German delegation visits Sri Lanka on Ayurveda tourism

As Sri Lanka opened its borders for international travel on Thursday, the first tourism trade delegation from Germany arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday, at 1:40 a.m., for an Ayurvedic holiday in Sri Lanka.

Airtel Lanka may seek M&A amid intense competition, capex requirements: Fitch

Airtel Lanka may seek either a merger or an acquisition with a larger counterpart, as the telco company will continue to be mired in intense competition while it will be required to spend heavily on network expansion and new generation of technologies.

Planters decry mob-violence on Park Estate Kandapola, demand swift legal action against perpetrators

Expressing the unanimous and unreserved condemnation of all 21 Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) issued a statement decrying the shocking violence instigated by Member of Parliament (MP) M. Rameshwaran, at Park Estate in Kandapola, on January 17, 2021.

Sri Lanka’s post-COVID-19 recovery: The need for inclusive economic growth

High levels of inequality impede sustainable growth and development of a country. Sri Lanka made impressive strides to reach an upper-middle-income country (UMIC) status in July 2019, only to slip back a year later. The COVID-19 crisis, amid growing inequities, is likely to make the task of regaining the UMIC status even harder.

Stocks hit new all-time high; ASPI crosses 8,000-point mark

Sri Lanka’s stocks yesterday hit fresh highs with benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) crossing the 8,000-point mark for first time in Colombo Stock Exchange’s (CSE) 35-year history amid more than dozen Hayleys group companies announcing share splits.

Central Bank says deposit rates have bottomed out

The Central Bank this week said they believe deposit rates, which plunged in 2020, have now bottomed-out, in a potential assurance to those live on interest on bank deposits.

Nat Rothschild calls Sri Lanka “a true gem with great future”

British-born financier and a member of Rothschild family, Nathaniel Rothschild said his recent visit to Sri Lanka was to explore the country’s suitability as a manufacturing location for electronics, while calling the island nation “a true gem with a great future.”

National inflation decelerates to 4.6% on base effect

Sri Lanka’s countrywide headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year (YoY) change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) decreased to 4.6 percent in December 2020 from 5.2 percent in November 2020.

EPF members get 9% return in 2020

The members of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) have received approximately 9.0 percent return on their balances in 2020 after receiving 9.5 percent in 2019, as the Central Bank vowed to maintain an attractive return for the incumbent year as well.

Cinnamon Bentota Beach welcomes first group of tourists

Cinnamon Bentota Beach, a property of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, welcomed guests yesterday, becoming the first hotel in Sri Lanka to welcome a group of tourists, with the opening of the Bandaranaike International Airport.

First Capital to raise up to Rs.2bn via listed debt issue

First Capital Holdings PLC yesterday revealed plans to raise up to Rs.2 billion via a listed debt issue.

Tourism sector ready to get back on track

Sri Lanka yesterday reopened its doors to international travellers for the first time since the pandemic struck, and the tourism sector is hopeful that with the kick start, it will be able to make a double-digit percentage contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP) in the near future.

Nat Rothschild calls Sri Lanka “a true gem with a great future”

British-born financier and a member of Rothschild family, Nathaniel Rothschild said his recent visit to Sri Lanka was to explore the country’s suitability as a manufacturing location for electronics, while calling the island nation “a true gem with a great future.”

Special Economic Zones and prospects for Sri Lanka

The motivation for Special Economic Zones, also commonly referred to as SEZs, stems from an innovative idea: to overcome distortions in policy and infrastructure constraints in domestic economies.

Merchandise exports flirt with US $ 10bn surpassing target

Sri Lanka has recorded an income of US $ 9.9 billion from merchandise exports in 2020, surpassing the US $ 9.5 billion new target set in the middle of the year, after the pandemic crippled trade flows, forcing the authorities to revise down the US $ 13.5 billion target set at the beginning of the year.

Vehicle registrations slightly recover in December

Sri Lanka’s vehicle registrations recorded a slight recovery in December 2020, compared to the previous month, as the Motor Traffic Department reopened in the month, following its closure in November, with the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.

