Thematic

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Expanding Exports : Relevance of Export Finance

This study examines the status of the export finance market in Sri Lanka and identifies the key limitations that prevent export finance from playing a proactive role in promoting exports. It reveals that the access, availability and diversity of export finance in Sri Lanka is limited and the few export finance solutions that are available remain weak and under-utilised. Export finance solutions reduce the risks faced by exporters such as country and commercial risks, encourage diversification into developing country markets, helps SMEs manage short term cash flow issues and allows exporters to attract buyers by offering better payment terms. By doing so, export finance can help promote exports.

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Fixing NTBs betwen India and Sri Lanka

Measures to prove compliance with an importing country’s standards and regulations are necessary for all exports. However, Sri Lankan exports to India suffer greatly from the associated costs and delays. This Insight proposes a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in Conformity Assessment Procedures (CAPs) to overcome this barrier and encourage further trade between Sri Lanka and India.

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Central Bank’s 30 Year Bond Debacle: What is the Loss?

In February 2015 the Central Bank of Sri Lanka called an auction for one billion rupees on a 30 year bond. It then accepted 10 fold – 10 billion rupees – after the bids were in. This Insight identifies three errors in the published calculation of the monetary loss, and recalculates it at 0.9 billion rupees. It also highlights two other issues: conflict of interest, and confidence in institutions, which add to the negative consequences of the Central Bank decision.

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Exports to India – Putting the free back into the FTA

Sri Lanka’s history with bi-lateral trade agreements demonstrates the need for more careful negotiation. This Insight explains how the tariff benefits of the India Sri Lanka FreeTrade Agreement (ISFTA) have been outweighed by the existance of non-tariff barriers (NTBs).

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Sri Lanka: Domestic Workers and Civil Society: In Sight but Out of Mind

Verité Research recently conducted interviews with 22 members of civil society organizations to assess the quantity and quality of research on the subject of domestic workers’ rights in Sri Lanka. While measuring and evaluating current literature on domestic workers, this report sets out a four-pronged hypothesis on why domestic workers’ rights have not featured on the civil society agenda in Sri Lanka.

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Sri Lanka: Domestic Workers & Employers Survey

Verité Research recently conducted a survey amongst over 300 local domestic workers and their employers. The survey was conducted in the context of a serious dearth of data and information with regard to domestic workers who work in Sri Lanka. Using ILO Convention No.189 as a frame of reference, this report analyses the findings of the survey and contributes towards better understanding the socioeconomic and cultural factors that promote and prevent decent work conditions for domestic workers in the country.

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What caused Europe to ban the import of fish from Sri Lanka?

The European Commission recently banned the import of Sri Lankan fisher-ies products for violating guidelines on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing. This Insight suggests that the ban was triggered by the behaviour of a small number of very large Chinese vessels run by a BOI registered company in Sri Lanka.

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Sri Lanka’s international borrowing costs are not declining

The government first raised international debt through bonds in October 2007. Since then several international bonds have been issued to feed the government’s twin demands: financing its spending and propping up foreign reserves. While this trend of foreign borrowing is on the rise, what is happening to the cost of borrowing? And what is the prognosis for the future?

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VR Working Paper: A Technical Case for Affordability- Based Pricing of Cigarettes

By 2014, tax revenue from cigarettes accounted for over 4.9% of total government revenue. However, thus far, Sri Lanka’s tax adjustments have been ad hoc, and driven by political and bureaucratic discretion rather than a logical, transparent, and systematic policy. 

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Explaining the Mirage of GDP Growth Optimism

The government estimates that by 2015 per capita GDP will quadruple from what it was in 2004. But this is a mirage: real incomes will not even double in that period. The mirage is created by counting in US dollars and effectively presenting nominal growth in GDP (increased prices) as real GDP growth (increased incomes).

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