Concluding its visit to Sri Lanka, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission says the macroeconomic situation in the country is showing tentative signs of improvement, with inflation moderating, the exchange rate stabilizing and the Central Bank rebuilding reserves buffers.

CPC, CEB need to recover costs until end of Fund’s loan package

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had to recover costs until the end of the IMF programme, Sarwat Jahan, IMF Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, told a press conference in Colombo yesterday.

The Government has requested the World Bank’s assistance to conduct a full assessment of the recent electricity tariff hikes and the impact it has on both, poor and vulnerable groups.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said Sri Lanka will likely see $ 7 billion inflows in multilateral and bilateral funding over four years, as the country had once again secured its confidence over the world post-IMF deal.

The Asia for Animals Coalition (AfA) comprising 19 associations and its Macaque Coalition (MACC) involving 22 associations, have strongly opposed plans by Sri Lanka to export 100,000 toque macaques to China.

The upcoming Local Government (LG) is deemed to be one of the most decisive elections in the history of Sri Lanka, which could result in a massive breakthrough. However, the possibility of holding the election is getting uncertain day by day with the recent statement made by the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance that it is difficult to release funds for holding the LG polls given the current economic challenges.

A Hong Kong-based company, Grand Gain Industrial Ltd. (GG), specialized in the development, manufacturing and sale of polyurethane foam cups for the bra industry, has invested US$ 3.5 million in the recently declared open BOI-approved fully-fledged bra cups manufacturing facility in Rambukkana.