Economy

Image: Gota checking rice price. All good things must come to an end. Gota’s victory over LTTE and limited victory over COVID-19 are fast turning into just sweet but distant memories. A new enemy and one about whom Gota and his power cartel has very limited knowledge, and with no effective weapons to fight with, […]

The worst economic crisis since Independence is upon us. For some decades now the grim clouds of debt, waste and corruption have been gathering over our island. Now – as this fearsome storm of the Corona virus unleashes its fury – anguish and desperation, grief and sorrow, fear and rage, will engulf us all.  Hundreds […]

Image: Slippers left after the stampede on 21 May at Maligawatta, Colombo that killed 3 poor women who gathered to collect a few hundreds of rupees. Leader of the United National Party, Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a statement to the media, called upon the government to refrain from allowing the upcoming debt servicing to impact the […]

Image courtesy of www.reddeeradvocate.com. The corona pandemic is spreading like wildfire. Its economic consequences are severe, increasing and unpredictable. It is worse than a recession. It is a global economic shutdown and will impact severely on the Sri Lankan economy. It has spread to more than 170 countries with over 270,000 persons tested positive. Its […]

Image: Sri Lankan Airlines staff wear masks at Bandaranaike International Airport after Sri Lanka confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country, in Katunayake, Sri Lanka January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte. Heads of several chambers of commerce in Sri Lanka said that the deadly coronavirus epidemic has been adversely affecting the Sri Lankan economy […]

Image: All these sectors  of the three tree crops comprising tea, rubber and coconut, apparels and telecommunication services have now reached their saturation point with the available technology. The sick economy President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – now fondly called Gota by everyone – inherited an underperforming economy. It was just like the economy which the previous […]

In Brief What is MCC? It is an independent development organization, like USAID, funded by US Taxpayer dollars. Is MCC a grant or a loan? A Grant. Not a loan. Is it connected to SOFA and ACSA military agreements? No connection to ACSA or SOFA. No military connection what-so-ever. MCC has signed 37 grant agreements up to date in 30 different […]

Image: Sajith Premadasa. The election manifesto of Sajith Premadasa was released last week and it is interesting to analyse it with the same criteria that was used by me to evaluate the manifesto of Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week. What’s good The most eye-catching aspect of the manifesto could be the concessions offered to small enterprises. […]

On November 16, a new pesident will be elected. Will the election usher in political stability or will the post-election period be one of confusion and chaos? Are there prospects of an economic revival? Would the election lead to a period of political instability? The worst scenario would be another constitutional crisis. Constitutional experts have […]

Image: Post-war development centered on building infrastructure etc has failed. A study commissioned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka urges a fresh approach to address post-war socio-economic challenges in the north by building on its existing regional capacity and resources. Authored by an independent committee and launched yesterday at the Jaffna Public Library Auditorium, ‘Economic Development […]

Image: A dock worker is seen on top of shipping containers in a ship at the main port in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21 June 2018 (Photo: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte). 28 January 2019.  Dushni Weerakoon, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka plunged into a political crisis in October 2018 when President Maithripala Sirisena suddenly and unexpectedly […]

The year that is coming to a close was one of political uncertainty and economic instability. The economy, which was showing some signs of recovery with exports growing at a rapid pace, tourism booming and prospects of increased foreign investment, was transformed into an unstable one. Political crisis The political and constitutional crisis compounded the […]

The European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL), the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) said yesterday they were gravely concerned about the present political uncertainty and upheaval in the country. Issuing a statement, they said,” We are of the view […]

By Azhar Razak. Q. There is a view that the Northern populace has strong connections to the Tamil diaspora and therefore more support can be forthcoming. What are your views? A. In my own research, I have found that it is only a very small population in Jaffna who have strong connections to the diaspora resulting […]

The European Investment Bank will provide EUR 50 million to support improvement and expansion of sewage networks across the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. The new loan will help Colombo Municipal Council to achieve its goal of providing full sanitation coverage to benefit people living and working in the greater Colombo area. The new EIB loan […]

