SRI  LANKA  NEWS  IN  BRIEF  –  MARCH 2019 – By Victor Melder     The International Monetary Fund on Friday revived a $1.5 billion bailout for Sri Lanka that was suspended over a government power struggle last year that seriously slowed economic growth. The Washington-based lender said officials visiting Colombo agreed to re-activate the three-year loan, which started in 2016 and spread the instalments over an additional year.”The team reached understandings at the staff level with the Sri Lankan authorities… to allow more time for the completion of the economic reform agenda,” the IMF said. The Fund had been due to release an instalment in October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his Prime Minister and called fresh elections, triggering a two month power struggle in the island nation. Because of the crisis, the economy grew by just 3.0 percent last year, making it the slowest expansion in 17 years, according to the Central ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF NOVEMBER 2018 Compiled by Victor Melder The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) recently computed the prices of residential, commercial and industrial lands, using per perch bare land prices (collected from the Government Valuation Department) and determined that the overall land price in the Colombo District has gone up by 16.3%, year-on-year. The computing of the three sub-indices has taken into consideration the diverse ways of land-use and the comparability of the quality of lands. The CBSL periodically compiles and analyses several indicators in order to monitor the developments in the real estate sector. Accordingly, the Land Price Index (LPI) (base year 1998) had been compiled annually from 1998-2008 and bi-annually from 2009-2017, covering 50 centres of five DS divisions in the Colombo District. With the increasing importance of monitoring land prices, geographical coverage of the LPI has been expanded to 82 centres covering the ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF – JUNE 2018 – Compiled by Victor Melder Consultant, Medical Nutritionist, Medical Research Institute Dr. Renuka Jayatissa addressing a forum recently said the serious repercussions of low local milk consumption, compounded by low production resulting in insufficient quantum to meet demand, resulted in alarming health issues. Malnutrition, in pregnant women, as a result of not consuming sufficient milk during pregnancy was the primary cause of stunting. Although breast feeding infants was recommended, because of low milk consumption they depended on milk substitutes, which, she said, was not the alternative to breast feeding. ‘Fresh milk consumption was essential to build energy and sustain healthy growth. Milk consumption per person should be at least one glass per day. Additionally, yoghurt, cheese, butter, were all essential dietary ingredients that were in short supply, she explained. President, All Island Dairy Association Nishantha Jayasooriya said at this seminar titled ‘Challenges ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF (MAY 2018) – Compiled by Victor Melder Colombo CPI continued to ease, settling below 4%, thanks to the continued moderation in food prices, which grew at its slowest in the past two years. Food prices eased on a sequential basis as well, led by vegetables, sea fish, onions and coconut. Non-food prices on the other hand, showed mild signs of pick up after easing for six continuous months. ‘Alcohol and beverage’, health, transport and recreation index picked up both on an annual and sequential basis, while that of ‘clothing and footwear’ eased. Core inflation mirrored this mild pick-up. Recent trends of moderation in food prices along with the statistical impact of last year’s high base is expected to keep inflation within the central bank’s target range of 4-6%. We forecast inflation to average 4.3% in 2018. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka in its April ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF (OCTOBER 2017) Compiled by Victor Melder The national carrier SriLankan Airlines recently held its 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Shareholders last Monday at the Auditorium of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka at Malalasekera Mawatha in Colombo 7. It was well attended by many former and current employee shareholders, anxious to ascertain the future of the airline. A Group Net Loss of LKR 28,339,51 was reported in 2016/17, up 135% from Group Net Loss of LKR 12,083.62 in 2015/16. Latest Group Net Loss includes LKR 14,362.81 Mn. paid as compensation for the cancellation of lease agreements for four Airbus 350-900 aircraft. Significant increases in Operating Expenses compared to previous year were; Aircraft Maintenance & Overhaul (22%), Rental on Leased Aircraft (13%) Employee Costs (12%) and Marketing & Advertising (11%). In his message to shareholders, Chairman Ajith Dias stated, “Although our financial ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF (NOVEMBER 2016) Compiled by Victor Melder The Handbook of Drug Abuse Information (HBDAI) – 2016 reveals that the total drug related arrests last year was 82, 482 up from 67, 025 made in 2014. The HBDAI released by the National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) stated that drug related arrests had increased by 23 per cent last year. NDDCB has said that the total number of drug related arrests in 2012 was 47,926. When compared with the year 2013 drug related arrests increased by 1.5 per cent in 2014. Thirty five per cent of arrests was related to heroin and 65 per cent to cannabis. According to the HBDAI – 2016, 32 per cent of the total drug related arrests last (2015) year was related to heroin and 63 per cent to cannabis. Most number of drug related arrests has been reported from the Western ...

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SRI LANKA NEWS IN BRIEF- AUGUST  2016- Compiled by Victor Melder Passengers purchasing items from SriLankan Airlines’ ‘Serendib Treasures’ on-board duty-free collection will from August 1 enjoy enhanced convenience and purchasing power, thanks to a new electronic credit and debit card system developed in partnership with the Bank of Ceylon to provide real-time processing of transactions. The new system gives passengers a purchasing power that is equal to their card limit, and eliminates the possibility of fraudulent transactions. It also assures passengers that they are not vulnerable to card duplication or identity theft. The system was introduced by SriLankan Airlines’ IT, Inflight Service and Engineering departments in partnership with Bank of Ceylon, Card Centre which is providing the point of sales machines and technical infrastructure. It operates through the new Internet connectivity on board SriLankan’s fleet which also provides passengers with mobile roaming and Internet/e-mail facilities. “SriLankan Airlines is one ...

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