Italy faces record recession as pandemic bites

The Italian government yesterday announced a slew of new measures to save its struggling economy amid fears the coronavirus pandemic could force a contraction of more than 10 percent of gross domestic product this year.

Monetary easing buffers banks’ funding and liquidity risks despite weaker operating environment: Moody’s

Swift measures by the Central Banks in easing monetary policy will help banks in Sri Lanka to have access to funding requirements and liquidity although the operating context is turning more dour, said Moody’s Investors Service.

Equities, crude surge in Asia on hopes for virus treatment

Equities rallied again yesterday and oil prices built on the previous day’s surge as investors began to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against coronavirus, following news of a possible breakthrough in the search for a treatment.

COVID-19 – An unprecedented crisis and also a tantalising opportunity

Henry Kissinger, in one of his infrequent statements says, “When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, many countries’ institutions will be perceived as having failed.

Automated Machine Learning to reach higher penetration with the turn of new decade

Before any business can make a crucial step forward in the transformation of their digital efforts, a paramount importance is placed on understanding and deriving even more insight from data than ever before.

Restaurants, cafes, eateries, pubs and recreational clubs – Potential strategies and focus areas

At the time of writing this article, we have completed 5 weeks of curfew and lockdown in Sri Lanka due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The overall economy has been impacted due to this pandemic with small businesses being hit the most.

Central Bank calls for new laws to restrict future cross-border transmission of diseases

The Central Bank (CB) says the implementation of a coherent policy framework for surveillance and quarantine is essential to restrict future cross-border transmission of diseases to the country via movements of people and goods, as evidenced by the rapid escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction industry calls on govt. to prioritise sector once normalcy established

In a bid to assist the revival of the construction sector that has been badly hit by the economic woos induced by the coronavirus, the industry has called on the government to prioritise kick starting the construction projects no sooner some normalcy is established and urged the need to restrain the processes that lead to unnecessary delays.

Demand for domestic pharma manufacturing to rise amid forex controls: Fitch

Sri Lanka may recalibrate its sourcing of pharmaceutical drugs as the country seeks to reduce its over-reliance on pharmaceutical imports amid the government-imposed controls to preserve foreign exchange in its battle against COVID-19.

Private hospitals extend their lab services for PCR testing

The Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH) in a statement said it would extend all possible assistance to the national operations programme to control the COVID-19 outbreak, in conducting the much-needed PCR tests, to help control the spread of the virus in Sri Lanka.

Jetwing Symphony begins reskilling staff to welcome future travellers after virus dissipates

As the behaviour of future travellers in the post-COVID-19 era is expected to be different, Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector is preparing to welcome them by retraining its staff, according to a leading resort chain in the country.

March merchandise exports plunge record 42%

Sri Lanka’s merchandise export earnings in March plunged a record 42 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 646 million, with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the country’s key export markets coupled with disruptions to supply chains, according to the Export Development Board (EDB).

Cabraal proposes setting up of Rs.150bn Covid Equity Fund to support battered biz

Former Central Bank Governor and present Senior Economic Advisor to Prime Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal is proposing the setting up of a fund syndicated by a group of investors to provide liquidity support to those companies battered by the mandatory shutdown of businesses, due to the pandemic.

SL seeks US $ 800mn under IMF’s Rapid Financing Facility

According to Moody’s Investors Service, Sri Lanka’s government has sought US $ 800 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the next two years, under the latter’s Rapid Financing Facility, as the government is reorienting its external funding lines towards multilateral and bilateral creditors, since the international capital markets have dried up.

Create, Learn and Relax while you’re learning from home

Wijeya Newspapers partners with Grade5.lk making way for accessible and affordable education online

Grade5.lk, the leading digital platform for grade 5 exam training, signed a long term partnership agreement with Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

CB forecasts economy to grow at 1.5% this year

The Central Bank (CB) expects Sri Lanka’s economic growth to decline to 1.5 percent this year from 2.3 percent in 2019, possibly avoiding a coronavirus-induced recessions, although with severe impacts across sectors causing hardships for all stakeholders.

Local exporter community plead for help

Sri Lanka’s exporter community pleads with the government to lend a hand in support to sustain its workforce, as the sector’s financial position due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis continues to worsen making it difficult for export businesses to handle their payroll expenditure.

Moody’s extends negative outlook on Lankan banking sector on coronavirus stress

The coronavirus-induced economic pain will weaken the operating environment for Sri Lankan banks, dampening the demand for loans and triggering widespread defaults in 2020, said Moody’s Investors Services extending its negative outlook for the sector in to next 12 to 18 months.

Chevron Lubricants says it possesses adequate cash flows to continue seamless operations

Sri Lanka’s market leader in lubricant sales, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC says it has adequate cash flows to continue seamless operations overcoming the expected hit on its financial performance from the prevailing negative business environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vehicle clearing at Hambantota Port slow

The clearance of cars at the Hambantota Port is slow, and the port is concerned that they would not meet the April 30th deadline for clearing imported vehicles.

Apparel sector continues to explore ways to get back on track: JAAF

Determined to get back on track despite being badly hit by the ongoing pandemic, a senior representative of the apparel industry said the sector players are continuing to explore avenues to keep the work flow active while understanding that getting through the coming months would be a fresh challenge.

Fitch downgrades UL’s govt.-guaranteed bonds to ‘B-’

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the rating on SriLankan Airlines Limited’s (SLA) US$ 175 million government-guaranteed 7 percent unsecured bonds due on 25 June 2024 to ‘B-’, from ‘B’.

Smoking in time of corona: Why limiting smoking important in battle against COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed thousands of lives worldwide. As expected with any respiratory illness, there is clear evidence that smokers are much more vulnerable to COVID-19 than non-smokers.

A global crisis like no other needs a global response like no other

I have been saying for a while that this is a “crisis like no other”. It is:

Women entrepreneurs give back more to society

Educating girls is very important for a prosperous world. It has a snowballing effect as according to USAID, educated women are twice as likely to send their children to school. This increases the chances of girls being educated in future as well.

Foreign investment drying up thanks to COVID-19; But there may be a silver lining

Just over a year ago, InvestChile – the South American country’s Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Agency – welcomed 300 foreign investors of 21 nationalities in Santiago. In a two-day event, they attended plenaries, workshops and over 200 meetings including with the president, advancing over US$ 7 billion in potential projects.

Uber Eats introduces in-app ‘tipping’ feature to support restaurants and delivery partners

Uber Eats has introduced an in-app tipping feature enabling users to tip their favourite restaurants as well as delivery partners, to support the industry during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Aitken Spence expects plunge in revenue, earnings in first two quarters of FY 20/21

Diversified conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC expects a significant negative impact on its revenue and profits in the first and second quarters of the financial year 2020/21, due to the adverse impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular on the tourism sector.

Stock markets rally on virus hopes, but oil tanks

Equity markets rallied yesterday as countries eased coronavirus lockdown measures, but oil prices tumbled as a supply glut offset output cuts.