The Budget 2017 was created by the elites for the elites, Jaffna based researcher, Ahilan Kadirgamar said stating that the trade and financial liberalization along with privatization propagated by this Budget will take the country towards financial doom. What is your overall view of the Budget? A: I am very concerned about this Budget because […]

( Selling fish in Negambo fish market, August 2016 ©s.deshapriya) by Timothy Ryan. For Sri Lanka, gender equity will be fundamental to a stable, peaceful and equitable future The civil war that raged for 26 years in Sri Lanka was always about more than political grievances. The politics were rooted in economic and social disenfranchisement […]

(Upul Jayasuriya) By Azhar Razak . Amidst the current hue and cry opposing the movement of natural persons (Mode 4) for services in the proposed ETCA agreement with India, the head of Sri Lanka’s main investment promotion agency last week revealed that the country’s twelve BOI-Administered Industrial Zones are presently struggling to fill a staggering […]

“The barometer of biz confidence plummets, as recent tax hikes and policy uncertainty have members of the corporate community scratching their heads over what the future holds,” says leading business magazine LMD, in its July edition. It adds that the June LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) suffered another sharp fall, continuing its southbound trajectory – […]

( Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake Vs Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe) Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe re-assures the 100% accuracy of the report he submitted stating the government has taken Rs 3,350 billion as local and foreign loans exceeding the approved credit limit of Rs 1,780 billion. The Auditor General told Ceylon Today that the Ministry […]

(Face book poster: Remove Arjun Mahendran) Anti-corruption Front (ACF) commenced “its Say No to Arjuna Mahendran” considering the chaos he was creating in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the overall financial sector by his blatant misuse of power and treasury deal scams. His actions have undermined the entire banking sector and thus have […]

(Image: EU Ambassador HE Mr David Daly speaks at a  Media Conference in Colombo) Joint Press Release following the meeting of the Working Group on Cooperation between the European Union and Sri Lanka on 30 May 2016. Colombo, 30 May 2016 – The Working Group on Cooperation under the framework of the European Union-Sri Lanka […]

(An auto-rickshaw drives along a flooded street in Colombo, Ishara S. Kodikara | AFP | Getty Images ) By Leslie Shaffer/CNBC. Sri Lanka’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have averted a crisis, but the bailout may undermine a key source of strength: the country’s impressive economic growth rate. The deeply indebted country […]

19 April 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka: According to the latest ‘Democracy in Post War Sri Lanka’ survey conducted by Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lankans have a low level of confidence in the Government’s commitment towards eradicating corruption in the country. While 40.8% are of the opinion […]

(Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe,  chats with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 7, 2016.) Saibal Dasgupta /BEIJINGSri Lanka has agreed to resume work on a Chinese-funded $1.4 billion Colombo Port City project that had stalled a year ago.The decision to restart […]

( In remote country side people has to travel in smaller trucks) Today the European Commission will co-sign two new support programmes worth €38 million in total in the field of rural development and trade with Sri Lanka, as EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, arrives for a three day visit to […]

(A worker looks on at the Colombo Port City construction site, which is backed by Chinese investment, Feb. 2. © Reuters) TOKYO — Sri Lanka has reversed its earlier decision and decided to allow Chinese investment in a port development project near its capital, Colombo. Situated off India’s southern tip, Sri Lanka serves as an […]

(A  protest launched by several professional organizations against the ECTA  in Colombo) The Ceylon Chamber has reaffirmed  its fullest support towards an agreement that widens and deepens our economic engagement with India, while reiterating the need for systematic stakeholder consultations, clear and coherent communications, and firm commitment to tackling issues faced by businesses. The statement issued […]

By W.A Wijewardena.                                                             Three moves made by the Central Bank in the recent past have been tantamount to an open admission that Sri Lanka is […]

(Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe being greeted by President Maithripala Sirisena during the former’s swearing-in ceremony.) -By Jayatilleke de Silva. Journalists, especially political columnists whose vocation is writing contemporary history or recording action and events as they happen live have, nevertheless, a customary habit of looking back at the year that just receded on every New […]