Manufacturing activities expanded at a higher rate in January 2019 compared to December 2018. This was mainly driven by the expansion in employment and production, especially in manufacturing of textiles, wearing apparels, leather and related activities. A significant improvement in employment was experienced with the recruitment of new employees to fill the vacancies. Accordingly, the production also increased with the enhanced level of employment as well as the orders carried forward from the previous month.
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Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index - January 2019
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Sale of Subsidiaries, Sub-Subsidiaries and Investment Properties of ETI Finance Ltd
This refers to an article published on 13.02.2019 in an English daily newspaper relating to the above matter.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) noted that there were several incorrect and misleading information in the contents of the abovementioned article and wish to state CBSL’s observations as follows:
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Regulatory Actions Taken by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on The Finance Co PLC
The Finance Company PLC (TFC), a Finance Company licensed under the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011 (FBA) was severely impacted by the failure of a number of financial institutions within the group in 2008. Since then the financial status of the company deteriorated gradually and currently with severe liquidity issues, which need to be addressed, immediately. Although, several efforts were made to identify prospective investors and to restructure the company, such efforts have not materialized yet. Thus the continuity of current status will be further detrimental to the interest of depositors and other stakeholders of the company.
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Sale of Subsidiaries, Sub-Subsidiaries and Investment Properties of ETI Finance Ltd
It has come to the notice of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) that some misinformation is circulating pertaining to ETI Finance Ltd (ETIF) disposing its subsidiaries, sub-subsidiaries and investment properties, and the involvement of CBSL therein.
With regard to the said transaction, CBSL wishes to clarify the following:
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Ensuring the Safety of Payment Card Transactions
Payment cards provide customers the convenience of withdrawing cash through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network and transacting through merchants worldwide. However, there is a possibility that ATM and card reading machines can be abused by criminals in order to steal customer funds from their accounts. To mitigate such incidents, international payment card security standards and best practices have been adopted in Sri Lanka’s ATM and payment card network, such as issuance of cards with increased security which have an electronic chip (EMV) and provide for SMS alerts for all electronic transactions.
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A Commemorative Coin to Mark the 150th Anniversary of Colombo Municipal Council
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) issued a special silver uncirculated commemorative coin with a face value of Rs.500 to mark the 150th Anniversary of Colombo Municipal Council in recognition of its service to the country.
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Monetary Policy Review - December 2015
The year-on-year growth of broad money (M2b) continued to expand at a high rate of 17.0 per cent in October 2015 compared to 16.0 per cent recorded in the previous month, driven by the expansion of credit extended to both private and public sectors by the banking system. Amongst contributory factors, credit granted to the private sector by commercial banks increased by 26.3 per cent, year-on-year, compared to 22.2 per cent in the previous month. Tentative data for November 2015 also shows that credit flows to the private sector continue to expand at a high rate. Meanwhile, excess liquidity in the domestic money market continues to remain high, fuelling monetary expansion.
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External Sector Performance - October 2015
Sri Lanka’s external sector reflected a modest performance in the month of October 2015 with lower trade deficit, continued growth in tourist earnings and a moderate increase in workers’ remittances. Despite the slowdown in imports during the recent months, the cumulative trade deficit as at end October 2015 increased by 2.5 per cent mainly due to the subdued export performance as a result of depressed global demand. As at end October 2015, gross official reserves stood at US dollars 6.5 billion, and increased to US dollars 7.3 billion in November 2015 with the receipt of the proceeds of the 9th international sovereign bond issuance and other currency inflows.
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Central Bank opens its Regional Office in Nuwara Eliya
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka will commence operations at its Regional Office in Nuwara Eliya on 17 January 2016 to further expand its regional presence to promote financial inclusion and to facilitate economic activities in the region. The Nuwara Eliya Regional Office is to be declared open by Mr. Arjuna Mahendran, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, with the participation of the senior management of the Central Bank and senior officials of commercial banks and government institutions.
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Inflation in December 2015
Inflation, as measured by the change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) (2013=100), which is compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics, decreased to 4.2 per cent in December 2015 from 4.8 per cent in November 2015, on an year-on-year basis. Inflation on an annual average basis in December 2015 was 3.8 per cent.