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

‘Market Halts’ imposed to avert extreme price declines: CSE

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday said market halts are a well-coordinated, pre-defined measure to mitigate the sudden effects of an extreme price decline, in the best interest of capital market investors.

Exporters perturbed by sudden hike in airfreight charges; seek redress from government

Sri Lanka’s exporters were taken by surprise this month when they were suddenly told that they had to pay double the rates they were paying for airfreight until early March and are now in quandary, waiting for redress from the government.

Migrant worker exodus from Thailand over virus lockdown

Tens of thousands of migrant labourers from Laos and Myanmar flooded bus stations and border crossings in Thailand yesterday, defying requests to stay put to prevent exporting infections of the deadly coronavirus.

IRD extends deadline for submission of Transfer Pricing Disclosure Form to April 30

Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) extended the deadline for the submission of 2018/2019 Transfer Pricing Disclosure Form (TPDF), from March 31 to April 30, in light of the prevailing situation in the country.

Sri Lanka likely to record negative economic growth this year

Sri Lanka’s economy is not spared by the massive shocks delivered by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and due to the current multifaceted vulnerabilities, the country is likely to witness negative growth.

Apparel industry hit by cancellation of orders: JAAF

Sri Lanka’s largest export revenue earner, the apparel industry, is bracing for a massive blow amid increased order cancellations as coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is crippling the economies of its key buyers.

Trico, SIB tie-up launches Marine Risk Insurance portal

Trico Logistics Limited (TLL), partnering with Strategic Insurance Brokers (SIB), recently announced the launch of a Marine Risk Insurance portal (tricologi.net) for all TLL customers who hail from a wide-ranging international client base. TLL will be the platform provider for the online solutions.

Hutch encourages govt.’s Work from Home special initiative

The government has recognized the importance of isolating the population to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus by driving Work from Home initiatives.

SriLankan brings home 829 stranded pilgrims from India

As initiated and facilitated by the Government of Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines, brought back 829 Sri Lankans who were stranded in India.

Headstart opens up access to Guru.lk to combat schools lockdown

Sri Lanka’s largest digital learning content platform Guru.lk has announced it is offering access to its vast resource of digitised material to schools and private tuition institutes whose regular classes have been suspended to retard the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Ceylon Chamber webinar on COVID-19 outlines key takeaways

In line with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’s initiative to tackle how the new coronavirus affects industries and businessmen, the Ceylon Chamber hosted an interactive webinar on ‘COVID-19: Are We Prepared?’ for its member organisations.

Health Promotion Bureau(HPB) launches its Viber Community for all the latest verified Covid-19 updates

Join Viber Community now and get all the genuine news related to Covid-19 in Sri Lanka

Dialog services/offers in response to COVID-19

Dialog’s e-Working, e-Learning and e-Health Solutions to empower Sri Lankans during COVID

People first, economy next, says top economist

As Sri Lanka is witnessing its economy coming to an almost stagnant state due to the unavoidable measures taken by the government to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, a leading economist in the country stressed the priorities of the political leadership should be ensuring the best for the people over all other things.

Central Bank introduces urgent measures to ease pressure on exchange rate, prevent market panic

The Central Bank yesterday introduced urgent measures to ease pressure on exchange rate and prevent financial market panic due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three key measures included: 1) the suspension of importation of all types of motor vehicles other than those excluded specifically under Banking Act Directions No.01 of 2020,

COSMI welcomes President’s initiative

Sri Lanka’s Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Industries (COSMI) yesterday welcomed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s initiative to remove taxes on face masks and suspend the recovery of loans to businesses and SMEs by banks in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country.

CSE to remain closed during all govt. announced holidays

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday said the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) may remain closed during all public holidays announced by the government.

ADB announces US$ 6.5bn initial response to COVID-19 pandemic

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday announced a US$ 6.5 billion initial package to address the immediate needs of its developing member countries (DMCs) as they respond to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

WB approves additional US$ 2bn to its package to counter COVID-19

The World Bank has increased the fast-track financing package by US$2 billion to US$14 billion, to assist companies and countries in their efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Chambers write to President with recommendations to govt.’s COVID-19 action plan

Sri Lanka’s business chambers and industries led by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday expressed their fullest support to the government to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Academic bats for social commerce over e-commerce as most Lankans loiter on social media

As the Central Bank aims for a less-cash society, an academic made a strong case for social media commerce over e-commerce, which is losing fashion, to get more people hooked up to buy stuff using social media platforms as they tend to scroll social media sites from the moment they wake up till they go to bed.

Continuing COVID-19 challenges with unclear ending

It is now nearly three months since China reported the case of a deadly new virus to the World. Since then new cases of the coronavirus are being reported daily around the world. This virus, is known as SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19 disease.China has since the outbreak experienced a deep social health related challenge, with more than 126,000 cases and more than 4600 deaths.