting to US $ 203 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to ensure the poor and vulnerable, especially women and children, have access to food and have their livelihoods protected.

As Sri Lanka is in the midst of securing fund disbursement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out the crisis-struck economy, all measures must be taken to avoid a haircut, particularly on the country’s domestic debt, so that long-la

The United States will support Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring effort by extending financing assurances in consistent with the Paris Club principles, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s media office said.

After recording a trade surplus in two decades in June, the trade deficit in July narrowed significantly year-on-year (YoY) as imports contracted ....

The government has deployed a new welfare benefit information system from next year onwards to provide better targeted social welfare benefits by way of direct cash transfers to the vulnerable groups in society.

Although Sri Lanka last week clinched the much awaited staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its first step towards emerging out of the current economic abyss, the brewing....

The tourist arrivals for the month of August witnessed a 20 percent dip when compared with the previous month, with the numbers totalling to 37,760.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said Sri Lanka should move forward “expeditiously” to secure debt relief from its creditors to ensure debt sustainability as disbursement of any IMF financing is contingent upon that and the reforms

Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe expressed confidence in the overall macro programme and structural reforms on the national economy getting on track going forward, as the interim budget presented on Tuesday (30) is the basis of the foun