Credit Suisse announces US$1 bn 2020 share buyback programme

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse said yesterday it expects to buy back at least 1 billion Swiss francs (US$ 1.03 billion) worth of shares until the end of 2020, subject to market and economic conditions, after completing a similar programme last year. In 2019, Credit Suisse repurchased nearly 80 million shares on a second trading line on SIX Swiss Exchange for a total of just over 1 billion francs at an average purchase price per share of 12.53 f

Taser maker Axon sues U.S. Federal Trade Commission amid antitrust probe

REUTERS - Axon Enterprise Inc yesterday sued the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in a bid to have potential antitrust litigation heard in a federal district court and not in an internal FTC process that it alleges is biased toward regulators. Axon, the manufacturer of Taser stun guns and body camera systems for police departments, has been the target of FTC scrutiny since 2018, when the regulator requested information from the Arizona-based compan

Govt. says ready to service record Rs.2tn debt due this year

The new government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is prepared to meet the record Rs.2 trillion debt service obligations including Rs.1.1 trillion worth of foreign debt service obligation for this year.

Over 50,000 businesses VAT-freed from January 1

Marking probably the biggest tax overhaul in the history, nearly 54,000 businesses have been freed from the Value Added Tax (VAT) payment requirement with effect from January 01, 2020 as the concessions announced in late November are slowly taking root.

Singapore economy grew just 0.7% in 2019

(Singapore) AFP: Singapore’s economy, a closely watched barometer for the rest of Asia’s export-driven countries, grew just 0.7 percent last year as the US-China trade war hammered global markets.

New EDB Chairman meets leading exporters

Export Development Board Chairman/Chief Executive, Prabhash Subasinghe met with the country’s leading exporters yesterday at the EDB premises.

CB to present financial and monetary sector road map for 2020 on Monday

The Central Bank will announce ‘The Road Map: Monetary and Financial Sector Policies for 2020’ and Beyond’ on January 6.

The Finance floats EOI seeking Rs.25bn capital injection

Troubled The Finance Company PLC (TFC) in a newspaper advertisement yesterday had indicated that it requires a minimum equity investment of Rs.25 billion to stay afloat amid moves by the Central Bank to liquidate the firm.

Dialog’s Nushad Perera appointed Lanka Sathosa Chairman

Top marketing professional Nushad Perera has been appointed as the Chairman of Lanka Sathosa, the country’s largest State-run retail chain.

Jayantha Dharmadasa to assume duties as Film Corp. Chairman

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa will assume duties as the Chairman of National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka today.

Stocks down on first trading day in 2020

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) closed the first day of trading in 2020 on a negative note with both indices losing ground.

Survey reveals 57% of Lankans unwilling to pay higher food bill to protect local industry

A survey commissioned by the Advocata Institute in April 2019 had revealed that 57 percent of Sri Lankans were unwilling to pay extra for food, even if it meant to protect the local agricultural industry.

Asian markets lifted by China support and trade optimism

(Hong Kong) AFP: Asian markets started the new decade on the front foot, with most rallying out of the blocks yesterday on lingering trade optimism, while China’s central bank announced fresh stimulus for the country’s stuttering economy.

Is non-state, not-for-profit universities solution to SL’s shortage of IT professionals?

Sri Lanka is well known for its tea, gems and spices and over the years, the island nation has undergone a shift, making it popular for its services, where the local expertise in the IT space is much sought after.

Vignarajah writes to President on uplifting motherland

Following is an open letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by minority shareholder activist K.C. Vignarajah.

A new direction for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s much anticipated presidential election in November 2019 was won convincingly by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Apparel industry eyes 6% export growth in 2020

Sri Lanka’s apparel industry targets a 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in exports for this year, moving ahead with plans to set up a 200-acre fabric park with foreign investments in collaboration with the Board of Investment (BOI) in the Eastern province, eyeing to attract large-scale orders by reducing lead times with locally-sourced fabrics.

Laugfs Rubber unveils largest tyre manufactured in Sri Lanka

Laugfs Corporation (Rubber) Ltd (Laugfs Rubber) recently unveiled the latest addition to its product portfolio with its Super Solid Loader Grip Tyre, the largest tyre to be manufactured in Sri Lanka.

Keshala Jayawardana appointed as new NSB Chairperson

Keshala Jayawardana will assume duties as the new Chairperson of National Savings Bank (NSB) today.

Treasury Secretary advises officials to go beyond traditions to serve public

Sri Lanka’s taxpayer-funded state sector employees must go beyond traditional norms to serve the public, instead of idling and procrastinating to implement the government policies, Treasury and Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle stressed.

Airbus beats goal with 863 jet deliveries in 2019, ousts Boeing from top spot

(Paris) REUTERS: Airbus has become the world’s largest planemaker for the first time since 2011 after delivering a forecast-beating 863 aircraft in 2019, seizing the crown from embattled U.S. rival Boeing, airport and tracking sources said yesterday.

China to cut reserve requirement for banks as economy slows

(Beijing) AFP: China’s central bank announced yesterday it was cutting the reserve requirements for banks, freeing up about US $ 114 billion to boost lending and spur the slowing economy.

Japan media blasts ‘cowardly’ Ghosn after escape

(Tokyo) AFP: The usually staid Japanese media lambasted the “cowardly” Carlos Ghosn yesterday, after the tycoon jumped bail and fled to Lebanon to avoid trial in Japan.

Government bans ethanol imports

The government yesterday announced a ban on ethanol imports to the country with immediate effect.

UK’s Lloyds Banking Group reports disruption to online services

(London) REUTERS: Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group suffered an outage yesterday that left customers of its Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland operations unable to access their accounts online.

Now is the time to invest in South Asia’s future

A few years ago, Binita Biswokarma’s life took a sharp turn for the worse.

CICT ends 2019 with 2.9mn TEUs; 40% of Colombo Port’s volume

The Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) announced that it handled a total of 2.9 million TEUs in 2019, achieving an 8.6 percent increase in its throughput, accounting for 40 percent of the volume of the Port of Colombo in the 12 months ending 31st December 2019.

Bourse concludes 2019 on mixed note

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) concluded 2019, which was marked by political and economic uncertainty, on a mixed note yesterday with the benchmark index gaining ground for the year but with foreigners as net sellers.

Significant unutilized labour potential in SL’s economically inactive group: survey

Sri Lanka had estimated over 200,000 unutilised labour potential in economically inactive group,that showed ‘some interest’ in employment in 2018, according to Department of Census and Statistics (DCS).

Inflation shoots up in Dec. on higher food prices

Inflation measured by Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) surged to 4.8 percent in the 12 months to December from 4.4 percent in November amid sharp rise in food prices, the data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), showed. The index number grew from 131.7 in November to 132.4 in December.