Sri Lanka to use reserves to repay US $ 1bn sovereign bond maturing today

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka has arranged US $ 1 billion to repay a five-year sovereign bond maturing today partly from its declining reserves, sources from both the Central Bank and Finance Ministry said  on Friday.

Bangladesh garment factory owners threaten to cut off pay to protesting workers

(Dhaka) REUTERS: The head of Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers association yesterday called on protesting workers to return to work by today or companies will cut off their pay, after demonstrations calling for higher salaries that have lasted for a week. The workers’ protests, which have brok

Chinese loans not main source of debt trap, says think tank

Sri Lanka getting caught in a debt trap and finding itself in a precarious position has less to do with its borrowings from China but more to do with its participation in international bond market activities, according to Colombo-based economic think tank  Verité Research.

Japan’s Serenity Lake Leisure to buy control of Hunas Falls for Rs.700mn

Further to its previous announcement, Hunas Falls Hotels PLC on Friday said its two major shareholders have entered into a share sale and purchase agreement with Serenity Lake Leisure (Pvt.

Foreign investors continue to exit from government securities market, stocks over rocky politics

Sri Lanka may have sorted out its political gridlock for the moment, which hurt the investor sentiments the most, paralysing the country’s administration and economy but the effects that it left appear to linger on for some time. The exit of foreigners from government securities and equities markets have continued unabated in the new year, the data released by the Central Bank and Colombo Stock Exchange showed. 

Govt. to launch E-Health Card pilot project in February

The pilot project of the government’s E-Health Card initiative is to be launched at the Kalutara General Hospital on February 21 and following the success of the pilot project, all citizens would be issued an E-Health Card within six months, Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said. The mini

China looking to set up FTZ in Sri Lanka for rubber exports

China is looking to set up a specialised free trade zone for rubber-based value added exports in Sri Lanka by partnering with private sector rubber manufactures, exporters and planters includ

Baton-wielding Bangladesh police fires tear gas to break up garment pay clashes

(Dhaka) REUTERS: Baton-wielding Bangladeshi police fired tear gas to break up thousands of garment workers demonstrating for higher wages for a fifth day on Thursday, forcing dozens of factori

Volkswagen delivered 10.8 mn cars in 2018, eyes No.1 spot

(Berlin) REUTERS: Volkswagen Group said yesterday its passenger car deliveries rose 0.9 percent last year to a record 10.83 million, putting it neck-and-neck with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi in the race to be the world’s biggest carmaker. Rivals Toyota Motor and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi have not released 2018 registration figures, 

Sri Lanka seeks to lower IMF fiscal targets after political crisis

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka will ask the IMF to ease its 2019 budget deficit target of 3.9 percent under a US$1.5 billion loan programme, to give the economy more time to recover from

Oil set for weekly gain on trade optimism, OPEC-led supply cuts

(London) REUTERS: Oil prices rose slightly yesterday, putting them on track for solid weekly gains after financial markets strengthened due to hopes the United States and China may soon resolve their trade dispute.

Asia markets end strong week on positive note

(Hong Kong) AFP: The upbeat tone that characterised this week helped Asian markets to fresh gains yesterday, with Hong Kong chalking up a sixth straight day of rises. Investors globally have been

Rupee ends steady; shares post over 6-week closing low

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka›s rupee closed steady yesterday in dull trade as dollar selling by banks offset importer demand for the greenback, while political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.  Sri Lankan shares posted a more than six-

Mirror Biz Toon

So…will 2019 be the year of great expectations for Sri Lanka’s tourism?

2.33 million tourists – up 10.3 percent over last year; February, March, June and November registered the highest growth rates in terms of monthly ‘arrivals’; December saw a record 253,169 tourists; India, China, the UK and Germany are the top source markets. That, in a nutshell, is the key statistical summary of how 2018 ended for Sri Lanka tourism.  

Economics of non-economists: Why it matters

This is that time of the year many of us make resolutions—from losing weight to eating healthy to complete something you procrastinated for months. May be it’s time that we all Sri Lankans come up with a collective resolution this year by giving ourselves a promise to strongly voice our concerns and opinions as citizens on all economic issues that affect our lives.   

Qatar Airways global campaign inspires travellers explore new destinations

Qatar Airways announced its latest global sales promotion designed to inspire passengers to explore new and exciting destinations in 2019.   

Araliya Group to double hotel room inventory this year

Araliya Group is set to double its hotel room inventory to 1,014 rooms, as Araliya Unawatuna and Araliya Red in Nuwara Eliya are scheduled to be launched this year. Araliya Group of Companies C

Rupee rises as banks sell dollars; shares steady

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s rupee closed higher yesterday as banks sold dollars but political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.  Sri Lankan shares 

SL among nations most vulnerable to shifts in external financing conditions: Moody’s

Sri Lanka is among one of four Asian countries most vulnerable to shifts in external financing conditions due to its high debt repayment schedule and low reserve position, said international rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service. Renewing its stand, Moody’s warne

MICE tourism poised to make 20% contribution to tourist arrivals this year

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry officials expect the contribution of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibition) tourism to overall tourist arrivals to increase by at least by 5 percent to 20-25 percent this year.

Another round of talks on estate worker wages ends inconclusively

Another round of talks to arrive at a solution on the drawn out wage issue of  estate workers ended inconclusively yesterday. The meeting was attended by the heads of the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and Plantations Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake, Ceylon Workers’ Congress Leader and MP Argumugam Thondaman, Plantations Industries State Minister Vadivel Suresh and Labour and Trade Union Relations and Social Empowerment Min

Sri Lanka suffers US $ 500mn foreign outflow in 4Q

Sri Lanka witnessed foreign outflows to the tune of US $ 500 million during the final quarter of 2018, the government revealed yesterday. As per the data presented by Economic Affairs Non Cabinet Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva and Finance State Minister Eran Wickramaratne, US $ 490 million worth outflows was recorded from government securitie

Global economy to slow to 2.9% in 2019 as trade, investment weaken: WB

Global economic growth is projected to soften from a downwardly revised 3 percent in 2018 to 2.9 percent in 2019 amid rising downside risks to the outlook, the World Bank said on Tuesday.  

Risks and regulation of algorithmic news in the era of artificial intelligence

The news communication industry is highly dependent on technology, and every new technology will take its transformation. Although the algorithmic news has just started,

World Bank expects economy to grow 4% this year

The World Bank (WB) forecasts Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to accelerate marginally to 4 percent this year, below the projected growth in South Asia, while the GDP growth for 2018 is estimated at 3.9 percent.  

Mangala set to leave for US to get IMF deal back on track

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera will leave for Washington tomorrow to get the International Monetary Fund (IMF) External Fund Facility (EFF) back on track.    

Sri Lanka secures US $ 400mn from RBI to support dwindling reserves

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to provide US $ 400 million to the Central Bank under its SAARC swap facility.  

Rupee rises as foreign banks sell dollar; shares at over 6-wk low

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s rupee closed higher yesterday as foreign banks sold dollars but political uncertainty dented investor sentiment, dragging the benchmark stock index down to a more than six-week low.   

Chevron Lubricants continues to lose market share in an expanding lube market

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, the market leader in Sri Lanka’s lubricant market, saw its market share declining further during the third quarter of last year (3Q18), the lubricant market data released by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), showed.