Asia markets reverse gains as trade war fears persist

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets largely reversed early gains yesterday from a bargain-hunting push as investors remained cautious over the intensifying US-China trade war. Tokyo managed to hold on to its winnings as

Global economic uncertainty threatens oil demand: IEA

PARIS (AFP) - Concerns over the health of the global economy, marked by the US-China trade dispute, forced the International Energy Agency yesterday to lower its growth forecast for oil demand for 2019 and 2020. “There have been concerns about the

Brexit turmoil drives UK economy towards recession

LONDON (AFP) - Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter of the year on Brexit turmoil, official data showed yesterday, placing the country on the verge of a recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.2 percent in the April-June period, the first time the economy has contracted in almost seven years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. The data, which was worse than market expectations for zero gro

Sri Lanka eyes 150, 000 tourists this month with Kandy Esala Perahera

Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities target 150,000 tourists this month, betting on the continual momentum of the sector’s recovery in the aftermath of Easter Sunday attacks. August is consid

Sri Lanka, a gem hidden among too much pessimism

The current global low interest rate environment, ongoing trade tensions and recession fears make Sri Lanka a brighter spot on global investors’ radar, particularly with the attractive valuations offered by the country’s stock market and its negative correlation with the U.S. equities. According to investm

Hayleys 1Q hurt by higher finance costs, Easter attacks

Losses at diversified conglomerate Hayleys PLC surged during the quarter ended June 30, 2019 (1Q20), as gains made at the group’s top line level were eaten by the group’s expanding finance costs, the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. The group

CTC announces appointment of new Chairman

Ceylon Tobacco PLC (CTC) yesterday announced the appointment of a new Chairman to its board. Accordingly, William Francis Pegel has been appointed as CTC Chairman, represent

Easter attacks overshadow Aitken Spence 1Q earnings

Diversified conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC, one of the leading resort hotel operators in the country saw its earnings for the June quarter (1Q20) impacted by the Easter Sunday attacks. Easter Sunday attacks, which target

Competition, Easter attacks hamper Dialog Axiata’s 2Q

The social media blockade and business slowdown following the Easter Sunday attacks and stiff competition overshadowed Dialog Axiata PLC’s June quarter (2Q19) earnings, the interim accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed.

Shares slip on banks, telecoms; rupee inches higher

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares edged lower yesterday, hovering near a two-week closing low hit early in the week, as investors sold banking and telecom stocks. The rupee ended slightly stronger as exporter dollar sales surpassed importer greenback demand. The benchmark stock index ended 0

SriLankan to post loss of up to US $ 16mn due to Easter attacks

Sri Lanka’s state-run airline is set to report a loss of up to US $ 160 million this year, as tourism in the island nation suffers following the Easter bombings, the carrier’s chief executive said.

Sunshine Holdings 1Q earnings boosted by divestments

While the divestment of its tea subsidiary boosted its June quarter (1Q20) earnings, Sunshine Holdings PLC saw a dip in its top line performance as the consumer goods and agribusiness of the group performed poorly during the quarter under review.

Shortage of ICT/BPM professionals set to widen

The shortage of Sri Lanka’s information and communication technology (ICT)/business process management (BPM) professionals is projected to widen to 12,140 this year, from a mere 458 in 2013, driven by the sector’s rapid growth, according to the latest IT-BPM Workforce Survey 2019.

Haycarb 1Q earnings surge amid healthy activated carbon demand

The Hayleys group’s coconut shell-based activated carbon manufacturer, Haycarb PLC saw a surge in earnings during the June quarter (1Q20) amid healthy demand for the firm’s value-added activated carbon products.

Govt. grants 6-month grace period to pay TDL

The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to give more time for tourist hotels to pay the Tourism Development Levy (TDL), in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks.

Dubai’s One Nature group to lease land for 28-chalet resort

A sister company of Dubai’s One Nature group is set to invest in a 28-chalet resort in the Yala-Palatupana tourism zone, by leasing land from the government.

Shares, rupee snap falling trend

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares closed firmer yesterday, snapping six straight sessions of losses and recovering from a near two-week closing low in the previous session, as investors bought beaten-down stocks.

Dr. Dushni Weerakoon appointed to Monetary Board

The Executive Director of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and head of its Macroeconomic Policy research Dr. Dushni Weerakoon has been appointed to the Monetary Board of the Central Bank with effect from July 29, the Central Bank said yesterday.

New hotel projects urged to allocate 0.5% of capital investment for sustainability initiatives

Sri Lanka’s upcoming hotels need to allocate 0.5 percent of their capital investments into sustainability initiatives to avert future costs to the environment and to the society, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official. “My colleague in my project

Shares post near 2-week closing low; rupee extends losses

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares fell for the sixth straight session yesterday and closed at their lowest in nearly two weeks as investors sold banking and diversified stocks, while the rupee ended weaker due to importer dollar demand.

NBT, VAT relief proposed in budget from September

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the tax amendments proposed by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in Budget 2019, and accordingly amendment draft bills on Nation Building Tax (NBT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) will be presented to Parliament for approval in September. Under the

Piramal Glass 1Q earnings hit by production line shut down

Sri Lanka’s only glass bottle maker Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC saw its June quarter (1Q20) earnings halving as the firm had to shut down couple of its production lines for plant upgrade to expand capacity.

Flat lube sales hamper Chevron Lubricants June quarter earnings

Sluggish lubricant sales appeared to have hampered the earnings of Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC during the quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2Q19), the firm’s interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange, showed. The earnings of the country’s lubricant market leader fell to Rs.1.83 per share or Rs.439.4 million for the quarter under review from earnings of Rs.2.11 per share or Rs.506.7 million reported for the same period last yea

Expolanka 1Q earnings down amid higher finance cost

Expolanka Holdings PLC saw its June quarter (1Q20) earnings falling 38 percent year-on-year (YoY) despite the group’s key logistics business recording growth in volumes, the firm’s interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed.

Hatch launches F’Up Fridays

The start-up ecosystem in the island has certainly come a long way and needs to talk more now about the failures than clichéd success stories and embrace them just as part of their journey ahead. In view of this, Hatch, a revolutionised workspace that advocates free-thinking and networking for all things start-up and budding entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, unleashed its initial meetup called F’Up Friday, last month.

Competition, capital needs and higher taxes challenges for banking sector: NDB CEO

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in partnership with Daily Mirror is featuring a column on Mirror Business as an Investor Relations initiative. The column, which will be featured in a Q&A format, encourages S&P SL20 companies to bring attention to the developments in the industry, the company and discuss growth prospects. Following are the excerpts from the interview conducted with National Development Bank PLC Director and Group Chief Executive

A group of tourists seen enjoying a boat ride on Madu Ganga in Balapitiya

Malik to hold talks in India to resume ETCA

Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama plans to hold ministerial-level discussions with Indian counterparts during his visit to India this week, in order to resume negotiations on the proposed Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) with India.

Tourist arrivals cross 100,000 mark for first time since Easter attacks

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals crossed 100,000 mark for the first time since the April 21 bombings, as the arrivals for the month of July were recorded at 113,701, up from 63,072 in June, the data released by the tourism office showed.

15% interest rate for senior citizens unchanged: FinMin

Although the Central Bank has reduced the rates for the deposits maintained in commercial banks, the special interest rate of 15 percent offered by the government for senior citizens has not been changed, the Finance Ministry said in a communiqué.