JITF 2015 to enhance northern economy

Daily Mirror - 22/01/2015

The Jaffna International Trade Fair (JITF), the most comprehensive and ‘looked forward to’ exhibition in the North, will be held for the sixth consecutive year in the heart of Jaffna from January 23-25, 2015. The exhibition, which was the first of the kind to be held in the northern region of the country in 2002, has throughout the years been renowned as the best and most potent platform for the meeting of investors, businesses and the masses in the region.JITF 2015 will also comprise over 270 stalls from various sectors including construction, hospitality, food beverage and packing, automobile, ICT, financial services, apparel, agricultural, consumer goods and many others along with an education pavilion named ‘Kalvi’ with some of Colombo’s and Jaffna’s most sought-after education service providers exhibiting.

Apparel exports top US$ 4.3 b upto Nov 2014

Daily News - 19/01/2015

The value of Sri Lanka’s total apparel exports for the first 11 months last year reached US$ 4302.4 million, registering 11% per cent growth. In 2013, Apparel exports had generated US$ 3876 million during the period January to November.

Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) Secretary General M.P.T. Cooray, speaking to Daily News Business said the industry had set a target of reaching US$ 4.8 billion by the end of 2014. “If we can have an export figure of US$ 400 million in December, we can presume we are well within the target for 2014. The industry is also expecting to achieve US$ 8.5 billion apparel exports by 2020 , nevertheless ,the industry needs to record 12% per cent growth rate Year on Year to achieve this target.”

'Lanka-China FTA will be very big news back home in Yunnan Province’

The Island - 15/01/2015

Li Jiming (Deputy Secretary-General of Yunnan Provincial Government and Director General of Yunnan International Exposition Bureau-far right) seen with a part of his delegation to Sri Lanka on 13 January at EDB in Colombo.

As bilateral trade topped $ 3 bn, Sri Lanka's exports sector is readying one of the strongest ever delegations to this year's Kunming international expo while Lanka's second largest global supplier voiced that it is increasingly upbeat on the prospective FTA between both countries-and the $ 190 Bn Yunnan province is keen for a Corporate Agreement with Lanka's apex export entity, a first, as revealed on January, 13 .

"The pending Sri Lanka-China FTA will be very big news for Chinese buyers and media. China is the only country stipulating imports from its trading partners! This is specially so towards South Asia since we are good neighbours" said the top Chinese official Li Jiming (Deputy Secretary-General of Yunnan Provincial Government and Director General of Yunnan International Exposition Bureau) on 13 January in Colombo.

‘Future Careers’ in Jaffna attracts overwhelming crowds of keen youth Jaffna IT Week

The Island - 08/01/2015

In an attempt to educate the budding youth of Sri Lanka about the myriad of opportunities available in Sri Lanka’s growing IT/BPM industry, the Jaffna IT Week – an industry initiative for inclusive growth and reconciliation – hosted the ‘Future Careers’ programme on 3 and 4 December at the Vembadi Girls’ High School in Jaffna.

Held on the first two days of the Jaffna IT Week, it was organized by SLASSCOM, ICTA and the Ministry of Education, and attracted over 2,500 schoolchildren from schools across the Jaffna Peninsula. It was one of the biggest events of its kind to be held in the North.

Sri Lankan Handlooms gets foothold in the competitive international market

Sri Lankan handloom textile industry is one of the country's oldest traditional crafts. The industry has helped showcase the undying creativity of generations of Sri Lankans taking them to the international arena.

The modern design trends combined with traditional designs and the influx of new processing techniques has given a new life to Sri Lankan handlooms. The industry has gained a dominant identity and a foothold in the competitive international market.

Sri Lanka is capable of producing various handloom textile products to foreign markets. There is an increasing demand for Sri Lankan handloom textile products in foreign countries. Italy, Germany, France, UK, Norway, Netherlands, Maldives and Thailand are the main export markets for Sri Lankan handloom textile products.

Russian Market Critical For Sri Lanka Tea

The Sunday Leader - 04/01/2014

Behavior of the Russian market would be critical for Sri Lanka tea this year, notes a Sri Lanka Tea Market review 2014 and Outlook 2015.

Weakening of the Rouble would place Sri Lankan Tea Exporters and Russian Importers under extreme pressure. Sri Lankan Exporters who have shipped on credit could have complications with receipt of full payment; whilst brand marketers of teas packed in Sri Lanka could see a sharp erosion of margins if tea prices do not reflect the changes.

2014 Round Up - ‘Sri Lanka and the Colombo Stock Exchange’

The Island - 01/01/2015

Service sector dominated Sri Lankan economy grew 7.3% in 2013 despite challenging 1H13. However 1-3Q14 saw 7.7% growth led by construction, apparel and recovery in agriculture sector.  Thereby we expect the economy to end the year with a GDP growth of 7.8%.

Annual average inflation remained in single digit level for the past 65 months ending 2014 with an inflation of 3.3%. Given the lower inflationary environment, interest rates continued to decline during 2014 where the prime lending rate stood at 6.3%. Despite the declining interest rates, credit growth was rather slow during 1H14. However credit demand showed signs of recovery recording 5.1% YoY in the month of October.  Rupee against the US Dollar was stable at LKR130.0 levels during 2014 largely due to lower oil prices and recovery in exports.