Envisioning next era of smart plantations

In recent times, a great deal of ink has been spilled over the sport of identifying problems in Sri Lanka’s plantations sector, assigning blame. This is an approach that does little to solve the real underlying challenges that have held our industry and our nation back for far too long.

INSEE Cement to buy dolomite from State Engineering Corp.

The leading cement manufacturer in the country, INSEE Cement Sri Lanka has signed a landmark agreement with the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) to purchase dolomite, which is used as raw material in the cement manufacturing process.

Sri Lanka moves to Budget 2021 with poor implementation record

As Sri Lanka awaits a national budget for the year 2021 next month, after a hiatus with no national budget presented for 2020, an analysis has shown that 41 percent of the proposals in the Budget 2019 were not implemented.

HNB secures US$ 60mn funding from France’s Proparco for SMEs

Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) yesterday announced a landmark agreement with Proparco, the private sector funding arm of the French development bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), to secure US$ 60 million in funding.

Ideal Group takes over e-commerce site Takas.lk

Online shopping platform Takas.lk has been taken over by Ideal Group, a diversified business headed by business leader Nalin Welgama.

BOC set to disburse Rs.42.8bn in loans under Saubagya COVID-19 scheme

State banking giant, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) said it has approved Rs.43.8 billion loans under Central Bank’s Rs.150 billion Saubagya COVID-19 loan scheme and has already disbursed Rs.34.6 billion, which is almost 83 percent of the total number of loans BOC has registered with the Central Bank.

Ceylinco Life’s 9-month income up 14% to Rs.26bn

Sri Lanka’s life insurance market leader Ceylinco Life has posted consolidated income of Rs.26 billion for the nine months ending September 30, 2020, achieving noteworthy top line growth of 14 percent in a period dominated by adverse business conditions.

Moody’s assesses Sri Lanka’s geopolitical risks to be “very low” despite tensions

As the domestic political landscape getting fired up with the arrival of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as part of his South Asian tour, and some commentators raising concerns that Sri Lanka has become an indirect victim of the US-China trade war, Moody’s Investors Services yesterday said Sri Lanka’s geo political risk remains “very low.”

Fresh Rs.30bn re-finance scheme for small biz likely in December

As the Central Bank sponsored Saubagya COVID-19 credit scheme came to an end fortnight ago, another loan re-finance scheme aimed at small businesses, this time sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implemented by the Finance Ministry is expected to be launched early as December.

HNB secures US$ 60mn loan from France’s PROPARCO

Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) today announced a landmark agreement with PROPARCO, the private sector funding arm of the French development bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), to secure US$ 60 million in funding.

Mount Lavinia Hotel says soft refurbishment underway before it reopens to public

Colonial heritage property Mount Lavinia Hotel is currently carrying out a series of soft refurbishments, an opportune time to uplift the premises before it opens doors to the public and tourists in the coming months, the hotel’s top management said.

Indices at CSE down amid higher coronavirus cases

The indices at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) ended in negative territory yesterday, amid concerns regarding a higher number of COVID-19 positive cases discovered throughout the island.

Tripartite deal to prorate wages extended till Dec. 31

The national tripartite agreement to prorate wages will be extended until December 31, 2020—a decision that was reached taking into account the recent spike in the number of COVID-19-infected persons in the country, leading to partial closure of businesses.

CSE says operated stock market successfully despite quarantine curfew

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and market intermediaries operated normally but completely based on remote functionality yesterday, with its offices and those of several market intermediary firms being located in areas subject to quarantine curfew.

Mount Lavinia Hotel says soft refurbishment underway before it reopens to public

Colonial heritage property Mount Lavinia Hotel is currently carrying out a series of soft refurbishments, an opportune time to uplift the premises before it opens doors to the public and tourists in the coming months, the hotel’s top management said.

SDB bank records strong 3Q; set to end year on a high note

Sanasa Development Bank PLC (SDB bank) reported strong financial results for the lender’s third quarter ended on September 30, 2020 (3Q20), the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed.

BPPL Holdings records robust 2Q amid strong brush sales

Sri Lanka’s largest brush-ware maker and exporter, BPPL Holdings PLC, is seeing a strong demand for both its generic brushes and own-branded products while the company has also experienced its product and market diversification strategy yielding results.

Commercial paper market recovers to pre-COVID-19 levels

Money raised through commercial papers has reached near pre-pandemic levels in a short span, since the new issuances sunk amid the concerns over rollover challenges faced by the issuers and their likely preference towards cheaper bank borrowings over the debt instrument.

CSE says operated stock market successfully despite quarantine curfew

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and market intermediaries operated normally but completely based on remote functionality today with its offices and those of several market intermediary firms being located in areas subject to quarantine curfew.

Three ways Sri Lanka can deal with COVID-19-induced poverty

Global poverty is expected to increase for the first time in over 20 years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to 115 million people worldwide will fall into extreme poverty this year.

A long, uneven and uncertain ascent

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread with over one million lives tragically lost so far. Living with the novel coronavirus has been a challenge like no other but the world is adapting.

Prime lending rate falls below 6% for first time in recent history

The prime lending rate fell by a steeper 79 basis points (bps) last week, pulling the benchmark rate below 6.0 percent for the first time in recent history after the Monetary Board decided to keep policy rates unchanged last Thursday, while reiterating its commitment towards a dovish monetary policy.

Stock market indices record 3% loss amid spike in COVID-19 positive cases

Both indices at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) lost 3 percent each during last week after a positive run with the discovery of higher number of COVID-19 positive cases throughout the country, though the government maintaining that there is no community level spread.

MMBL-Pathfinder joint venture portfolio earnings set to hit US$ 200 mn in 2020

Despite serious setbacks to its leisure and tourism investments, the MMBL-Pathfinder Group joint venture portfolio is expected to reach foreign exchange earnings of over US$ 200 million in the 2020 calendar year.

SLT now offers on the go Wi-Fi connectivity via community networks

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) has once again put their customers first. With the launch of the sltgo Wi-Fi solution, SLT broadband customers and overall internet consumers of Sri Lanka will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi connectivity on the go via community Wi-Fi networks.

CIC Holdings delivers solid 2Q performance

CIC Holdings PLC reported some solid financial performance for the September quarter (2Q21), continuing the momentum as most of its business segments are either geared to weather the pandemic’s effects or they are in fact helped by the new conditions.

Government unlikely to raise taxes on alcohol in Nov. budget

The government is unlikely to raise excise duties on alcoholic beverages for the sake of revenue, and instead any move on taxing the sprits could be more gradual as steeper raise in duties could boomerang by way lower tax income as higher alcohol prices could dampen demand.

Foreign holdings in govt. securities slump most since mid-September

Foreign holdings in government securities fell the most last week as the Central Bank faces a difficult balancing act between offering higher returns for foreigners who hold Sri Lankan treasuries and supporting the domestic economy by keeping interest rates lower-for-longer.

MILCO now a profit making venture, says Chairman

MILCO (Pvt) Ltd, a State–owned business engaged in dairy production, has started to make profits after suffering annual losses for the past three years, its Chairman Lasantha Wickramasinghe said.

Local agri and processed food sector explores Mumbai for exports

The local agri and processed food sector is offered a platform to be showcased in India with the launch of the Sri Lanka Agri products and Processed Food Promotion Programme in Mumbai.