First Capital Treasuries to raise Rs.750mn via listed debt

Primary dealer, First Capital Treasuries PLC, is to raise Rs.750 million via a listed debenture issue.

EU assures Sri Lanka GSP Plus till 2023

The European Union has assured the GSP Plus tariff concession for Sri Lanka till 2023, according to a media communiqué by the Industrial Export, Investment Promotion, Tourism and Aviation Ministry.

Trade deficit narrows in Nov.; exports down marginally

Sri Lanka’s trade deficit narrowed in November supported by lower import of vehicle and fuel imports, although export earnings declined marginally, the external trade data released by the Central Bank showed.

Keels Food Products 3Q profit under pressure, top-line intact

Keells Food Products PLC (KFP) recorded higher top line but weaker profits for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, reflecting some lingering problems faced by one of the largest processed food markers in the country.

Service sector activities reach 24- month high in Dec.

Sri Lanka’s service sector activities reached a 24-month high in December driven by acceleration of activities in peak tourism and festive season while manufacturing activities expanded at a slower pace, according to Central Bank’s SL Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

Pan Asia Bank to raise Rs.1.25bn via debenture issue

Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC has announced plans to raise up to Rs.1.25 billion through a Basel III compliant unlisted debenture issue.

Tim Cook – Genius CEO who took Apple to next level

Timothy Donald Cook was born in Alabama, United States, on November 1, 1960. He earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Auburn University, in 1982. His Master of Business Administration was from Duke University.

Sri Lankan sustainable oil palm producers to target growing opportunities in first half

International market conditions are anticipated to generate extremely lucrative opportunities for Sri Lanka’s sustainable oil producers through the first half of 2020 (1H2020).

Auto tariff threat not mentioned in US talks: EU Commissioner

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US threats to put tariffs on European autos did not come up during talks this week with American trade officials in Washington, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said Thursday. Hogan’s remarks came hours after Germany’s defense minister confirmed a media report that Washington had threatened 25 percent duties on autos, demanding that three EU nations increase pressure on Iran.

Buoyant mood, upbeat data help lift most Asia stocks

Asian equities mostly rose yesterday as investors, still buoyed by the China-US trade deal, turned their focus to earnings season and the global outlook, while they were also cheered by data indicating China’s ec

Chinese economic growth hits three-decade low

BEIJING (AFP) - China’s economy grew last year at its slowest pace in three decades, hit by weak domestic demand and trade tensions, but while officials warned of further headwinds, separate figures yesterday suggest the downward trend is bottoming out. The 6.1 percent rate is a sharp drop f

Australia to lose billions as bushfires deter tourists

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia will lose billions of dollars in tourism revenue as international visitors cancel trips in droves due to bushfires raging across the country, an industry body forecast yesterday.

New ADB President Asakawa assumes office

Masatsugu Asakawa assumes office as the 10th President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday. “I am honoured to assume the role of ADB President and to begin working in close cooperation with our 68 members. ADB has been a trusted partner of the region for more than half a century, supporting str

Renault expects slight 2020 car market decline in Europe, Russia and China

PARIS (Reuters) - Renault said yesterday it expected a slight decline in the car market in Europe, Russia and China this year after the French carmaker reported a 3.4 percent fall of worldwide sales in 2019 as China and Iran weighed. Sales grew by 1.3 percent to 1.94 million units in Europe but fell 17.2 percent in China. Sales also fell by 19.3 percent in Africa, Middle East, India and the Pacific region, Renault said in a statement.

EU warns of WTO challenge if China-US deal creates ‘distortions’

BEIJING (AFP) - The European Union will challenge the China-US trade agreement at the World Trade Organization if it creates “distortions” in the market that harm EU companies, the bloc’s envoy to Beijing said yesterday. Ambassador Nicolas Chapu

Facebook sued in U.S. federal court for alleged anticompetitive conduct

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Four companies sued Facebook Inc in U.S. federal court on Thursday for alleged anticompetitive conduct, saying the social network inappropriately revoked developer access to its platform in order to harm prospective competitors. The plaintiffs sought class-action status and unspecifi

Global CIMA Centenary

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) President Amal Ratnayake (center) yesterday took part in the Bell Ringing Ceremony at the CSE to commemorate the Global CIMA Centenary

Sri Lanka eyes 340 mn kgs tea output with over Rs. 250 bn export earnings for 2020

The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) forecasts a minimum 10 percent growth in tea output with 340 million kgs of tea production and over Rs 250 billion export earnings for 2020, focusing on enhancing Ceylon Tea quality with an integrated quality and productivity drive and measures to increase good leaf count while encouraging more value-added exports over bulk tea exports.

