Govt. doesn’t rule out selling a sovereign bond this year

The government said it doesn’t rule out the possibility of selling a sovereign bond this year as part of its foreign borrowings quota for 2021, amid the Treasury seeking to rollover part of its dollar-denominated debt.

Rs.8.2bn EU grant to support food safety, climate change mitigation and justice sector

The European Union (EU) yesterday announced the signing of three grants worth EUR 35.75 million (Rs.8.26 billion), which will support Sri Lanka’s justice sector, help improve food safety and strengthen efforts to mitigate climate change.

HSBC says South Asia will see “strong” rebound led by services this year

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) yesterday expressed confidence in 2021 delivering strong and broad-based recovery for the South Asian region, albeit unlike in the previous years, the awaited bounce back would be led by services, not manufacturing.

President clears the air on East Container Terminal

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stressed that the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port would not be sold or given on lease to any outside party.

Poor show of rubber plantations set to jeopardise entire sector

The continuing poor performance of rubber plantations could pull down the entire industry in the near future, including the manufacturers who are making steady progress, unless new strategies are conceptualised, a senior industry representative said.

CB likely to stay pat at this year’s first monetary policy meeting next week

The Monetary Board could hold key policy rates steady at their current levels when they meet for the first time in 2021 next Monday to determine if the current stimulus is sufficient to lubricate the wheels of the economy, which is largely expected to make a rebound in 2021.

ETI Finance Limited to be wound up

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank has decided to ask Director, Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions to make an application to a competent court for the winding up of ETI Finance Limited (ETIF), in terms of Section 31(5)(b) of the Finance Business Act, No. 42 of 2011 (FBA). Due to the various irregularities taken place since 2011 and inability of the Board of Directors and the senior management of ETIF to address the resultant issue

Govt. decides to re-open airports on January 21

The Cabinet of Ministers this week arrived at a final decision to re-open the country’s international airports for commercial purposes on January 21, with necessary safeguards in place to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in the country.

BIA receives ACI safety accreditation

Airports Council International (ACI) on Monday recognised Bandaranaike International Airport’s (BIA) commitment to prioritising health and safety measures in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) recommendations and in alignment with the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines with industry best practices. 

Tea Board to sign MoU with Chinese firm to market Ceylon tea

Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) has been granted Cabinet approval to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fujian Star China International Trade Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Bennie Tea Industry Company Limited, for the marketing of pure Ceylon tea via both online and offline channels in China, which includes developing a 5G online marketing platform.

Government to amend Land Acquisition Act to expedite development projects

With a view to fast-track the implementation of development projects, the government has decided to amend the Land Acquisition Act No. 9 of 1950 in order to simplify the land acquisition procedure and make compensation payments under a uniform system.

LOLC creates platform to attract large-scale foreign investors to group finance companies

LOLC Group yesterday said it is creating a platform to enable potential investors to acquire minority stakes in the finance companies it owns as a part of the group’s global strategy to attract large foreign investors to those companies.

Browns Investments claims third largest market cap position

LOLC Group subsidiary Browns Investments PLC (BIL) ended yesterday’s trading as Colombo Stock Exchange’s (CSE) third most valued company in terms of market capitalization.

IFC approves US$7mn loan for Sunshine Holdings for Daintee acquisition, roof top solar projects

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group has approved US$ 7 million loan to Sri Lanka’s Sunshine Holdings PLC to support the acquisition of confectionary manufacturing company Daintee and for the expansion of its roof top solar projects.

Human-elephant conflict: Can insurance help affected communities?

In 2019, Sri Lanka recorded the highest reported elephant deaths and second highest number of human deaths in the world, due to the human-elephant conflict (HEC).

LanwaSanstha to commission US $ 75mn cement plant this May

LanwaSanstha Cement Corporation Limited expects to commission the operations of its US $ 75 million state-of-the-art cement manufacturing cement plant in May this year, adding three million metric tonnes (MT) to Sri Lanka’s cement output.

Long-standing Japanese investors exit Asia Capital in Rs.160mn deal

The long-standing Japanese investors of Asia Capital PLC, Y. Watanabe and E. Watanabe, yesterday exited the company by completely divesting their shareholdings to Fast Gain International Limited, a company connected to Asia Capital majority shareholder Vijay Eswaran.

Second wave of lockdowns in West slows down SL’s apparel exports momentum

The COVID-related lockdowns, which went up around October in the Western hemisphere, blunted the momentum for demand for Sri Lankan-made apparel in its key customers in the USA and European Union.

Maiden investor of Eravur fabric park to ink agreement with BOI shortly

The maiden investor of the fabric processing park in Eravur is expected to sign an investment agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) shortly, a top BOI official said.

Asia Securities joins bandwagon forecasting stellar 2021 for stocks

Asia Securities joined the chorus of forecasting an excellent ride for Sri Lankan equities in 2021, powered by robust earnings supported by lower interest rates, domestic manufacturing policy tilt and the rejuvenated hopes for policy and political stability.

Three financial institutions fined under anti-money laundering rules

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which operates under the Central Bank, yesterday said it fined three finance companies to the tune of Rs.2.3 million in the past six months up to December 31, 2020, under the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) laws.

SOEs remit Rs.7.5bn in dividends & levies to Treasury for Jan.-Aug. 2020 period

The state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have remitted nearly Rs.7.5 billion in dividends and levies back to the government coffers during the eight months to August in 2020, only a fraction of what the government got as dividends and levies during 2019.

Cabinet decision sought to overcome plantation sector wage stalemate

Amid continuous opposition from the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) to implement the proposed Rs.1, 000 daily wage for plantation workers, Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva is expected to present a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers today compelling the RPCs to grant the wage increase.

China emerges as leading bilateral lender to Sri Lanka in 2020

Final decision on airport re-opening on Jan. 15

The government will reach a final decision on re-opening of the country’s international airports for commercial flights on 15th of this month, State Minister of Aviation and Export Zones Development, D. V. Chanaka told Mirror Business last Friday.

Interest rates’ downside run could end by first half, says First Capital

First Capital Research (FCR) believes the little under two-year long downside run of interest rates could come to an end by end of the first half of this year, but the clues coming from the Central Bank and elsewhere suggest that it has more life to run its course.

President to declare open US$ 100mn Ferentino Tyre plant this week

The first phase of South and Southeast Asia’s largest tyre manufacturing plant, FerentinoTyre (formely known as Rigid Tyre) is scheduled to be opened this Thursday (14th) by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

CB to release medium-term inflation projections from this month

The Central Bank will release regular quarterly medium term inflation projections from this month so that businesses and other economic actors can make up their projections on prices and gauge the trajectory of future monetary policy actions much better than what speculation suggests.

EPF members requested to avoid visiting Labour Secretariat for fund withdrawals

The Commissioner General of Labour, B.K.Prabath Chandrakeerthi has urged the public to avoid visiting Labour Secretariat located in Narahenpita to withdraw their EPF funds or submit application to withdraw funds due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, particularly in the Colombo district.

EPF-backed loans contribute to over 20% of SMIB’s troubled loans

State Mortgage and Investment Bank (SMIB) is at the forefront of disbursing Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF)-backed loans to salaried individuals, but the bank is now confronted with over 20 percent of bad loans as the borrowers as a habit renege on their contractual obligation to service their facilities expecting the bank to recover such loans from the EPF.