37th edition of Colombo Shopping Festival kicks off at BMICH

The Colombo Shopping Festival kicked off yesterday at the BMICH, providing shoppers a range of products under one roof, this holiday season.

CA Sri Lanka expands presence in United Kingdom with new overseas chapter

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) yesterday announced the expansion of its global footprint by establishing a new chapter in the United Kingdom.

Global coal demand set to fall as China uses more renewables

Global coal demand is likely to have peaked this year and could drop by about 2 percent over the next three years as China brings more renewable energy sources online, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.

FAO delivers climate-resilient ‘unsinkable’ boats, model fish display stalls to strengthen fisheries sector

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations handed over two specially designed climate-resilient fishing boats and 30 modified fish display stalls to the Fisheries Ministry, in line with the FAO’s commitment to sustainable development and addressing climate change challenges.

Authorised mobile importers urge govt. to reconsider VAT hike amidst parallel import challenges

A group of authorised mobile phone importers expressed their deep concern over the Sri Lankan government’s decision to remove mobile phones from the Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions list, coupled with a simultaneous increase in VAT from 15 percent to 18 percent, effective January 1, 2024.

Amazon wins US$ 270 mn tax fight with EU

REUTERS - Amazon does not have to pay €250 million (US$ 273 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg, the top court in the European Union ruled yesterday, marking a defeat for the EU’s crackdown on sweetheart tax deals for multinationals. “The Court of Justice confirms that the (European) Commission has not established that the tax ruling given to Amazon by Luxembourg was state aid that was incompatible with the (EU’s) internal market,” the Court of

Business outlook reflects signs of improvement

The near-term outlook for businesses showed mixed results measured across several criteria, as less favourable macro-economic conditions and rising prices offset the gradual improvements seen in the appetite for investments, demand for goods and services, and bank credit. The business outlook survey conducted quarterly by the Central Bank showed that business conditions have continued to improve through the third quarter this year, recording the

Banking sector non-performing loans steady in September 

The banking sector asset quality weakness held steady between June and September this year, but the industry is confident that the worst is over for them as they said they are seeing a slight moderation in the non-performing loans at present as the economy shows signs of some level of stabilisation.

Dialog Axiata champions excellence in journalism at Journalism Awards for Excellence 2022

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, sponsored Journalism Awards for Excellence 2022, underscoring its commitment to fostering excellence in journalism, reflected by its steadfast support for journalistic achievements si

Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology holds graduation 2023

The Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) Sri Lanka, the largest provider of foreign degrees in the country, held its

EY GDS Sri Lanka and SLASSCOM join hands to bridge IT skill gap

EY Global Delivery Services (EY GDS) Sri Lanka, which is part of the global EY network of service delivery centres, has joined hands with the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) as the Exclusive Platinum sponsor of the ‘Emerging Tech Webinar Series’. The object of the collab

Sim Lanka celebrates 22 years of operations

Sim Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, together with its partner companies Cable Solutions, Aluflex Lanka, Prime Packaging and Quality Floors, celebrated 22 glorious years of its commercial operations at an event held at Taj Vivanta Colombo, Airport Gard

Hirdaramani Apparel, Lacoste Foundation, UNDP empower 100 families with increased income and nutrition supply

Hirdaramani Apparel and the Lacoste Foundation have come together through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka’s facility for Private Sector Giving to promote socio-economic recovery and food security and addres

Bureau Veritas now provides high precision calibration services for diverse industry sectors in Sri Lanka

Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, part of Bureau Veritas, a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection and certification services, with 1,600 offices and laboratories around the globe, announced that its state-of-the-art laboratory recently launched a range of calibration services, with the aim of providing unparalleled accura

Huawei ICT Competition awards 20 undergraduates

The award ceremony for the third edition of the Huawei ICT Competition in Sri Lanka witnessed a significant gathering of notable state and non-state officials and dignitaries honouring the competition’s winners. Huawei chose 20 winners, 10 from each of the Network and Cloud tracks, who came from nine different Sri Lankan universities. The Un

SLCGE stresses need to urgently support SMEs as apparel sector grapples with drop in orders

As Sri Lanka’s apparel sector is looking at ways to tackle the ongoing challenges faced due to a drop in orders, the Sri Lanka Chamber of Garment Exporters (SLCGE) called for urgent support to safeguard the SME segment. Although measures have been taken since the pandemic and the economic

Draft Public Financial Management law to be submitted for Cabinet approval shortly