CB asks banks not to declare dividends till annual accounts are audited for 2020

The latest in a string of measures by the Monetary Board to ensure that the banks operate with adequate liquidity and capital, the Central Bank (CB) this week issued fresh guidelines suspending any cash dividend payouts or profit repatriations for 2020, until the annual accounts are finalised and audited.

Labour Ministry wants relaxed health guidelines to expedite repatriation of migrant workers

The Labour Ministry wants the Health Ministry to consider relaxing certain health guidelines to expedite the repatriation of Sri Lankan migrant workers living abroad.

Foreign reserves improve to US $ 5.7bn in Dec.

Sri Lanka’s foreign reserve buffers have improved by US $ 200 million during December to end the year with a total reserve position of US $ 5.7 billion, a safe level compared to all the headwinds during 2020.

Revenue from corporate income tax rises in 2020 defying claims to the contrary

Despite the endless attempts to portray that the government was losing money from the income tax cut granted at the beginning of 2020, the government collected significantly more tax income from corporate income taxes in 2020, reinforcing the fact that the lower tax rates generate more income to the government than claimed otherwise.

SL presents unique contrarian opportunity for global investors, says CAM

Sri Lanka presents a unique contrarian investment opportunity for global investors to diversify their risk exposure this year, despite the rating downgrades by global credit rating agencies, which were based on their standard financial models, according to the latest Economic and Market Outlook report of the Colombo-based Ceylon Asset Management (CAM).

Dovish Central Bank introduces small biz lending targets

While deciding to keep policy rates unchanged at the maiden policy meeting held for this year on Monday, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank yesterday announced the introduction of lending targets for small business to accelerate the money flow into the productive economy.

Sri Lanka ends 2020 with record workers’ remittance income

Sri Lanka ended 2020 with a record high income from migrant workers in four years, with December marking the highest income ever earned in a month, amid early forecasts of significant decline in such earnings.

Govt. to amend three Acts relating to money laundering and terrorism financing

The Cabinet nod has been granted to amend the Financial Transactions Reporting Act No. 06 of 2006, Prevention of Money Laundering Act No. 05 of 2006, and Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act No. 25 of 2005.

Pandemic causes 25% of local startups to collapse

The COVID-19 pandemic that slowed down the national economy largely due to lockdown related disruptions has left a significant negative impact on the country’s startup segment with over 25 percent of the upcoming entrepreneurs pushed to close down their ventures.

January-November FDI rises to US$ 550mn

The foreign direct investments (FDI) into Sri Lanka increased to US$ 548 million in January through November, from US$ 345 million end-June in 2020, but not enough to meet the revised US$ 750 million target set for this year.

Cabinet nod to extend tariff relief to Mongolia under APTA

The Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal to extend tariff relief to Mongolia under the Asia-Pacific Trade Accord (APTA) and to conduct negotiations with the country to identify tariff concessions that could be mutually agreed upon by both parties.

Central Bank denies any talks with IMF on financial assistance

Denying any negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) or any type of bailout packages, Central Bank Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman yesterday said Sri Lanka would prefer to deal with its foreign exchange related challenges in-house and expects a relatively successful outcome of the chosen policy.

CB says swap facility from China could be two weeks away while India’s in progress

A US$ 1.5 billion fresh currency swap arrangement that is being worked out with the People’s Bank of China (PBC) could be just two weeks away from finalising, while another swap with India for US$ 300 million is awaiting India’s Finance Ministry nod, a top Central Bank official said.

Sri Lanka’s economy hemmed in by COVID-19 and geopolitical tensions

The unprecedented disruptions of COVID-19 are causing a geopolitical reset — and as the global order is redrawn, small emerging market economies like Sri Lanka are vulnerable to the fallout. Sri Lanka straddles vital shipping routes and is at the centre of diplomatic spats between China and the United States, who called on Sri Lanka to make ‘difficult but necessary choices’ over its growing economic and political ties to China.