Outrage in Germany as Adidas, H&M stop rent payments

Global retailers including Adidas and H&M sparked outrage in Germany yesterday after announcing they planned to stop paying rent on stores that have been forced to close over the coronavirus outbreak.

January-February merchandise export earnings down 3.6%

Sri Lanka’s merchandise export earnings for the months of January and February was US$ 1.93 billion, a 3.6 percent decline from the same period last year, according to an Export Development Board (EDB) statement relea

Govt. requests BOI firms to pay March and April salaries of workers

The government has requested all Board of Investment (BOI) companies to pay the March and April salaries of their employees despite measures taken to shut down some idling factories and send their workers who were stranded since curfew was imposed, home. The government and the BOI later this week decided to temporarily close down the idling factories of the zones, whose businesses had been totally disrupted but permitted others to continue to en

Asian markets mostly up, dollar sinks on stimulus pledges

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian equities mostly rose and the dollar extended losses yesterday, with traders buoyed by government and central bank pledges to prop up the global economy as the coronavirus sends countries into lockdown. Despite the painful toll the disease is in

MAS Holdings chief says crisis of this magnitude not seen in lifetime

MAS Holdings Chairman Mahesh Amalean in a Twitter message yesterday stressed the seriousness of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on Sri Lanka’s as well as the global economy. “In my lifetime, I have never experienced a crisis of this magnitude that has impacted the lives of so many people around the world and is disrupting the world’s economy. “We must stand together as organizations, countries and a global community that is facing a common cri

Plantations and agri sectors gather steam to meet food demand

The plantation and agriculture sectors are gathering steam to ensure the country’s demand for food is fulfilled at a time when almost the entire world is in a lockdown, an effort that would continue with th

Pelwatte Dairy ensures continuous milk collection from dairy farmers

Local dairy milk processor, Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd., while being highly concerned of the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the country, has ensured that they would continue to collect milk from local dairy farmers. The firm has made this pledge taking into consideration that the livelihoods of the dairy farmers should not get affected despite the pandemic faced across the globe. “One of our main concerns as a local milk processor is that we

Minor Int’l consolidates Anantara and Avani Kalutara to trim costs

Minor International Company Limited (MINT), a multinational hospitality player that has operations in Sri Lanka, announced that its properties, Anantara Kalutara and Avani Kalutara, have been temporarily consolidated into a single operation, to reduce cost.

French fashion labels Saint Laurent, Balenciaga to make coronavirus face masks

(Paris) REUTERS: High-end fashion labels Saint Laurent and Balenciaga will start making face masks to ease shortages during the coronavirus crisis, their French parent group Kering said recently. Dwindling stocks of protective gear across France have angered doctors and prompted police unions to threaten to walk off the job - complaints echoed in Spain and Italy.

Shutdowns need not be curfews

On March 12, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the new coronavirus, COVID-19, to be a pandemic. With cases in Sri Lanka reaching over a 100, the government of Sri Lanka has taken several measures to prevent the spread of this disease. One such measure was enforcing an islandwide curfew.

Surely, your customer data hasn’t caught the virus?

Lockdowns, curfews and the call for self-isolation have all challenged those traders in essential goods, who have to get their product to the consumer through this maze of new regulations and restrictions.

India’s huge outsourcing industry struggles with work-from-home scenario

As the coronavirus pandemic pushes India into a lockdown, the call centres and IT services firms that function as the world’s back office are struggling to piece together work-from-home solutions and other business-continuity plans.

Fitch revises SL’s banking sector outlook to Negative on coronavirus

Fitch Ratings yesterday revised Sri Lanka’s banking sector outlook for 2020 to ‘Negative’ from ‘Stable’ amid coronavirus pandemic posing increased risks to the anticipated expansion in the economy and credit demand, which according to rating agency, would adversely affect the performance of the banks.

Cabraal to unfold ‘way forward’ strategy post COVID-19

Sri Lanka has to prepare for post COVID-19 era, where the way global economy works would change, former Central Bank Governor and current Senior Advisor on Economic Affairs to the Prime Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal said.

Tourism authorities say arrangements in place for tourists to get back home

Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities yesterday said arrangements are in place for international tourists to get to their home countries, and charter flights will be allowed to fly them out on request.

Sri Lanka likely to qualify for bilateral debt relief

Sri Lanka is likely to qualify for bi-lateral debt relief as the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday in a statement to the G20 called on official creditors to suspend debt repayment from IDA countries to help them fight COVID-19.

Emirates ground crews give emotional send-off to last flights

Emirates ground crews around the world have bid farewell to their last operating flights back to Dubai. EK 005 to London Heathrow, which departed at 1605hrs on March 24 was the last flight to take off from Dubai. EK 262 from Sao Paulo, which landed at 2235hrs (local time) was the last flight to arrive on March 25 into Dubai.

Hutch offers subscribers Rs.15 free relief reload to help mitigate COVID-19

Keeping true to its long devotion to the best interests of its customers, Hutch yesterday introduced another key initiative ensuring continuity and access to telecommunication services at a time when the country is grappling with the COVID-19 crisis.

Hemas FMCG donates goods to Sri Lanka Army to fight against COVID-19

Supporting the nation that is using every means to combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) among citizens, Hemas FMCG donated a large quantity of personal care items to the Sri Lanka Army, recently.

Abans donates to hospitals across island

Many responsible citizens have been joining in to support the efforts of the government to fight COVID-19 and the Abans group too has lent a hand.

Ceylon Chamber completes 181 years of serving the nation

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce completed 181 years of serving the private sector and contributing to the national economy, on March 25, 2020.

BOI factories closed until further notice excluding medical equipment makers

Govt. urged to allow export industries to operate uninterruptedly

Rubber industry calls for govt. assistance

The rubber exporters call the government to make it an essential service as the sector provides its products to the medical industry and agriculture sector.

National inflation surges in February as food prices spike

The headline inflation measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose by a sharp 8.1 percent in the 12 months to February 2020, from 7.6 percent in January, as the food prices spiked and the base effects kicked in.

Ride-hailing industry takes plunge putting gig workers’ livelihood at great peril

Sri Lanka’s sprawling ride-hailing industry dominated by PickMe and Uber fell victim to what appears to be a protracting coronavirus pandemic, throwing thousands of gig workers in the industry into hot water.

HSBC Sri Lanka offers relief to Personal and Corporate customers

HSBC, the largest international bank in Sri Lanka, is offering a range of relief measures for its personal and corporate customers given the challenges presented by the ongoing novel-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Apparel sector leads in mass scale insurance for employees and their families

At a time when calamity strikes us, when every one of us in the whole wide world (www) are caught off guard how many of us – citizens, would have some kind of financial support to meet this sort of unexpected crisis situation.

Stock market to be closed till March 27

In view of the extension of the ongoing curfew in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Puttalam, the Colombo Stock Exchange has declared the period from March 25 to 27, 2020, as market holidays. Accordingly, the market will be closed from March 25 to 27, 2020.

No scarcity of essential items

The government has notified the public not to unnecessarily stock goods during the period the curfew is lifted, as there are ample stocks available in the market. Picture shows essential food items being unloaded at Sathosa outlets in Gampaha yesterday. Pic by Kushan S. Pathiraja