Dialog completes acquisition of H One from Hirdaramani

Dialog Axiata PLC yesterday said it completed a deal to acquire 100 percent shareholding of H One (Private) Limited, through Dialog Broadband Network (Private) Limited (DBN), a fully-owned subsidiary of Dialog.

Apple and Hyundai announce electric car tie-up

Hyundai has announced it is in early discussions with Apple to work together on self-driving electric cars.

Hela Clothing JV to operate largest bra-making plant in East Africa

Hela Clothing, by acquiring a 50 percent stake in Sumbiri Intimates Apparel PLC from Indonesian owner Sumber Bintang Rejeki, has formed a new joint venture in East Africa to manufacture bra and intimate products out of the Hawassa Industrial Park in Southern Ethiopia.

Cabraal reiterates SL will honour its debt obligations

Sri Lanka would honour its loans and would not default, especially when it comes to international sovereign bonds, Finance, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament yesterday.

PM instructs authorities to provide credit facilities to small and medium-scale rice growers

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this week instructed the relevant authorities to take steps to provide credit facilities to small and medium-scale rice producers.

Equity brokerage says Chinese debt trap claims not based on objective evidence

China hawks, who have been constantly calling that Sri Lanka could tilt disproportionately towards China, appeared to have made that claim based more on innuendos rather than objective evidence, the research unit of a Colombo-based equity brokerage said.

Indian Foreign Minister interacts with captains of local biz and industry

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Thursday interacted with the captains of Sri Lankan business and industry that represented prominent business conglomerates and manufacturing entities in the country.

Stock market turnover crosses Rs.9.1bn: LOLC Group accounts for bulk

Bolstered by the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) crossing the 7, 000-point mark on Wednesday, the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday steamed ahead with full throttle with market turnover crossing Rs.9.1 billion. ASPI gained 60.08 points or 0.87 percent to close at 7, 097.84 while the more liquid S&P SL 20 lost 10.633 points or 0.39 percent to close at 2, 692.56.

Fresh health guidelines issued to resume tourism

The local tourism sector was issued with a fresh set of health guidelines this week to accommodate international travellers in the coming months with the anticipated opening up of the country’s airports for tourism by end of this month.

LOLC investments exits BPPL Holdings

LOLC Investments Ltd. yesterday sold its entire stake in the brush maker BPPL Holdings in a Rs.1.28 billion deal.

Pasan Wanigasekara assumes duties as BOI Director General

Pasan Wanigasekara yesterday assumed duties as the Director General of the Board of Investment (BOI), the investment promotion agency of the Government of Sri Lanka.

Legislation to regulate unregulated money lending activities before Cabinet

The Monetary Board approved draft of Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Act aimed at regulating the country’s informal money lending activities is now before the Cabinet of Ministers.

Royal Ceramics to commission new tile making plant targeting price sensitive market segment

Dhammika Perera-controlled Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC plans to commission a new tile manufacturing plant targeting the more price-sensitive segment of the market and increase the company’s tile production capacity by 20 percent.

BOC says geared to meet challenges of 2021 with increased focus on digital delivery

After an extremely challenging 2020 marked by COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka’s State-run banking giant, Bank of Ceylon (BOC), says it is geared to meet challenges of 2021 with an increased focus on digital delivery channels to deliver uninterrupted services and ensuring maximum safety for its customers and staff.

Tick size changed for equity securities trading on CSE

The Board of Directors of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has made a decision to change the tick size applicable to equity securities traded on the automated trading system (ATS). The necessary rule changes have been carried out by the CSE to facilitate this change with the approval of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC).

Elon Musk overtakes Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person

Tesla Inc, chief and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk surpassed Amazon.com Inc’s top boss Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest man, Bloomberg News reported today.

LOLC Investments exits BPPL Holdings

LOLC Investments Ltd. today sold its entire stake in the brush maker BPPL Holdings in Rs.1.28 billion deal.

What are Sri Lanka’s economic prospects in 2021?

2020 was a year of ultimate disruptions across a widest spectrum, that no expert saw coming: the virus and its devastating impact on lives, livelihoods, society and governments.

Tea output projected to recover this year

Sri Lanka’s tea output is projected to recover this year, following an estimated 10 percent or 30 M/Kgs year-on-year (YoY) decline in the output in 2020, mainly due to the adverse weather conditions prevailed in the country, according to Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers.

CSE’s ASPI forges ahead crossing 7,000-point mark first time since 2015

The Colombo Stock Exchange’s (CSE) benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) crossed the 7,000-point mark yesterday for the first time since November 24, 2015, closing the trading day on 7,036.76 points.

Maldives records over half a million tourist arrivals in 2020

The Maldivian government revealed that across the year 2020, a total of 555,399 tourists had arrived in the archipelagos.

Cabinet clears path for gem mining on leased lands

The Cabinet of Minister has approved measures to seek the Parliamentary approval to liberalise the country’s gem mining licence scheme, enabling activity even on leased lands.

Pasan Wanigasekara assumes duties as BOI Director General

Multi-disciplined corporate leader Pasan Wanigasekara has been appointed as the new Director General of the Board of Investment (BOI), the country’s state-run apex investment promotion body.

Jit Gunaratne joins CIC board

Jitendra Romesh Gunaratne, who recently retired from the John Keells group, has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director to CIC Holdings PLC, with effect from January 6, 2021.

Royal Ceramics to commission new tile making plant targeting price-sensitive market segment

Dhammika Perera-controlled Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC plans to commission a new tile manufacturing plant, targeting the more price-sensitive segment of the market and increasing the company’s tile production capacity by 20 percent.

Central Bank hopeful of PayPal’s arrival in Sri Lanka

The Central Bank remains hopeful of the prospects of PayPal Holdings Inc., the US-based international payment gateway company, to open access to Sri Lanka to facilitate Internet-based payments.

Govt. to enter new accord with S. Korea to obtain US $ 500mn in development financing

The Cabinet of Ministers this week approved a proposal to enter into a new framework agreement with the government of South Korea, to obtain concessional loans up to US $ 500 million for the implementation of infrastructure projects recognised within the period of 2020-2022.

Central Bank hopeful of PayPal’s arrival in Sri Lanka

The Central Bank remains hopeful of the prospects of PayPal Holdings Inc., the US-based international payment gateway company, to open access to Sri Lanka to facilitate Internet-based payments.

Pasan Wanigasekara to assume duties as BOI Director General

Multi-disciplined corporate leader Pasan Wanigasekara has been appointed as the new Director General of the country’s State-run apex investment promotion body, Board of Investment (BOI)

ASPI crosses 7, 000-point mark after six years

The benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) surpassed the 7, 000-point mark a while ago with increased market activity in certain counters such as Browns Investments PLC and Expolanka Holdings PLC.