It’s not the interest rates, stupid!

The government and Central Bank have launched a campaign to bring down the lending interest rates to stimulate economic growth. The Central Bank in May cut the policy rates by 50 basis points and slapped the caps on deposit rates. The government is offering loans at highly subsidised rates through its Enterprise Sri Lanka programme and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was quoted as saying in recent news reports that his government has made arr

Mirror Biz Toon

The saga of tourist arrivals after 21/4 attacks

Traditionally, one of the main indices by which tourism performance is assessed the world over is analysing the total tourist arrivals into a country. Historically, Sri Lanka also has been adopting this method. However, Sri Lanka seems to place too much of emphasis on arrivals, only to determine the ‘health’ of tourism in the country. In addition, due to certain inherent country-specific issues related to gathering this source data and other oper

LOLC Finance share sale boosts bourse

A sale of shares of LOLC Finance PLC (LOFC) to a subsidiary incorporated overseas boosted the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday, which allowed the bourse to report a turnover of over Rs.9 billion for the first time thi

“They bombed our livelihoods”: Sri Lanka’s tourism firms struggle after attacks

(Unawatuna/Galle) REUTERS: Pearl Divers, a diving school on one of Sri Lanka’s most popular southern beaches, shut shop for two months after suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels on the island on Easter Sunday, killing about 250 people. It had no customers as tourists cancelled holidays and its manager Nuwan Harshana says he took two months leave and a pay cut.

Australian travel and tour operators arrive on 10-day familiarisation visit

A team of 18 Australian travel and tour operators arrived in Sri Lanka on a 10-day familiarisation tour hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). Tourist arrivals from Australia have shown a steady increase in recent months and it is envisioned that the familiarisation tour would capitalise on this wave of interest. Over 4000 tourists had arrived from Australia to Sri Lanka, mostly by air, during June this year. The tour operator

Bank of England picks WW II code-breaker Turing for banknotes

(Manchester) REUTERS: Mathematician Alan Turing, whose cracking of a Nazi code helped the Allies to win World War Two but who committed suicide after being convicted for homosexuality, will appear on the

China 2Q GDP growth slows to 27-year low

(Beijing) REUTERS: China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2 percent in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting US trade pressure. While more upbeat June factory

JICA supports Sri Lanka’s tourism recovery after Easter bombings

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in cooperation with the Tourism, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Ministry, successfully completed a joint seminar themed ‘Recovery of tourism sector in Sri Lanka after the Easter bombings 2019’, targeting the officials and professionals in the tourism sector.

Public transportation services to be available on Google Maps

Transportation and Civil Aviation Ministry last week said it had started the process of upgrading Google Maps to show public transportation services as a part of Google Transit, and it would be available for use in Google Maps covering the Western Province shortly.

Industrial production recovers in May

Industrial production recovered in the month of May after hitting a 3-year low in April due to traditional New Year holidays and Easter Sunday bombings that kept workers away from factories. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by 0.4 percent to 106.1 points in May from 105.7 points in May 2018, the data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) showed.

Export-oriented manufacturing the way forward for Sri Lanka

Diversified and export-oriented manufacturing is the way forward for Sri Lanka to develop as a nation, as no country has ever advanced without export-oriented manufacturing, world renowned Lankan

Enterprise Sri Lanka exhibition to be held in A’pura from July 24

The Enterprise Sri Lanka exhibition organized by the Ministry of Finance will be held in Anuradhapura Walisinghe Harischandra playground from 24th to 27th this month from 10.a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Pakistan to pay foreign firm US$6bn over mine closure: World Bank

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan will have to pay almost US$ 6 billion in damages to a foreign gold mining firm whose dig was shut down by the government in 2011, the World Bank said yesterday.

