French car market plummets 88.8 % in April

New car sales in France plunged 88.8 percent in April as the country’s coronavirus lockdown brought auto sales to a screeching halt, industry figures showed yesterday.

Confectionary industry under stress due to tax increase on imported palm oil

The recent increase of import taxes on palm oil, the essential fat required by confectioners and bakers in Sri-Lanka, is set to cause significant stress and impose additional burdens to both the manufactures and the consumers of these products.

Japanese stocks drop after Wall Street sell-off

Japanese and Australian stocks tumbled yesterday at the end of a healthy week across world markets, with traders tracking a sell-off on Wall Street as another huge jump in jobless claims underlined the impact of coronavirus on the global economy.

China’s grand e-currency experiment set to begin this month

China has claimed that the country is rolling out its digital currency in four cities starting next week.

April inflation subdued over base effect

Inflation for the month of April was recorded at 5.2 percent, as the prices measured for the 12 months to April was slightly lower than the 5.4 percent recorded in March as higher base prevailed a year ago took effect resulting in somewhat muted prices in an otherwise hotter month for prices due to seasonal demand.

Stock market to adopt three-tiered circuit breaker structure; market to close at 10% fall

The capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week the introduction of a ‘three-tiered circuit breaker’ structure, which is to be attached to the S&P SL20 Index when the market reopens after six weeks.

SEC proposes joint committee to make stock market go fully digital

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing to set up a joint committee with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to identify the mechanisms required for the country’s stock market to operate its core functions digitally and enable clearing and settlement activities electronically.

Budget delay could handicap fiscal measures required to soften COVID-19 impact: CB

The Central Bank (CB) has cautioned that the possible delays in presenting the government budget for 2020 would limit the space for implementing new fiscal measures for 2020, which are considered to be crucial to avert the adverse impact stemming from COVID-19 pandemic on fiscal policy and debt sustainability of the country.

Sri Lanka’s e-commerce space set to boom thanks to coronavirus

Sri Lanka’s ecommerce space is set to boom in the coming years, a consumer sector analyst said, as the prolonged curfew that is in place to control the on-going pandemic has led consumers to explore the online experience more aggressively, which otherwise would have taken longer to adapt given the strong offline retail presence.

JKH expects economic fallout from COVID-19 to overshadow first half

Sri Lanka’s largest listed firm, John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) expects the COVID-19 pandemic to overshadow its first and second quarter performances of FY21, but assured that the diversified conglomerate has sufficient cash reserves and banking facilities in place to sustain all its operations even under extreme conditions over next 12 months.

Agripreneurs’ Forum calls for private sector-led approach to transform agriculture sector

Sri Lanka Agripreneurs’ Forum calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s intervention to implement ‘National Agri Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System under a proposed National Steering Committee for agriculture with majority private sector representation to transform the country’s agriculture sector by resolving key growth constraints in the sector.

Italy faces record recession as pandemic bites

The Italian government yesterday announced a slew of new measures to save its struggling economy amid fears the coronavirus pandemic could force a contraction of more than 10 percent of gross domestic product this year.

Monetary easing buffers banks’ funding and liquidity risks despite weaker operating environment: Moody’s

Swift measures by the Central Banks in easing monetary policy will help banks in Sri Lanka to have access to funding requirements and liquidity although the operating context is turning more dour, said Moody’s Investors Service.

Equities, crude surge in Asia on hopes for virus treatment

Equities rallied again yesterday and oil prices built on the previous day’s surge as investors began to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against coronavirus, following news of a possible breakthrough in the search for a treatment.

COVID-19 – An unprecedented crisis and also a tantalising opportunity

Henry Kissinger, in one of his infrequent statements says, “When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, many countries’ institutions will be perceived as having failed.

Automated Machine Learning to reach higher penetration with the turn of new decade

Before any business can make a crucial step forward in the transformation of their digital efforts, a paramount importance is placed on understanding and deriving even more insight from data than ever before.

Restaurants, cafes, eateries, pubs and recreational clubs – Potential strategies and focus areas

At the time of writing this article, we have completed 5 weeks of curfew and lockdown in Sri Lanka due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The overall economy has been impacted due to this pandemic with small businesses being hit the most.

Central Bank calls for new laws to restrict future cross-border transmission of diseases

The Central Bank (CB) says the implementation of a coherent policy framework for surveillance and quarantine is essential to restrict future cross-border transmission of diseases to the country via movements of people and goods, as evidenced by the rapid escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction industry calls on govt. to prioritise sector once normalcy established

In a bid to assist the revival of the construction sector that has been badly hit by the economic woos induced by the coronavirus, the industry has called on the government to prioritise kick starting the construction projects no sooner some normalcy is established and urged the need to restrain the processes that lead to unnecessary delays.

Demand for domestic pharma manufacturing to rise amid forex controls: Fitch

Sri Lanka may recalibrate its sourcing of pharmaceutical drugs as the country seeks to reduce its over-reliance on pharmaceutical imports amid the government-imposed controls to preserve foreign exchange in its battle against COVID-19.

Private hospitals extend their lab services for PCR testing

The Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH) in a statement said it would extend all possible assistance to the national operations programme to control the COVID-19 outbreak, in conducting the much-needed PCR tests, to help control the spread of the virus in Sri Lanka.

Jetwing Symphony begins reskilling staff to welcome future travellers after virus dissipates

As the behaviour of future travellers in the post-COVID-19 era is expected to be different, Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector is preparing to welcome them by retraining its staff, according to a leading resort chain in the country.

March merchandise exports plunge record 42%

Sri Lanka’s merchandise export earnings in March plunged a record 42 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 646 million, with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the country’s key export markets coupled with disruptions to supply chains, according to the Export Development Board (EDB).

Cabraal proposes setting up of Rs.150bn Covid Equity Fund to support battered biz

Former Central Bank Governor and present Senior Economic Advisor to Prime Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal is proposing the setting up of a fund syndicated by a group of investors to provide liquidity support to those companies battered by the mandatory shutdown of businesses, due to the pandemic.

SL seeks US $ 800mn under IMF’s Rapid Financing Facility

According to Moody’s Investors Service, Sri Lanka’s government has sought US $ 800 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the next two years, under the latter’s Rapid Financing Facility, as the government is reorienting its external funding lines towards multilateral and bilateral creditors, since the international capital markets have dried up.

Create, Learn and Relax while you’re learning from home

Wijeya Newspapers partners with Grade5.lk making way for accessible and affordable education online

Grade5.lk, the leading digital platform for grade 5 exam training, signed a long term partnership agreement with Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

CB forecasts economy to grow at 1.5% this year

The Central Bank (CB) expects Sri Lanka’s economic growth to decline to 1.5 percent this year from 2.3 percent in 2019, possibly avoiding a coronavirus-induced recessions, although with severe impacts across sectors causing hardships for all stakeholders.

Local exporter community plead for help

Sri Lanka’s exporter community pleads with the government to lend a hand in support to sustain its workforce, as the sector’s financial position due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis continues to worsen making it difficult for export businesses to handle their payroll expenditure.

Moody’s extends negative outlook on Lankan banking sector on coronavirus stress

The coronavirus-induced economic pain will weaken the operating environment for Sri Lankan banks, dampening the demand for loans and triggering widespread defaults in 2020, said Moody’s Investors Services extending its negative outlook for the sector in to next 12 to 18 months.