Foreign consortiums in discussion with Micro Cars to invest US$ 500 mn in latest venture

Three foreign consortiums from Europe, United States and China are in discussion with Micro Cars to invest US$ 500 million in the latest venture to build EU standard buses, commercial and land vehicles as well as Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) locally. “Micro Cars will build EU standard buses, commercial and land vehicles and diesel multiple units in Sri Lanka. The investment will come in two stages, initially, it will be US$ 300 million and then

DEG divests Softlogic Life stake to Milford Ceylon for Rs.2.6bn

Milford Ceylon Pvt Ltd, a foreign strategic investor, yesterday bought 19 percent stake of Softlogic Life Insurance PLC for Rs.2.6 billion from Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), a German development bank. DEG divested 71.25 million Softlogic Life shares or 19 percent stake at Rs.37 a share in a crossing, according to a disclosure made to the Colombo Stock Exchange. LeapFrog Investments, as the second largest sharehold

Merchandise export earnings fall for fifth straight month

Sri Lanka’s merchandise export earnings have declined for the fifth consecutive month by 3.1 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to US$ 950 million in November last year, according to provincial export data released by the Export Development Board (EDB).

Sri Lanka’s economic health slips amid hefty tax cuts

Sri Lanka’s economic health score slipped in January due to the expected fiscal slippage from the hefty tax concessions rolled out by the new administration since December 2019, but score compilers had given two points to the ‘investor confidence’ criterion. First Capital Research, p

Lasantha Wickramasinghe appointed new MILCO chief

An Information Technology (IT) and supply chain management professional, Lasantha Wickramasinghe has been appointed the new Chairman of MILCO (Pvt) Ltd. Wickramasinghe has been serving at the Sweden-based multinational enterprise software company, IFS for over 12 years as a Senior Business System Analyst. The expert areas of Wickramasinghe are supply chain management and localised tax-related functionalities in several countries.

Trump keeps spoiling US Asia policy

Recent brinkmanship between the United States and Iran is the latest signal of Washington’s distraction from great power competition with China. The crisis in the Middle East and impeachment proceedings in Washington, have distracted the Trump administration from its stated emphasis on the Indo-Pacific as its priority theatre.

ADB history book explains Asia’s five decades of economic success

Sound economic policies and strong institutions have transformed Asia and the Pacific over the past five decades into a centre of global dynamism, according to a new book from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Companies too often become institutionalised passion killers, says Omar Khan

Omar Khan, a pioneer of neuro-linguistic programming and a leading innovator in transformational learning in the US and throughout the world, says the most essential attribute of a leader is to demonstrate behaviourally and personally what you ask of others. Khan is the founder and senior partner of a global leadership development and consulting firm that operates in the Americas, UK, Asia/Pacific (Singapore), Middle East (Dubai) and South Asia

Plantation firms rattled by govt.’s wage hike decision

Sri Lanka’s Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) were in for a rude shock this week when the government announced its decision to increase the minimum daily wage of plantation labourers to Rs.1,000, with effect from March 1, this year.

SMEs given two more weeks to apply for loan relief, credit support programme

The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been given time till January 31 to apply for the government-proposed loan moratorium under its credit support programme but such requests should come in writing and some should come with credible business plans.

China keen to send 1mn tourists to Sri Lanka

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is reported to have brought to the notice of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa the importance of attracting one million of China’s total 170 million outbound tourists to Sri Lanka, to develop the sector.

CSE adopts GICS industry classification

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has decided to discontinue the current industry classification used to categorise its listed companies and adopt the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) along with S&P/CSE co-branded sector indices, with effect from January 20, 2020.