ASEAN seeks conclusion of China-led trade deal this year: Thai PM

BANGKOK (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand’s Prime Minister said yesterday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world’s biggest commercial deal. Beijing is seeking to shape the

Malik backs repealing of ‘Expropriation Act’

The Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama has welcomed the Parliamentary approval received on Thursday to repeal the ‘Revival of Underperforming Enterprises or Underutilized Assets Act No. 43 of 2011’.

SLTPB says its digital strategy rewarding

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is said to be currently evaluating the impact of its digital campaign launched in the UK and France recently. The evaluation data will be used in fine tuning the digital campaign before its scheduled launch in Germany, India and China in the next few weeks. This digital campaign is aimed at attracting targ

Oil flat after rallying on US-Iran tensions, Asia markets retreat

HONG KONG (AFP) - Oil prices stabilised yesterday following the previous day’s surge fuelled by tensions between the United States and Iran, while Asian equities turned negative as investors took their foot off the pedal following a recent rally.

Gold glistens as US-Iran worries fuel flight to safety

LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices struck near six-year highs yesterday as a weaker dollar and escalating US-Iran tensions fuelled a flight to haven assets, while oil futures built on strong gains.

Stocks extend fall to hit over 1-week low; rupee steady

REUTERS - Sri Lankan shares fell for the second straight session yesterday to hit a more than one-week low, due to continued foreign fund outflows, while the rupee ended steady as dollar demand from importers offset exporters’

Moody’s paints gloomy outlook for economy following Easter attacks

Moody’s Investors Service said the economic fallout from the Easter attacks runs deeper than portrayed, as the April 21 carnage has sent tremors across multiple key sectors from fiscal to the external sector, prompting the rating agency to slash its growth projections for the Sri Lankan economy.

Slowdown in motorcar registrations continues in May

Registrations of motorcars and three wheelers continued to slide in May as people struggled to come to terms with the deadly blow delivered by the Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, that killed many and left the economy paralyzed.

Kuliyapitiya vehicle assembly plant’s investor given deadline

The investor of the Western Automobile vehicle assembly project in Kuliyapitiya is said to be given a deadline of two months to set up the proposed vehicle assembly plant. This was re

Tea factory owners seek financial relief from govt.

Amidst dwindling tea yields, high interest rates and declining tea prices, Sri Lanka’s tea industry is seeking a financial relief package for over 100 tea factories that are on verge of collapse. Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association (SLTFOA) members this Monday met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and raised the issues faced by the tea factories and requested financial relief.

HNB sues Aussie firm for breach of contract

Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) has instituted legal proceedings against Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Australia Pty Limited (WKFS) seeking recovery of approximately US $ 500,000, which the bank had paid to the said company for the implementation and commissioning of an automated financial software. HNB has also prayed for relief from courts in the form of damages valued at US $ 2.82 million or the equivalent Sri Lankan rupees.

Economy grows 3.7% in 1Q; but unlikely to maintain momentum for remainder of the year

Strong recovery in agriculture amid favourable weather gave a boost to the reeling economy in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19), as the economic growth for the three months was recorded at 3.7 percent from a year earlier—the highest rate nearly in a year. According to the data released by the

Banking sector asset quality plunges in 1Q

Sri Lanka’s banking sector asset quality took a plunge in the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (1Q19) from end-December 2018, while the deterioration was sharper when compared with the corresponding three months of the previous year.

Mobitel acquires majority stake in security solutions firm

Mobitel, the mobile telephony business unit of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, yesterday announced the acquisition of M3Force (Pvt.) Ltd, by taking the majority stake in the security solutions company.

Central Bank lays out plan for sustainable finance

The Central Bank (CB) mulls setting up a joint committee consisting of the regulatory and non-regulatory stakeholders of the financial industry to ensure the full implementation of the recently launched Roadmap for Sustainable Finance in Sri Lanka by 2030.

Govt. to borrow fresh Rs.480bn to repay debt

The government will borrow up to Rs.480 billion more this year from both local and foreign sources, under the Active Liability Management Act (ALMA), for future debt repayments between 2020 and 2029.

India’s L&T bags Lanka water project

Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro (L&T) yesterday said it has won a contract for a water supply project in Sri Lanka.

Govt. expands tourism industry relief package

The government has expanded the relief package announced for the tourism sector hit by the Easter Sunday attacks.

Stocks at more than 6-week high on foreign buying; rupee gains

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares closed at a more than six-week high yesterday, boosted by foreign inflows into equities, while the rupee ended slightly firmer on dollar sales by exporters.

Regional rivalries over Sri Lanka’s ports

When it comes to Sri Lanka’s national security and sovereignty, nothing seems more guaranteed to generate heated discussion than the spectre of foreign involvement in seaport developments. After years of wrangling, Sri Lanka, India and Japan finally signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on May 28, 2019, to develop the strategically-located Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal (ECT). But the ink was barely dry when disputes broke out again about th

Paving the way for economic and tourism revival

Sri Lanka’s peace dividend that was taken for granted didn’t last long. As the country geared up to celebrate a decade since the end of the 30-year ethnic war came the Easter attacks that shook the nation.

April trade gap narrows amid decline in imports

Sri Lanka’s trade balance in April contracted to US $ 797 million from US $ 999 million a year ago, as import expenditure fell for the sixth consecutive month and export income increased marginally.

Advocata hails govt.’s decision to shut down Lanka Salu Sala

Advocata Institute yesterday commended President Maithripala Sirisena’s directive to shut down the loss-making State-owned handloom enterprise Lanka Salu Sala.

5G roll out set to attract more tech investments to Sri Lanka: IFS

Sri Lanka will draw more tech firms to the country with the roll out of 5G technology, which would enhance the value proposition of the country as an emerging IT Hub, Sweden-based leading enterprise softw

Economy in 1Q picks up to 3.5%: Mangala

(Colombo) REUTERS: Growth in Sri Lanka’s economy picked up to 3.5 percent in the first quarter from 1.8 percent in the previous three-month period, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday.

Fitch rates Siyapatha Finance’s sub debt

Fitch Ratings has assigned Siyapatha Finance PLC’s proposed subordinated unsecured debentures an expected national long-term rating of ‘BBB+(lka)(EXP)’,one notch below Siyapatha’s national long-term rating.

ICRA Lanka revises Hayleys rating

ICRA Lanka has revised down the issuer rating of Hayleys PLC to (SL)A+ with Stable outlook from (SL)AA- with Negative outlook over the firm’s non improvement of financial performance and high level of gearing.

Now or never: Citizens wake up

It is just fascinating to watch what is happening in Hong Kong now. Millions of Hongkongers have taken to streets to protest against a controversial piece of legislation that will allow extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China.

Toward post-terror stability in Sri Lanka

A few weeks ago, a security expert, who has studied the so-called Islamic State (IS), rightly said to this author, “Your country was ‘staged’.”

Mirror Biz Toon