The draft Public Financial Management (PFM) Bill is expected to be submitted for Cabinet of Ministers’ approval shortly

Ceylon Chamber emphasises urgency for economic growth after IMF bailout milestone

While recognising the completion of the first review of the IMF bailout programme and securing the second tranche of US$ 337 million, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday highlighted the urgent need for economic growth. To achieve gro

Government debt holds steady amid fiscal restraints under IMF

Total outstanding government debt was little changed during the first eight months of 2023 from the end of last year as rupee debt rose only modestly reflecting the fiscal restraint by the government under the ongoing International Monet

Financial sector to receive substantial boost as Sri Lanka slated to secure more international funding

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told Parliament that Sri Lanka’s success in securing the necessary funds from international financial institutions in recent months would provide a significant boost to the country’s financial sector, ensuring its complete security.

Sri Lanka loses over 51% of its rubber plantations to fast-spreading fungal disease

Sri Lanka is fast losing its rubber plantations to a fast-spreading airborne fungal disease, which is severely impacting the crop output.

Yields continue to ease; Rs.216bn raised in yet another mega T-bill auction

The Treasury bill yields continued to decline, albeit modestly at the weekly bill auction held yesterday, aimed at raising Rs.220 billion. The Public Debt Department (PDD) of the Central Bank raised Rs.185 billion via T-bills just a week ago. The PDD accepted Rs.215.9 billion by raising Rs.113.2 billion from three-month bills, Rs.94.6 billion from six-month bills and Rs.8.1 billion from 12-months bills, despite offering Rs.70 billion under the sh

IMF wants SL to secure debt treatment deals with creditors ahead of second review in June

Sri Lanka needs to enter into agreements with its official and commercial creditors, prior to the second review of the US $ 3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, IMF Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer told reporters via a virtual press conference, yesterday. According to Breuer, the second review is likely to be concluded by the end of the first half of next year. Following the Executive Board of the IMF, completing th

Developing countries paid record US $ 443.5bn on public debt in 2022: WB

Amid the biggest surge in global interest rates in four decades, the developing countries spent a record US $ 443.5 billion to service their external public and publicly guaranteed debt in 2022, the World Bank’s latest International Debt Report showed. It pointed out that the increase in costs shifted scarce resources away from critical needs such as health, education and environment. Debt-service payments—which include principal and interest—in

Sri Lanka projected to end 2023 with US $ 3.8bn foreign reserves: IMF

Sri Lanka’s gross foreign reserves are projected to reach US $ 3.8 billion by the end of 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. This figure falls short by US $ 600 million compared to the programme request, reflecting a slowdown in reserves accumulation during the second half of the year, due to the heightened demands for foreign exchange by the banks. During the first half of 2023, a current account surplus of appr

Korean support to uplift tourism in three provinces

Sri Lanka will enter into an agreement with Korea to uplift tourism in three provinces. The Cabinet nod was given this week for the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Tourism Organisation (KTO) to implement a community-based tourism development project in the Central, Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. The project will be rolled out with a grant of 2.172 billion Korean w

Nations strike deal at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels

REUTERS: Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit yesterday to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, a first of its kind deal signalling the eventual end of the oil age. The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send a powerful signal to investors and policymakers that the world is united in its desire to break with fossil

Public investment for SDG financing in Sri Lanka: Reality or myth?

Realising Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 requires substantial investment allocation, especially for developing economies like Sri Lanka. A recent IPS study found that Sri Lanka needs an additional investment of US 1.4 trillion or 12.5 percentage points of GDP by 2030 to achieve SDGs. Despite Budget 2024 allocating 5.4 percent of GDP for public investment, concerns arise due to the historical average of 3.4 percent of GDP during 2022

CA Sri Lanka illuminates reporting brilliance at TAGS Awards 2023

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) celebrated an amazing showcase of excellence in corporate reporting at the TAGS Awards 2023 recently. Leading corporates, multinationals, SMEs, and non-profit organizations were honoured for their commitment to producing outstanding annual corporate reports. With transparency, accountability, governance, and sustainability being paramount in corporate reporting, CA Sri Lanka showc

Pan Asia Bank and Indra Traders partner to unveil vehicle leasing deals

Pan Asia Bank announced its partnership with Indra Traders to provide attractive leasing facilities with so many added benefits to Sri Lankans who are planning to go for a new vehicle or an upgrade. The bank will be promoting vehicles from Indra Traders amongst its leasing customers, while Indra Traders will market Pan Asia Bank. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed recently by both Pan Asia and Indra Traders enable both partie