Parliament to pass resolution to declare Port City part of Colombo district

Parliament is scheduled to take up a resolution on July 24 to grant authority to the President to declare the reclaimed Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) land as part of Colombo district. The Secretary to

Shares rise for fourth session; rupee edges lower

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares rose for the fourth straight session yesterday to a more than 12-week closing high, a day after the central bank kept its key policy rates steady. The Central Bank left key interest rates unchanged on Thursday as expected, after cutting them in May to support the economy as tourism and investment plummeted in the wake of deadly suicide bombings

S’pore economy shrinks in warning for global trade

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Growth in export-reliant Singapore suffered a surprise sharp contraction in the second quarter, official data showed yesterday, sending a stark warning that US-China trade tensions are hurting the global economy. The city-state’s gross domestic prod

SLGMBC concludes successful biz promo mission to Myanmar

The Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council (SLGMBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce organized a successful business promotion mission to Myanmar recently. The delegates met with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Myanmar and attended the Yangon Investment Forum organized by the Yangon Regional Government. The Council together with Pricewater

CSE Anuradhapura Branch Manager recognized by Toastmasters International

Tharaka Amarasena, the Manager of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Anuradhapura branch was recently recognized by Toastmasters International as its District 82 Toastmaster of the year for 2017/18.

Cuba lowers tourism target by 15% after US cruise ban

HAVANA (AFP) - Cuba has revised down by about 15 percent its forecast for the number of tourists visiting this year, after a US ban on cruise ship stopovers in the Communist island, the government said on Thursday.

Correction

In the article titled ‘Adamjee Lukmanjee sets up Sri Lanka’s first pepper cleaning facility’, which was published in Mirror Business on July 11, 2019 (Page 1), it was mentioned that Adamjee Lukmanjee was the first to set up a pepper cleaning facility in Sri Lanka, but it is in fact not the first to introduce such in Sri Lanka. We regret the error.

Asian markets extend gains as Fed hopes linger

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian equities rose yesterday, building on optimism fuelled by expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut, with debate now focusing on how far the central bank will go.

Volkswagen to inject US$2.6 bn into Ford unit Argo AI: source

HAMBURG (REUTERS) - Carmaker Volkswagen will inject US$2.6 billion into Ford’s self-driving unit Argo AI at an overall valuation of US$7 billion in the deal, a source close to the matter said yesterday. Volkswagen will contribute

Japan firm says US$32 mn missing in cryptocurrency hack

TOKYO (AFP) - A Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange said yesterday it had halted all services after losing cryptocurrency worth more than US$32 million in the latest apparent hack involving virtual money.

Group of tourists at the Independence Square, Colombo 07

The picture shows a group of tourists at the Independence Square, Colombo 07 yesterday. Tourist arrivals almost doubled in June over May as the industry which generated US $ 4.4 billion for Sri Lanka’s economy last year moves to recovery after the deadly Easter Sunday terrorist attacks on April 21. Sri Lanka welcomed 1.16 million tourists in the first half of this year. Tourism authorities last week said they were expecting to end this year with

Tourism only way to overcome poverty in Sri Lanka: Kishu

Tourism is the only way to overcome extreme poverty in Sri Lanka where 40 percent of the population is unable to afford three decent meals a day, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Kishu Gomes said.

Central Bank cuts economic growth to 3%

The Central Bank (CB) yesterday cut the economic growth to 3 percent for the year from the earlier projected 4 percent, as the Easter Sunday attacks adversely impacted the economic activities.

SL mulls issuing Samurai bonds before elections

Sri Lanka is exploring the possibility of issuing 10-year Samurai bonds under the provisions of the Active Liability Management Act (ALMA) before election cycle begins. “We are going to Tokyo later this month to explore the possibility of issuing Samurai bonds,” the Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. He noted that the Centra

Banks considering Rs.101bn tourism sector loan relief

Banks are making progress in processing moratoriums on loans granted to the tourism sector, as the sector seeks moratorium on loans worth of Rs. 101 billion. Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coom

SLTPB to award nearly Rs.1bn worth PR campaigns to JWT

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is planning to finally ink agreements with J. Walter Thompson (JWT) this week to award almost Rs.1 billion worth PR and advertising campaigns after facing delays due to bureaucratic red tape.