Tourism industry braces for another setback as health authorities impose travel restrictions

Sri Lanka tourism braces for yet another setback amid the country’s health authorities banning the disembarkation of tourists from cruise ships while imposing a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all passengers arriving in Sri Lanka from Italy, South Korea and Iran as a precautionary measure to fight deadly coronavirus.

Construction sector fears collapse over supply chain disruptions

Sri Lanka’s construction sector is set to receive a blow from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, as the fast-spreading deadly virus is seen derailing global supply chains, according to Chamber of Construction Industries (CCI).

In an emergency move, Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to battle coronavirus

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates yesterday in an emergency move designed to shield the world’s largest economy from the impact of the coronavirus. In a statement, the central bank said it was cutting rates by a half percentage point to a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent.

First Capital sees upside for banking sector; revises outlook to ‘Buy’

First Capital Research foresees tremendous upside for Sri Lanka’s banking sector in 2020 with a 42 percent return yielding over a year and revised its ‘Hold’ advice to ‘Buy’ with Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank and Sampath Bank cited as favourites.

Charting Sri Lanka’s aging population

In a few decades, nearly a fourth of the people in Sri Lanka will be over 60 with the vulnerable 80-year-old and above population increasing quickly.

Ceylon Tea - In search of ‘unique selling proposition’

Coca-Cola was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1886, exactly 19 years after James Taylor planted tea in Loolecondura estate, Deltota in Kandy district.

Mahindra India, Ideal Motors to role out ‘Make in Sri Lanka’ Car

Mahindra India, together with Ideal Motors Sri Lanka, has assembled and rolled out 40, ‘KUV100 NXT,’ the first ‘Make in Sri Lanka’ cars from their assembly facility in Welipenna. Forty more cars are now on sale, signaling a historic land mark in Sri Lanka’s Automotive Industry.

Norges Bank’s investments in SL stocks top US $ 114mn in 2019

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s one trillion dollar Government Pension Fund Global, has increased its equity investments in Sri Lanka to US $ 114.4 million by the end of last year, compared to US $ 98.3 million at end-2018.

Sanjaya Mohottala assumes duties as BOI Director General

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

Five-pronged solution proposed to improve national budget practices

Successive governments have failed to come up with a citizens’ budget that entails the necessary insights for the public to understand the viability of the proposals made and to break this recurring inefficient cycle, economic think tank Verité Research stresses the need for the relevant authorities to take up a more transparent approach in its proposal formulation, backed by proper analysis and research.

Tougher capitalisation requirements, NPLs to add pressure on already battered finance firms

Sri Lanka’s finance and leasing company (FLC) sector will face added pressure for consolidation as the deadlines for the implementation of tougher capitalisation requirements approach in 2021, said Fitch Ratings.

SEC DG transferred to Finance Ministry

Securities and Exchange Commission Director General Vajira Wijegunawardane has been removed from his post with immediate effect and transferred to the Finance, Economy and Policy Development Ministry, as an Advisor.

Masmovil to acquire Lycamobile Spain for US $ 420mn

Lycamobile, the world’s largest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and part of Lyca Group, yesterday announced the sale of Lycamobile Spain to the publicly listed Masmovil, a Spanish mobile network operator (MNO).

CB opens stakeholder consultation for open banking

The Central Bank this week kicked off a wide-scale stakeholder consultation process in a bid to assess the possibility of introducing open banking to Sri Lanka, a move where financial data can be given upon customer consent to third party service providers to obtain value-added financial services.

Oil palm: Reality versus public and political opinions

Your Excellency, The media recently reported about an overwhelming public demand for banning of oil palm cultivation at a gathering you attended recently in the South and you connived to do so. However, if I got you right, you had a proviso in your statement and that was to ‘do so if this crop is damaging the environment’.

February inflation shoots up to 6.2%

Headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year (YoY) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index increased to 6.2 percent in February 2020 from 5.7 percent in January 2020.

Tourism looks for silver lining from Europe amid China virus crisis

A silver lining may be emerging for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry as European holidaymakers look for alternative destinations avoiding coronavirus-hit East and South-East Asian regions while the industry braces for a major decline in tourist arrivals from key Asia-Pacific markets such as China.

Govt. bond market suffers worst weekly fall as investors hide behind safe havens

Sri Lanka’s government bond market last week suffered its worst outflow for the year as foreign investors sought to seek refuge in safe haven assets such as United States government securities, as coronavirus outbreak didn’t show signs of receding.

SLT sees modest top line growth in 4Q; earnings boosted by tax reversal

Operating results at Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) were hurt by higher depreciation charges resulting from the application of new lease standard and higher interest costs resulting from new borrowings made to fulfil the growing capital expenditure needed to stay on par with global technological trends.

MILCO confirms Highland products shortage in market

State-run dairy producer MILCO (Pvt) Limited confirmed a shortage of its products in the market due to a scarcity of raw materials entering the supply chain for processing.

Dialog to widen enterprise service offering with VES acquisition

Dialog Axiata PLC on Friday said its subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Ltd had entered into a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire 100 percent of shares in VSIS Enterprise Solutions (Private) Limited (VES).

This year’s 2nd monetary policy on March 5

The Monetary Policy Review No.2 of 2020 will be announced on Thursday, at 7.30 a.m., the Central Bank said.

Specifics of engagement with SL to be discussed after review: IMF

Sri Lankan authorities have expressed interest in a range of options for future engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the specifics will be discussed after the next review in mid-April, the IMF said on Thursday.

Asian markets flop as virus fears fuel global turmoil

Asian and European equities spiralled downwards yesterday, extending a collapse in world markets that has wiped trillions of dollars off valuations as the coronavirus spread rapidly around the world with the WHO war

Coronavirus slows China’s major projects in Asia

AFP - From an artificial island in Sri Lanka to a bridge in Bangladesh and hydropower projects in Nepal and Indonesia, China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road plan is stuttering under the effects of the deadly coronavirus. The outbreak that emerged in

Investment advisors worry U.S. response to coronavirus too little

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investment-advisors are increasingly worried that U.S. authorities are not be doing enough to prevent a widespread outbreak of coronavirus in the country, potentially adding further do

Baidu warns of big hit from coronavirus outbreak

BEIJING (AFP) - Internet search giant Baidu has warned the deadly coronavirus outbreak could drive revenues down in the first quarter, as it reported steady annual revenue growth. The Beijing-based group has forecast a plunge of between five percent and 13 percent due to the economic uncertainty surrounding the new virus, which is rapidly spreading around the world. It is forecasting revenues between 21.0 billion yuan (US$ 3.0 billion) and 22.9 b

US farmers cautious on income, investment: survey

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A majority of US farmers and ranchers expect flat or lower profits and declining investment in 2020 despite much-touted new US trade agreements, according to a survey released Wednesday. While farmers are “

Airlines at centre of storm as coronavirus spreads

LONDON (Reuters) - European airlines stepped up their warnings over the coronavirus outbreak yesterday, with British Airways-owner IAG and Finnair flagging a hit to profits and easyJet reporting a big drop in demand int

World Bank restores relations with Somalia

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The World Bank moved Thursday to reestablish relations with Somalia after a 30-year break, paving the way for the country to have access to low-cost development aid. Contact was severed in 1991