Disaster Management Centre Archives

SRI LANKA NEWS – DECEMBER 2022 – By Victor Melder Sri Lanka owed Chinese lenders $7.4 billion – nearly a fifth of its public external debt – by the end of last year, calculations by the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) showed, an estimate higher than many others. The figure was above the “often-quoted 10 to 15 percent figures,” the study said, adding a “significant portion” of the country’s debt to China had been recorded under lending to state-owned enterprises rather than central government. Crisis-hit Sri Lanka is in the midst of a debt restructuring after years of economic mismanagement combined with the COVID-19 pandemic saw the country plunge into the worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 and tip into default. Export-Import Bank of China (EximBank) and China Development Bank are the two largest Chinese lenders, accounting for $4.3 billion and $3 billion respectively, according to the ...

SRI LANKA NEWS – JULY 2019 Compiled by Victor Melder. Demand for land in Thalahena, Gothatuwa and Kolonnawa are rising significantly, resulting in the highest percentage increases in land prices in Greater Colombo, according to a recently concluded study. LankaPropertyWeb.com analysed postings in its website to ascertain the change in asking prices for land in the Greater Colombo area. Thalahena topped the list, recording a year-on-year percentage increase of 64 percent. Ragama, Gothatuwa and Kolonnawa continues to be popular with land prices recording a percentage increase of between 55-35 percent The percentage increases are in line with the increases noted in the asking prices of land. In Thalawathugoda, the average price per perch is between 1.7 – 2 million Rupees. Interestingly, with the spike in percentage increase, neighboring suburb Thalahena, joins the same price category. While land in Kolonnawa and Wellampitiya both fall within the range of 700,000 to ...