Google releases top trending searches in 2018

(San Francisco) AFP: The World Cup topped a list of this year’s hottest Google search topics that turned quickly to lost stars such as Avicii, Mac Miller and Stan Lee. An annual summary of “top trending searches” released Tuesday by the world’s most popular online search engine was meant to reflect fresh subjects or names in which interest 

Colombo Stock Exchange to launch a dollar board for secondary listing of foreign firms shortly

In an attempt to diversify investment options for foreign investors, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is set to launch a dollar-denominated secondary board for foreign firms to trade their s

Rupee ends lower as foreign sell-off continues

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker yesterday, as foreign investors continued to exit from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on sentiment ahead of a key ruling by the island nation’s Supreme Court.

Sri Lanka parliament demands sacked PM restored

(Colombo) AFP: Sri Lanka’s legislature voted overwhelmingly yesterday to demand the reinstatement of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, as a bitter power struggle headed for a government shut down within weeks.

Hutch announces plans to invest US $ 200mn following merger with Etisalat

Hutch Telecommunications Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd plans to invest in excess of US $ 200 million over the next five years following its recent merger with Etisalat Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd to roll out a nationwide 4G net

India appoints Modi ally as new central bank head

(New Delhi) AFP: The Indian government yesterday named an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as new central bank head after his predecessor quit following a row about alleged government interference.  

Tea output, export income targets hit by worker strike

The umbrella organisation of the regional plantation companies (RPCs), the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA), yesterday cautioned that this year’s tea output would fall below 300 million kilos while the tea export income would fall below US $ 1.5 billion, due to the ongoing estate workers’ strike launched by trade unions, demanding to double the basic daily wage of estate workers.

Low skill trap and skill shortage

In the local and global labour market, those involved in mass production in particular, the trend is towards creating a large number of low skill employment. Low skill jobs have a very narrow range of skills that need no training or training of few days if not a few hours.   

Sri Lanka 12-month treasury yield edges up to 11.24%

ECONOMYNEXT: Sri Lanka’s 12-month treasury bill yield edged up four basis points to 11.24 percent at an auction yesterday compared with the week before, data from the state debt office showed.  

Cyber insurance: Creating a culture of risk management

In today’s interconnected financial system, it is impossible to remain isolated from online communications and commerce or immune from network outages and data breaches. Cyber risks exist everywhere.  

CSE to launch a dollar board for secondary listing of foreign firms shortly

In an attempt to diversify investment options for foreign investors, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is set to launch a dollar-denominated secondary board for foreign firms to trade their securities on the CSE shortly.  

Rupee ends lower as foreign sell-off continues

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker yesterday, as foreign investors continued to exit from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on sentiment ahead of a key ruling by the island nation’s Supreme Court.  

this former immigrant from sri lanka just made india’s most expensive movie

FORBES.COM: The man who bankrolled the science-fiction film 2.0, India’s costliest movie, is a former immigrant from Sri Lanka who is now running his family’s telecom, healthcare, financial services, media and entertainment conglomerate in the U.K.  

Sri Lanka parliament demands sacked PM restored

(Colombo) AFP: Sri Lanka’s legislature voted overwhelmingly yesterday to demand the reinstatement of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, as a bitter power struggle headed for a government shut down within weeks.  

Rupee, stocks slide as political crisis spurs outflows

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker yesterday, as foreign investors continued to exit from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on market sentiment ahead of a key ruling by the island nation’s 

India appoints Modi ally as new central bank head

(New Delhi) AFP: The Indian government yesterday named an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as new central bank head after his predecessor quit following a row about alleged government interference.

Agriculture Ministry holds ‘Harvest 2018’ modern agri exhibition

‘Harvest 2018’, organised by the Agriculture Ministry with the intention of building a modern culture in agriculture, was opened by President Maithripala Sirisena, at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, yesterday. 

Tea output, export income targets hit by worker strike

The umbrella organisation of the regional plantation companies (RPCs), the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA), yesterday cautioned that this year’s tea output would fall below 300 million kilos while the tea export income would fall below US $ 1.5 billion, due to the ongoing estate workers’ strike launched by trade unions, demanding to double the basic daily wage of estate workers. Sri Lanka was earlier targeting a tea 

Sri Lanka provides right ground for implementing ‘China-India Plus’ plan

Sri Lanka’s recent political crisis has attracted global attention with the appointment of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister. Many observers link the leadership change to the contest for influence in South Asia between China and India and there have even been doubts about the fate of Chinese investments in Sri Lanka in recent years.

Why imposing trade tariffs backfires in an interconnected world

The ongoing trade conflict between the US and People’s Republic of China (PRC) was supposed to be a way of protecting domestic industries. But it is backfiring in large part because of the vast global interconnections in production and trade.  

Foreign reserves see US $ 885mn slump in Nov.

Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves fell by a whopping US $ 884.92 million during the month of November to little over US $ 7.01 billion, partly due to a US $ 500 million payment under the Asian Clearing Unit, the latest data released by the Central Bank showed.   

Norwegian support for creating strong institutions

The Norwegian government has entered into a partnership agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka to promote peace, justice and strong institutions under Sustainable Development Goal 16 for the period of December 2018 to December 2020.  

India central bank chief quits amid spat with government

(New Delhi) AFP: The head of India’s central bank announced his resignation yesterday following a public spat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration about alleged government interference.

Sanken to build a 185-room luxury hotel in Galle with Rs.6bn investment

Sri Lanka’s Sanken group plans to build a 185-room luxury hotel with an investment of Rs.6 billion in Galle next year, which will be managed by a top Sri Lankan hotel chain. 

ICTA to launch much-anticipated spatial data portal

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) is set to launch the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) system shortly as part of a national initiative for effective decision-making. 

UNP says proposed US $ 750mn term financing facility by NSB illegal

The United National Party (UNP) yesterday charged that the attempts to raise up to US $ 750 million by the state-run National Savings Bank (NSB) through a term financing facility (TFF), were illegal. 

President softens stance on banning state events at private hotels

President Maithripala Sirisena appears to have softened his decision to ban state entities holding official ceremonies, meetings and various programmes at private hotels, which was announced by the President’s Media Division (PMD) last week.  

Early election positive for Lankan stock market: Swedish fund manager

The Sweden-based global asset management company, Tundra Fonder’s Tundra Sustainable Frontier Fund in its latest update has said that an early election would be clearly positive for Sri Lanka’s stock market. The fund’s November u

Worker remittances down; tourism earnings slightly up in September

The earnings sent back home by Sri Lankans working abroad, mainly in the Middle East, fell in September, weighing on the cumulative earnings for the first nine months of this year, the data released by the Central Bank showed. Sri Lanka depends on remittance income to buttress its current account a

Uber files paperwork for IPO

Washington (AFP): Ride-share company Uber quietly has filed paperwork this week for its initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday. The move comes one day after rival Lyft launched the process to take the company public with a stock offering. The Journal, citing unnamed