Finance Minister and Economic Development Ministry Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has informed Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa that economists representing international organizations who have arrived in the country to explore the possibilities of granting aid to the country, have been shocked a petrified by NFF Leader and Wimal Weerawansa’s protest outside the UN launched on the 6th, sources from the Finance Ministry said.
The IT/BPO industry in Sri Lanka is witnessing tremendous growth due to the expansion of the global BPO industry. This is further supplemented with the availability of a highly skilled talent pool at a competitive cost to cater to the needs of the industry. Domestic IT adoption is also increasing significantly, driven by the awareness created by the initiatives taken to build IT capacity and competence in rural areas of Sri Lanka. The growth of telecom penetration, increasing use of IT and strong focus on ICT education in schools has also encouraged this growth. The use of technology and outsourcing as a means to reduce cost will continue to drive the growth of IT/BPO sector in Sri Lanka.
The Board of Investment promotional strategy will focus mainly on 5 areas during the next five years, which include dairies, tourism and leisure, education, IT/BPO and urban infrastructure development. Since the Tourism sector has the potential of becoming a major contributor in the economic development of the country, the government aims at building up this industry so that it may offer a world standard product.
Fitch Ratings Lanka has today downgraded Sinhaputhra Finance PLC's (SFL) National Long-term rating to 'B(lka)' from 'BB-(lka)'. The Outlook is Negative. Although liquidity pressure faced by the company has waned, Fitch notes the significant increase in the regulatory six-month NPLs and consequent deterioration in the net NPL/equity ratio, and depressed profitability.