Local financial sector to get fresh boost with World Bank’s US $ 150mn support

Sri Lanka’s financial sector is slated to receive a fresh boost, with the government having entered into an agreement with the World Bank to strengthen the industry’s resilience. As per the agreement, Sri Lanka will receive US $ 150 million in financing through the Financial Sector Safety Net Strengthening Project (FSSNP). In parallel, the project agreement between the World Bank and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) was also entered in respect of

Galadari Hotel’s US$ 33.5 mn facelift kicks off

Long standing Galadari Hotel, located at the heart of Colombo, is all set to receive the much needed facelift. Its management yesterday announced the kickoff of a US$ 33.5 million phase one refurbishment

SLT announces second leadership transition in seven months

Sri Lanka Telecom has seen its leadership change for the second time in about seven months with the entity affirming the appointment of a new Chairman. The state-owned telco, whic

Caltex Havoline achieves 10,000km extended drain interval in Sri Lanka from single oil drain

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC (CLLP), in a groundbreaking move within the Sri Lankan lubricant industry, is proud to announce that its proprietary product Caltex Havoline has achieved a significant milestone by concluding a 10,000 k

Sri Lanka’s labour market remains subdued despite assertions of record vacancies

Sri Lanka’s labour market continues to remain a lot weaker defying even the nascent recovery seen in the economy w

Edtech for marginalised children in Sri Lanka: Insights from MENA and other Asian countries

The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic crisis have resulted in over two years of learning loss in Sri Lanka, wit

Leading ICT veteran Chrishan Fernando joins Netsys Solutions board

Leading ICT veteran Chrishan Fernando joins the board of Netsys Solutions from February. Fernando is an experienced IT leader, with over 25 years of experience working for leading global IT companies. He started his internat

AMW Epic Tyres unveils strategic distributor agreement

AMW, a revered name in the automotive industry in Sri Lanka with a rich history spanning 75 years, marked a historic milestone with the recent signing of a distributor agreement of its tyre manufacturing and distribution business arm

T-bill yields fall sharply across all maturities

Latest auction brings bill yields back to levels seen prior to bumper policy rake hike in April 2022

Australia extends Market Development Facility programme to Sri Lanka by five years

Australia extended the Market Development Facility (MDF) programme for Sri Lanka this week, as the two nations entered into a five-year subsidiary arrangement, committing to the ongoing development cooperation in market systems development.

JKH records strong performance for 3Q24

Premier blue chip John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) reported strong performance for the third quarter of financial year 2024 (3Q24), with all industry groups recording a growth in profits. For the quarter en

Low export earnings, high import expenditure widen December trade deficit

Sri Lanka’s merchandise trade deficit widened in December 2023 when compared with the corresponding month in 2022, due to the com

Teejay posts positive 3Q performance despite market challenges

Teejay Lanka PLC has maintained its positive trajectory in the third quarter of 2023-24 (3Q23), recording a pre- and post-tax profit growth, reversing the losses of the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Sri Lanka’s first mu

CAL five year optimum fund listed on CSE

The captioned units of the CAL Five Year Optimum Fund were officially listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday (1 February). Accordingly, 193,904,428 units of the fund were listed by way of an Introduction. This is the first unit listing in over a decade, warra

SOE legislation to be enacted within first half of 2024: SOERU Chief

Marking another milestone in Sri Lanka’ State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) reform journey, plans are afoot to enact the draft SOE Act by the first half of 2024, granting the much needed legislative authority and operational effect to the SOE reform pr

Sri Lanka Telecom announces second leadership transition in seven months

Sri Lanka Telecom has seen its leadership change for the second time in about seven months with the entity affirming the appointment of a new Chairman.

Central Bank appoints six new Assistant Governors

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) announced today the appointment of six new Assistant Governors by the Governing Board.

Asia on-track to deliver two-thirds to global growth in 2024: IMF

The year 2024 is expected to be one of prosperity for Asia with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expecting the region to maintain its momentum in delivering two-thirds to global growth.

