Development and Economic News
Conservative peer highlights Chinese investment in SL amidst cuts to overseas aid budget
Citing Sri Lanka as a prime example, the UK’s Conservative peer Lord Hugo Swire drew attention to the adverse effects of cutting the UK’s overseas aid budget, which has inadvertently created opportunities for other countries, notably China, to step in and provide financial support.
Govt. to raise around Rs 5 trillion from domestic borrowings in 2024
The government is resorting to domestic borrowing of around Rs. 5 trillion to meet heavy expenditure in the forthcoming budget 2024, Finance Ministry estimates and mathematical projections revealed.
Food prices Year-on-year increase at 2 percent
The retail price of commonly consumed food items recorded a year-on-year increase of roughly 2% between September 2022 and September 2023 and a month-on-month fall of 1.6% in between August and September 2023,a research report rvealed.
National Housing Development Authority incurs Rs20 bn loss
Accumulated losses of the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) have exceeded Rs. 20 billion while disparities have taken place since 2015, as revealed by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) today.
IMF to analyze debt deal between Sri Lanka & China Exim Bank
International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it looks forward to analyzing the details of the recent agreement between Sri Lankan authorities and the Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) of China on debt treatment terms.
China reaffirms support for Sri Lanka’s debt optimising strategy
Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun has reaffirmed China’s commitment to extend comprehensive support for the implementation of a medium-term and long-term programme that is mutually beneficial to both parties and aimed at optimising Sri Lanka’s debt, a statement from President’s Media Division said.
Indonesia to discuss preferential trade deal with Sri Lanka
Indonesia is ready to discuss a preferential trade deal with Sri Lanka, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said.
Over 50,000 tourists arrive in Sri Lanka in first 15 days this month
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is experiencing a surge of optimism as the country welcomed over 50,000 tourists in the first 15 days of October.
Jaffna sour banana, TEJC mango projects become successful
The Sour Banana Cultivation Project and the TEJC Mango Project started in Jaffna under the Agriculture sector have become successful.
Sri Lanka SMEs go digital with world Bank assistance
In a pioneering move to bolster the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector in Sri Lanka, the apex body of the ICT industry, FITIS, has unveiled the “DigiGo” Digital Playbook for SMEs, State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath said.