‘We will miss you’ - Germany pleads with the British to stay in EU

(London) REUTERS: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s protégé appealed to the British yesterday to stay in the European Union, saying her compatriots had not forgotten how Britain welcomed Germany back as a sovereign nation after World War Two.Conservative leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who succeeded Merkel as leader of the Christian

Rupee extends gains on dollar sales by bank; stocks steady

COLOMBO (Reuters) -  Sri Lanka’s rupee closed firmer for a second straight session yesterday, helped by dollar selling by banks and after the IMF said it would resume discussions with the island nation for further disbursal of part of a US$1.5 billion loan and the Central Bank chief said around US$5 borrowing in the pipeline could help debt repayments. 

Kavan appointed SLPA Chairman

Top professional Kavan Ratnayaka yesterday assumed duties as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).  Before his appointmen

IMF willing to revise fiscal targets, says CB

The Central Bank Governor Dr.Indrajit Coomaraswamy said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed for flexibility to revise fiscal targets set for this year, following the discussions held in Washington, early this week.  Delivering the keyn

Sri Lanka targets US $ 1bn from seafood exports by 2022

Sri Lanka’s seafood industry is eyeing US $ 350 million in exports this year in line with a three-year target of achieving US $ 1 billion in seafood export revenue by 2022.

Sri Lanka signs US $ 455mn ADB loan agreements

President Maithripala Sirisena, who is currently on an official visit to Philippines, yesterday signed three loan agreements totaling US $ 455 million with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for projects in higher education and transport as well as technical assistance loan for the  urban sector.

CB expects all fund raising to end in 1Q

Meanwhile Governor Coomaraswamy told Mirror Business that the Central Bank will start the process to raise at least US $ 1 to US $ 1.5 billion via issuing dollar denominated international sovereign bonds (ISBs) in a matter of days. The Cabinet has approved a proposal to raise up to US $2 billion via ISBs, he said. Coomaraswam

Carbon Tax applies to State-owned vehicles too : Finance Ministry

Responding to criticism, Finance and Mass Media Ministry said yesterday that the Carbon Tax, which came into effect from January this year, is applicable to State-owned vehicles as well.

Online company registration process reaches halfway mark

Sri Lanka will activate the partly completed South Asia’s most sophisticated, national-scale electronic company registration system next week, which is expected to boost the country’s Doing Business Index ranking significantly.

Trade war bad news for South Asia

The ongoing tariff war between the United States and China will have far-reaching consequences for the trade relations of other countries. Even South Asia — one of the world’s least economically integrated regions with relatively less presence in global value chains compared to East and Southeast Asia — will be affected. While the bilateral dispute may create some economic opportunities for South Asia, they will be outweighed by

Ailing rupee and price controls may lead to milk powder shortage

A cup of tea is every Sri Lankan’s morning mantra. This might not be the case much longer as Sri Lanka may face a shortage of milk powder as several leading milk powder importers are reported to have taken a collective decision to suspend imports.   

Colombo Port City land sales to begin from June onwards

The sale of land blocks at Colombo Port City (CPC) will commence after June this year following the conclusion of the legal framework that governs the reclaimed land and special incentive packages for investors.   

Banking, telecom and consumer sector earnings to standout this year

Banking, telecommunication and consumer-related stocks on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) are more likely to outperform the rest this year, after a tumultuous ride in 2018, where notable erosions in valuations stoked by international and domestic headwinds, were seen.  

Rupee edges lower; stocks slip

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s rupee closed slightly weaker yesterday in thin trade due to light dollar demand from banks and importers, while worries over political uncertainty and fiscal slippage weighed on investor sentiment.   

IMF to send team here next month to resume loan talks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it “remains ready to support” Sri Lanka in its efforts to boost the economy and would send a team to Colombo next month to resume discussions on the stalled loan programme.  

PMF abandons merger as company seals deal to infuse capital

A possibility of a merger explored between People’s Merchant Finance PLC (PMF) and People’s Leasing & Finance PLC (PLC) was abandoned last week, as the former closed a deal with an investor to infuse fresh capital followed by a rights issue which will put the company’s core capital on top of Central Bank’s minimum requirement.  PMF was transferred to th

Electronic pre-booking service launched to tackle over-visitation to national parks

Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) is to expedite the implementation of the strategic plan to tackle the over-visitation to Yala National Park and other national wildlife parks, while enhancing the quality of visitor experience. Despite two strategic plans being launched in 2015 and 2016 by DWC under the instructions of the then Tour

Women in times of disaster: Gender dimension of disaster management in Sri Lanka

Owing to climate change, natural disasters have become an almost commonplace occurrence in the world. Developing countries, especially island nations like Sri Lanka, are particularly prone to such disasters, due to two reasons: their geographical location, which is vulnerable to the rising sea levels and their limited capacity to adapt, due to the lack of access to financial resources and technologies.   

Carbon tax to protect environment — A diabolical lie

The latest move by the government to collect more revenue from people is the introduction of a carbon tax. Vehicle owners will have to pay a carbon tax based on the engine capacity and the year of manufacture of their vehicles from next year onwards. Older vehicles and those with bigger engines will be taxed more. Electric vehicles (EVs) have been exempted from the tax. According to the 2018 budget, the government expects to collect Rs.2.5 billio

Mirror Biz Toon

IATA renews SriLankan’s operational safety audit registry

The International Air Travel Association (IATA) has renewed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry of SriLankan Airlines for a further two year period up December 04, 2020, SriLankan Airlines in a statement said yesterday.  IOSA is the global airline industry’s benchmark for an airline’s operational management and control systems.  

Cottoning on: Chinese seed sprouts on moon

(Beijing) AFP: A small green shoot is growing on the moon in an out-of-this-world first after a cotton seed germinated on board a Chinese lunar lander, scientists said yesterday.

Bank of China offers US$ 300mn loan to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is considering an offer from Bank of China for a loan of US $300 million, which could be raised to US $1 billion, to help it meet repayments during coming months, glo

French giant Mane partners with Akbar Brothers for tea extracts

Mane SA, one of the top flavour and fragrance houses in the world, recently announced their strategic partnership with Sri Lanka’s Akbar Brothers, one of the largest traders of tea in the world, to provide high-end tea and coffee extracts for the global market. The partnership will take Ethical Extracts, a joint venture with Akbar Brothers, forward and is expe

Sri Lanka targets to double number of Indian tourist arrivals to 1mn this year

Sri Lanka Tourism sets an ambitious target to attract one million tourist arrivals from the country’s largest tourist source market, India this year, by more than doubling over the 2018 Indi

Fortude and Sandbox create Sri Lanka’s largest sand sculpture on record

Fortude, a global technology solutions provider, in collaboration with Sandbox Consultancy, recently embarked on a team building initiative to create Sri Lanka’s largest documented sand sculpture.

Hambantota Port sees stellar performance in 1st year

The Hambantota International Port (HIP) saw an increase in the vessels docking at the port during the first week of the  new year.

Ports Dep. Minister assumes duties

The newly appointed Ports and Shipping Deputy Minister Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed Maharoof assumed duties in his office, yesterday. The event was held u

Rupee ends weaker in dull trade

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s rupee closed weaker yesterday in thin trade due to dollar demand from banks and importers, while political uncertainty also dented investor sentiment. 

Industrial production slows in Nov. as key segments lose momentum

Sri Lanka’s industrial production slowed in November as the activities or the sub-sectors, which recorded a growth, trailed the ones that contracted over the same month in 2017.