Gem & jewellery industry says post-COVID revival could depend on sapphire trade narrative

As coronavirus exacerbated the setbacks already faced by Sri Lanka’s gem & jewellery industry, required is a renewed narrative on the sapphire trade, capitalising on the country’s ethical mining practices, for the industry to think of any revival in the post-COVID landscape.

Fitch recalibrates Sri Lanka national rating scale

Fitch Ratings has recalibrated its Sri Lanka national rating scale to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Sri Lankan issuers following Fitch’s downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating to ‘B-’ from ‘B’ on 24 April 2020.

Kotagala Plantations downgraded to ‘RD (lka)’ on payment default

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Kotagala Plantations PLC’s (Kotagala) National Long-Term Rating to ‘RD(lka)’ (Restricted Default) from ‘CC(lka)’.

Lion Brewery resumes exports after two-month hiatus

Sri Lanka’s largest exporter of alcoholic beverages, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC was compelled to halt production and dispatch for nearly two months due to the curfew following the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Asian markets cheered by reopening moves, Hong Kong limits losses

Optimism over the reopening of major economies across the planet continued to push equities higher yesterday, as investors looked past building China-US tensions for now, though there remain worries about the uncertain global outlook.

Pathfinder suggests priorities for Sri Lanka’s post-COVID economic recovery

The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) recently presented a report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Special Envoy of President and Chairman of Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation Basil Rajapaksa, containing a set of action-oriented recommendations from an eminent persons study group, aimed at steering Sri Lanka into a post-COVID-19 era of economic recovery.

Suggested revival plan for Sri Lanka’s economy in post-COVID-19 era

COVID-19 has battered the world with its viral and deadly impact, with millions of people being affected and hundreds of thousands dying. At the same time, the virus and its aftermath has wrecked the economies of almost all countries and is now leaving a devastating trail of bankruptcies, livelihood losses, evaporation of savings, debt defaults, economic and corporate collapses and hopelessness.

Stock markets mixed as China-US tensions return to fore

Equities were mixed yesterday as profit-taking and worries about deteriorating China-US relations were weighed against optimism over the gradual reopening of economies around the world.

Demand for small and medium enterprise loans heats up

As businesses across the country are suffering from the economic and financial fallout from the global pandemic, which is expected to continue beyond 2020, the demand for loans by the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is heating up, a top official of the state-owned People’s Bank said.

Sunshine Group ups stake in consumer biz; delivers strong profits for FY20

Fuelled by the strong growth in its healthcare sector, diversified Sri Lankan conglomerate Sunshine Holdings PLC reported a notable growth in the bottom line performances during the year ended March 31, 2020 (FY19/20).

WTO’s Goods Trade Barometer sinks to red zone

The sharp contraction in global trade witnessed over the last few months has resulted in the Goods Trade Barometer of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to sink to the red zone and shows no signs of the decline bottoming out in the near future.

Seylan Bank’s degrowth in loans weighs on March performance

Seylan Bank PLC had turned cautious during the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (1Q20), amid the challenges expected a year ahead, as the bank reported a modest operating performance with a negative growth in new loans, the interim financial accounts released by the bank showed.

People’s Bank offers special COVID-19 loans up to Rs.20mn to CA Sri Lanka members

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with People’s Bank this week to facilitate the members of the institute to obtain a special loan of up to Rs.20 million.

apparel exporters jittery over possible bankruptcy of Victoria’s Secret

A potential bankruptcy filing by the US-based premium lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret (VS), which accounts for around 20 percent of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports, is threatening the country’s overall apparel export performance and the bottom lines of top apparel exporters.

Advocata recommends tariff removal on sanitary napkins this Menstrual Hygiene Day

Colombo-based free market think tank Advocata yesterday recommended the government to remove the tax levied on women’s menstrual hygiene products, on the Menstrual Hygiene Day, which falls today.

Legal dimensions of employer-employee relationship in the new normal

Along with the massive shock, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought in a series of uncertainties, particularly with regards to employment. With strict limitations being enforced on people’s movement by way of a two-month-long curfew to constraint the virus from spreading, the government called on the public and private sector to work from home to keep the ball rolling.

New face of hunger: Building a resilient food system in Sri Lanka in an age of pandemic

COVID-19 is dealing an unprecedented blow to economies around the globe and the health risk is only the tip of the iceberg. Among the many impending crises resulting from the pandemic, rising food insecurity, due to the lockdown measures, is one of the most critical.

EDB urges govt. to make exports national priority

As Sri Lanka looks to steer though the pandemic with lowest impact possible, the Export Development Board (EDB) called on the government to create a more enabling policy environment and place exports as a national priority.

CTC says Sri Lanka most expensive country for legal cigarettes

Sri Lanka has emerged as the most expensive country for legal cigarettes in 2019, based on purchasing power parity (PPP), causing a 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline in the tobacco market share of the country’s monopoly cigarette player, Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC), as price sensitive smokers shifted towards cheaper tobacco products such as beedi and smuggled cigarettes, according to CTC’s 2019 annual report.

Pepper prices record sharp drop as harvest season arrives

Sri Lanka’s pepper prices have sharply dropped from US$ 4,000 to US$ 3,000 per tonne with the beginning of the harvest season despite the ban on pepper imports into the country.

No revision to tea export target despite COVID-19 crisis

The Ceylon Tea export target for 2020 will not be revised despite the COVID-19 crisis having hit the global economy, and the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) said it is confident that the industry stakeholders would step up efforts, specially in value addition, to fulfill the earnings target for this year.

Kudabalage takes over as new Group MD/CEO at Laugfs

Laugfs Gas PLC has appointed Piyadasa Kudabalage as the Group Managing Director/Group CEO with effect from May 25, 2020 as a part of a group management succession plan, the company revealed filing a disclosure in the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday.

Keells shelves plan to double number of stores

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC has shelved an ambitious plan to double the number of Keells supermarkets in two years in the wake of coronavirus induced business disruptions and the financial pain it inflicted on modern retail business with social distancing becoming the new norm.

Equities rally as reopenings trump geopolitical tensions

Further easing of countries’ coronavirus lockdowns pushed equities higher yesterday, with the reopening of bars, cafes, pools and beaches overshadowing China-US tensions that weighed on the dollar.

Overseas Realty majority owner opposes dividend payout

Probably in a first in the history of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the controlling shareholder of a listed company plans to vote against an already declared dividend payment by the firm’s board of directors, at the upcoming AGM.

CSE extends trading hours from today

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday said trading hours would be extended to 2:30 p.m., with effect from today, with pre-open sessions from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and open auction starting from 11:00 a.m.

SLT board decides to restructure subsidiaries and ride-hailing venture

National telecommunications services provider, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT), has decided to restructure two of its subsidiaries and its ride-hailing venture, SLT muve, after evaluating the past performances and considering the opportunities and challenges in the post-COVID-19 environment,

Ceylinco Life pays Rs.2.87bn in claims and benefits to policyholders in 1Q

Ceylinco Life has announced the payment of Rs.2.87 billion in gross benefits and claims to policyholders in the three months ending March 31, 2020, an increase of 17.7 percent over the first quarter of 2019.

Asia stocks up as lockdowns eased, Hong Kong reverses early loss

Most Asian markets rose yesterday as a further opening up of economies from lockdown offset worries over worsening China-US tensions, while Hong Kong traders stayed cautious following weekend protests over a controversial proposed security law.

Tourism business weighs on Aitken Spence March performance

The well-diversified nature helped Aitken Spence PLC to weather two back-to-back crises within one financial year but its leisure sector tilt still had a bearing on the group’s performance, as its tourism business weighed on the group’s revenues and profits.