ADB forecasts 3.6% growth for Sri Lanka

The Asian Development Bank yesterday made a rather optimistic forecast on Sri Lanka’s economic growth for this year and the next, although the development lender admitted the ongoing scheduled power cuts and freak weather haven’t been factored into the growth numbers. Releasing its flag

Visa on arrival for 39 countries from May 1

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by the Tourism Minister to issue visa on arrival to tourists visiting Sri Lanka from 39 countries. Cabinet has also decided to issue these visas on gratis basis as an incentive to attract tourists. The programme will be a pilot p

SriLankan eyes financial viability by 2024 under new 5-year business plan

National carrier, SriLankan Airlines plans to expand its route network in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, the Far East and Australia and make Sri Lanka a strategic hub for air travel and air cargo in the Asia-Africa-Middle East region under a brand new five-year strategic business plan, which aims to transform the loss-making airline into a financially viable organization by 2024. SriLankan in

UN calls APAC region to invest beyond economic growth

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) yesterday called on the Asia Pacific region to prioritize ambitions beyond economic growth so that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in its entirety, are fulfilled by receiving due emphasis. The UNESCAP asserted that despite the re

Rupee ends weaker; stocks gain for sixth session

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended 0.5 percent weaker yesterday due to importer dollar demand, but greenback inflows from inward remittances ahead of the traditional New Year capped further decline, while stocks jumped 1 percent,

CB seen standing pat, but rate cut not ruled out

(Colombo) REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is expected to leave its key interest rates steady on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, but analysts aren’t ruling out an easing as the rupee steadies and policymakers aim to boost economic growth ahead of elections. The economy took a battering in the

ComBank chief sees NPAs posing challenges to banking sector performance this year too

‘Mirror Business S&P SL20 Insights’ is conducted in collaboration with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as an investor relations initiative. The column encourages S&P SL20 companies to bring attention to the developments in the industry, company and discuss the growth prospects.

Addressing SL’s macroeconomic challenges

Sri Lanka is widely recognised for its rapid development progress—as shown by various development indicators—but underperformance on growth. The country’s growth slowed to 3.2 percent in 2018.

BOI to sign lease agreement to allocate 200 acres for oil refinery this week

The Board of Investment (BOI), within this week, is expected to sign the 50-year lease agreement with Silver Park International (Pte) Ltd, a Singaporean investment vehicle owned by India’s Accord Group, to formally handover the 200 acres of land allocated for the US $ 3.85 billion oil refinery project in the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone (EPZ), Hambantota.

Govt., CB push banks to cut rates and lend more to SMEs

The government and Central Bank in lockstep are pushing the banks to cut rates and deploy more funds as loans to the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector as the authorities attempt to reinvigorate the economy, which has lost its momentum.

Production to begin at US $ 250mn Rigid Tyre plant from November

Sri Lanka’s largest tyre plant, Rigid Tyre factory in Horana, is scheduled to begin its operations this November with over 65 percent construction of the plant already being completed, Development Strategies and International Trade Deputy Ministry Nalin Bandara said.

Rupee snaps winning edge; stocks hit 2-week high

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee snapped a six-session winning streak to end lower yesterday due to importer dollar demand, but greenback inflows from inward remittances ahead of the traditional new year capped further decline, sources said.

NCCSL says power cuts hindrance to both big and small biz

The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) yesterday said the ongoing power cuts are causing massive inconvenience to the country’s businesses, specially to the small and medium industries.

Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and power cuts

It was a solemn occasion. The dons at the Colombo University and its alumni association members were gathered for the 15th Annual Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration, at the BMICH in Colombo. The orator was none other than MillenniumIT-fame Tony Weerasinghe. The topic was ‘Up in the Cloud: Using Artificial Intelligence and Digitalisation to transfo

What Brexit means for UK-Sri Lanka trade

The United Kingdom is one of the major trading partners of Sri Lanka, amounting to over 10 percent of the total annual trade. The trade between the two countries has been on the upsurge for the last 18 years. In this context, the GSP Plus scheme under which Sri Lanka observes a great deal of preferential market access to the European Union (EU), including the UK, paves the way to an immense potenti