Colombo inflation accelerates to 6.4% in January

The consumer prices accelerated in January quite considerably as expected, reignited by both higher food and non-food prices. The authorities maintain that the pace of prices wouldn’t last long, as the January prices were mainly influenced by the taxes and weather-related disruptions to supplies. The consumer prices measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index, the official’s preferred inflation gauge, rose by 6.4 percent in January from a yea

Kelum Edirisinghe new CEO of NDB Bank

NDB Bank will have a new captain steering it forward, with Kelum Edirisinghe taking over as Director/Chief Executive Officer from today (February 1). Bringing with him an illustrious career spanning 30 years, Edirisinghe joins NDB after a distinguished tenure with HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives. His wealth of experience includes holding key senior management positions, with his last role being Chief Risk Officer at HSBC, where he also chaired the Ri

Low export earnings, high import expenditure widen December trade deficit

Sri Lanka’s merchandise trade deficit widened in December 2023 when compared with the corresponding month in 2022, due to the combined impact of low export earnings and high import expenditure. The data released by the Central Bank showed that the deficit in the merchandise trade expanded to US $ 487 million in December 2023, from US $ 358 million in December 2022. In November 2023, the deficit in the merchandise trade account narrowed to US $ 39

Local construction activities hover around neutral territory in December 2023

Sri Lanka’s construction sector in December moved closer towards neutrality, showing a slower contraction in activities when compared with the previous month. According to the Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by the Central Bank every month, the industry recorded a total activity index value of 48.6 in December 2023. In the PMI, a value of 50.0 indicates a neutral level, signifying neither expansion nor contraction, whil

T-bill yields fall sharply across all maturities

The Treasury bill yields fell sharply across all three maturities and by over 100 basis points (bps) under the two short-term bills, at the weekly bill auction held yesterday, where the Central Bank was seen comfortably raising the full amount of Rs.160.0 billion it offered. The bill yields fell by 138 bps and 121 bps, respectively, under the three-month and six-month tenures, bringing the yield down to 11.97 percent and 12.20 percent, respectiv

India’s Jio and China’s Gortune shortlisted for SLT divestiture

The efforts towards the divestiture of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) are firming up, with the government announcing yesterday that it has shortlisted the bidders for the Request for Proposal stage. The State-Owned Restructuring Unit yesterday said that India’s Jio Platforms Ltd and China’s Gortune International Investment Holding Ltd have been pre-qualified. The approval was given by the Cabinet-Appointed Special Project Committee and Special Cabin

Resignations at SLT as board overhaul begins

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) this week saw its board members resign after President Ranil Wickremesinghe directed the Treasury Secretary to reconstitute the board with immediate effect. SLT disclosed to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) that Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director Reyaz Mihular tendered his resignation, with effect from January 29, 2024. The five other directors also tendered their resignation, a separate filing to the CSE sai

Vessel calls at Hambantota International Port surge by 132% YoY

Over 300 oil and gas cargo vessels visited the Hambantota International Port (HIP) in 2023, recording a 132 percent increase in vessel calls compared to 2022. The improved performance is attributed to the port’s bunkering partner Sinopec actively operating in the market, bringing significant value addition to the HIP’s commercial operations. The overall oil and gas throughput handled by the port in 2023 was 918,000 MT, with 700,000 MT of bunke

Visa Accelerator Programme 2024 invites applications from Sri Lankan fintechs

Visa, the global leader in digital payments, launched this week the fourth edition of Visa Accelerator Programme with an open call for applications. The initiative aims to enable startups in Sri Lanka to unlock growth potential by collaborating with Visa’s payments experts. The 2024 edition focuses on new opportunity areas – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Global Money Movement and Loyalty of the Future, with an emphasis on areas like Digital Acce

CIPM signs landmark MOU with Peradeniya University

CIPM Sri Lanka has entered into a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with the Faculty of Management of the University of Peradeniya. Under the MOU, CIPM and the University, through its Department of Human Resources Management of the Faculty of Management, will jointly promote and develop human resource management principles, techniques, and practices, including conducting industry-related research. “We are delighted to enter this MOU with the

Room to Read and CSE ring the bell for education

Room to Read Sri Lanka partnered with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to ring the opening bell for trading to mark ‘International Day of Education’, which was celebrated on the 24th of January. Room to Read marks this occasion as it approaches a significant milestone of transforming the lives of 40 million children across the globe through quality education in 2024. Room to Read is a global nonprofit organization which creates a world free from

SLASSCOM drives IT/BPM landscape with innovation and capacity building

At the forefront of driving the expansion and advancement of the IT/BPM industry nationwide, the SLASSCOM Regional Forum is positioned today as a pioneering force. With an unyielding commitment to both innovation and empowerment, the Forum emerges as a central and influential entity propelling the transformative evolution of the country’s IT/BPM landscape. With a primary focus on youth empowerment, the forum strategically engages in initiatives