exchange rates

Says every high frequency data improved in 2020 second half, despite second COVID-19 wave in Oct. Expects SL to rejoin upper-middle-income club this year Sri Lanka is expected to unleash a burst of economic activity this year, as the pandemic fades and the people and businesses are resuming activities that were put off last year, possibly elevating the country again into … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Return of normalcy expected to unleash burst of economic activity this year

 First Capital Research says prices of food items have been on the rise since Jan. Food prices on the up despite record rice harvest and renaissance in agri sector Sri Lanka’s food prices are on the rise albeit the overall inflation measured by the price indices show benign levels. The government for months has been trying with various tools to bring food prices … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Food inflation on the rise as govt. struggles to tame prices of daily essentials

 Raw turmeric roots on the shelves of roadside vendors is a frequent sight nowadays. Thanks to the import controls, turmeric now fetches a higher price domestically; prices having soared by as much as 275 percent from Rs. 80 per kilo to Rs. 300 per kilo. The turmeric shortage, reports of adulterated turmeric powder, the ceiling price, black-market sales, and … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Beyond turmeric: How import controls affect Sri Lanka’s economy

Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday said Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to be around 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and minimum of 20 percent in the second quarter due to the low base in the previous year. Ajith Nivard Cabraal “Sri Lanka’s 1st Quarter … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Economic growth in 1Q21 will be at least 3.5%: Cabraal

Global oil prices which surpassed US$ 60 a barrel in recent days could put a strain on the lofty expectations of the country’s external sector as projections are largely premised on lower crude oil prices.Prices at Brent—the global oil benchmark—and the West Texas Intermediate—the US grade for oil—have risen more than 20 percent so far this year. On Friday, the futures … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Above US$ 60 global oil price could scuttle Sri Lanka’s plans

 The Institute of Policy of Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) hosted a virtual panel discussion on the ‘Recovery of Sri Lanka’s Apparel Sector from COVID-19 Crisis’, on February 2, 2021. The webinar, held in partnership with Southern Voice and the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh, is part of IPS’ research, examining the impacts of the ongoing pandemic on the apparel … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – IPS holds webinar on ‘Recovery of Sri Lanka’s Apparel Sector from COVID-19 Crisis’

 For the 10th consecutive year, MTI Consulting (via their Corporate Finance practice), in partnership with Daily FT, Daily Mirror and Sunday Times, has concluded the MTI CEO Business Outlook Study, collectively outlining the Sri Lankan business community’s perception of the state of business in 2021. Supplemented by MTI’s experience as a thought leadership-oriented … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – MTI’s Business Review of 2020 and Outlook for 2021

Says move appears to have stemmed form key tenets of MMT Amid certain quarters finding fault with the Central Bank and the overall economy for not being able to sell the entire stock of Treasury bills at weekly auctions in recent times, a rating agency said the move was intentional and appeared to be in line with the key doctrines of the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), what … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Partial acceptance of T-bills at auctions intentional: ICRA Lanka

 The bill to facilitate Port City to become competitive investment hub Aimed at making Port City SL’s first service-oriented specialised economic zone The Cabinet of Ministers this week approved a proposal to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft the Colombo Ports Commission Bill to enable Colombo Port City to become a competitive investment hubin the region.The … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Cabinet gives approval to draft Colombo Ports Commission Bill

AWLR declines to 10.55% in Nov. from 10.82% in Oct. AWNLR falls to 8.71% in Nov. from 8.73% in Oct. Lending rates to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) continued to descend in November amid pickup in credit in the economy.Sri Lanka’s private sector credit growth turned a corner in August, as economic growth recovered to 1.5 percent in the third quarter from a … [Read more...] about Daily Mirror – Small business lending rates continue downtrend as credit accelerates