Cargills Bank dressed up to go public next year

Close to five years in business, Cargills Bank has formally begun work towards a listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) next year. “Work towards listing the bank on the Colombo Stock Exchange has commenced and is scheduled to reach completion in 2020. “In preparation for this major milestone, Cargill

Mirror Biz Toon

Long-delayed global tourism promotional campaign likely in June

Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga is to seek Cabinet approval for the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the three-year global tourism promotional campaign next week, to begin the tendering process to select a marketing agency for the campaign. The long-delay

First Capital predicts possible policy rate cut next week amid sluggish economy

First Capital Research predicts a 50 percent chance for a policy rate cut at the next monetary policy review of Central Bank to be held next week amidst overly sluggish economic growth. “First Capital Research allocates a 50 percent probability for a policy rate cut in April 2019 as we are of the view that policy intervention is appropriate to address the overly sluggish economic growth.

Rupee extends gains; stocks hit 2-week closing high

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee closed firmer yesterday as more foreign investors purchased government securities, while inward remittances remained high ahead of the traditional New Year celebrations, market sources said. The currency extended gains into a sixth session to end firmer at 174.45/60 to the dollar, compared with Monday’s close of 174.70/85. The island nation’s currency gained 2.09 percent in the last six

Dialog has sufficient headroom for debt-funded acquisition: Fitch

While affirming Dialog Axiata’s ‘AAA(lka)/Stable’ rating, Fitch Ratings yesterday said the market leading telco has sufficient headroom to undertake a debt-funded acquisition of a smaller operator.

ComBank’s Rs.15bn sub debt rated one notch below

The proposed issue of Basel III-compliant subordinate unsecured debentures totaling up to Rs.15 billion by Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has been rated ‘AA-(lka) (EXP)’ by Fitch Ratings. The rating is one notch below the ba

Will Sri Lanka’s hard line on drugs produce results?

Sri Lanka’s move in February 2019 to bring back capital punishment for convicted drug offenders has put a spotlight on the growth of narcotics-related crime in the country. The government’s apparent tough stance is in response to concerns that Sri Lanka is re-emerging as a transit hub for global drug trafficking networks.

Belt and Road Friend in Need: China and Sri Lanka

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the economic and trade cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, Chinese enterprises have made leaps and bounds in their investment in Sri Lanka and signed contracts to invest in large-scale projects.

Why is it important to get youth involved in foreign affairs and how?

Youth constitute 16 percent of the world’s population and these numbers are projected to increase to 17 percent by 2030. In addition, young people today are connected to each other like never before and are a core demographic in the using and building of disruptive new technologies, global social and clean energy networks.

Succeeding in 4IR era: Opportunities and challenges for Sri Lanka

The Institute of Policy Studies’ (IPS) New Thinkers Symposium saw researchers from several think tanks presenting their work on broad topics under the theme of technology and economic transformation. They highlighted the need for dynamic and innovative thinking to succeed in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in the areas of agriculture, megatrends, social security, trade and e-governance.

Rupee ends firmer on inward remittances; stocks up

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee closed firmer for a fifth straight session yesterday, helped by dollar inflows from inward remittances ahead of the traditional new year celebrations, market sources said, while stocks ended higher.

Unemployment accelerates to 4.6% in 4Q18

Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent at the end of last year, as the employment in the country’s industry and agriculture sectors declined despite the stagnation in the labour force participation rate, driven by a marked decrease in female labour force participation rates in the year, the Census and Statistics Department data showed.

Private credit loses momentum in January

Sri Lanka’s bank credit extended to the private sector has fallen in January by Rs.4.3 billion, recording a reversal roughly in five years, as the higher credit costs and weakening asset quality left the lenders at bay while the borrowers postponed new borrowings as rates remained too high.

AIA receives shareholder nod to delist shares from CSE

AIA Insurance Lanka PLC yesterday said it will delist the company’s shares from the official list of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in compliance with the applicable regulations and procedures, while at the same time reaffirming its commitment to the Sri Lankan market.