China protests US sanctions on shipping firms

BEIJING (AFP) - China has lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States after Washington sanctioned two Chinese shipping companies for doing business with North Korea, the foreign ministry said yesterday.

National inflation up to 2.4% in February

Headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2013=100) increased to 2.4 percent in February 2019 from 1.2 percent in January 2019 mainly due to the base effect, Central Bank’s Statistic

SL gets US-funded online portal to improve local youth employability

Sri Lanka’s guidance space yesterday witnessed much required impetus with the launch of an online employment and entrepreneurship platform for the country’s youth. YouLead, a programme that kicked off 19 mo

Conflicting views on economy’s way forward

Billionaire businessman and corporate leader Dhammika Perera told a recent forum in Colombo that the government must prioritise economic growth focussing on employment generation, contradicting the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his government’s viewpoint that the government must prioritise fiscal consolidation to stabilise the economy in order to escape middle-inco

BOI affirms Oman State-run firm keen on taking equity position in refinery project

In light of Oman Oil and Gas Ministry denying being part of a US $ 3.85 billion refinery project in Hambantota, Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday said that they were aware Oman Oil Company has ‘firm intention’ in taking

Glyphosate under fire from San Francisco to Sri Lanka

(Paris) AFP: Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as “proba

Shares fall for fourth session; rupee ends firmer

Sri Lanka’s share index fell for a fourth straight session yesterday to a more than 6-year closing low as investors exited the island nation’s risky assets, while they awaited cues from the third and final vote on the 2019 budget,

Asia’s top ethnic fashion brand to enter Sri Lanka

Khaadi, an iconic fast fashion retail force, has appointed MTI Consulting for its Sri Lanka market entry. Having carried out an initial market feasibility study, Khaadi has identified the high potential to establish the premium ethnic fashion brand in Sri Lanka. “Khaadi is present in over 65 locations across t

Weak economic growth, slowing vehicle sales pinch non-bank lenders most: Fitch

The sluggish economy and deceleration of vehicle sales are hurting Sri Lanka’s non-bank lenders, as the sector is facing risks raging from weaker asset quality, muted growth, underwhelming profitability and need for higher regulatory capital. According to a status re

Mangala meets Ronnie

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera called on former Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel, yesterday. The meeting took place at the Colombo residence of de Mel. Former Southern Province Chief Minister H.G. Sirisena was also present at the meeting.

Ceylon Steel Corp.-UAE’s Onyx in US $ 100mn cement JV

In a joint venture, Ceylon Steel Corporation and UAE-based Onyx Group of Companies are investing US $ 100.08 million to set up a cement blending and grinding plant in the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone, in Hambantota. Development Strategies and International Trade De

Economic growth plunges to 1.8% in 4Q

In the final quarter of 2018, Sri Lanka’s economic growth plunged to the lowest since 2014, reflecting the disastrous impact the 51-day political crisis had on the country’s economy, the data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) showed. During the fourth quarte

Prime Minister says govt. will talk to banks to bring down high interest rates

The government will collaboratively work with the banking sector to bring down the high market interest rates in the country, to boost private investment in order to support economic growth, Prime M

S’pore rejects President’s allegations on Mahendran

(Singapore) AFP: Singapore rejected yesterday Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s allegation it was sheltering a former Central Bank chief wanted for fraud, saying Colombo failed to provide documen

Shares end little changed; rupee rises

(Colombo) Reuters: Sri Lanka’s share index ended little changed yesterday, hovering near its 5-1/2-year low, as investors awaited direction from the third and final vote on the 2019 budget, market sources said.

FITIS writes to Mangala over 3.5% NBT on overseas card payments

The Federation of Information Technology in Sri Lanka (FITIS) has written to Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to reconsider the imposition of the 3.5 percent Nation Building Tax (NBT) on all foreign payments using credit and debit cards.

Sri Lanka will see more mid-cap M&A deals: MTI

According to MTI’s Corporate Finance and Investment Banking practice, over the next two years, Sri Lanka is likely to witness a strong pipeline of mid-cap merger and acquisition (M&A) deals.

Huawei eyes top role in developing SL’s future smart cities

Huawei expects to play a major role in developing Sri Lanka’s smart city ecosystem to further enhance the growth in Huawei’s Enterprise Business segment and to support the country’s vision to become an ICT hub in the region.

CSE renews call for return of state-controlled captive funds to revive market

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has renewed the call for the return of captive funds such as the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) to reinvigorate the ailing market.

Govt. moves forward with digitalisation of economy

The government will begin the implementation of key programmes and formulating the required legislative reforms within the next three months to support the digitalisation of the Sri Lankan economy. Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology Non-Cabinet Minister Ajith P. Perera said drafting the Data Protection Bill and Cybersecurity Bill has reached the final stages and expressed confidence that they would be passed in

East Container Terminal delayed by Prez-PM cold war

The cold war between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is delaying the development of Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal (ECT), slimming the country’s chances of becoming a maritime hub in the region, a senior Cabinet minister admitted.

Dhammika wants private sector to take lead role in AI adoption

Billionaire businessman and corporate leader Dhammika Perera says Sri Lanka’s private sector must take the lead in adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive future economic growth as AI enables logical decision making.

Fed to hold fire on interest rates as world economy slows

(Washington) AFP: There is virtually no chance the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the coming week, since policymakers have all but promised to hold their fire as the global economy slows.

Huawei’s South East Asia procurement tops US$ 600mn

Huawei, a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, recently announced its procurement results for 2018 in the South East Asia (SEA) region, which amounted to US$ 608 million.

Textile and garment exports up 5.7% to US $ 5.3bn in 2018

Sri Lanka’s textile and garment exports rose 5.7 percent year-on-year (YoY) to little over US $ 5.3 billion, the external sector data released by the Central Bank showed.

Services sector employment generation slows as industries adopt automation, Artificial Intelligence

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) decelerated in February from a month ago in both manufacturing and services sectors as automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) were seen fast changing the dynamics of the latter.

Sri Lanka FTA debate: What have we gained and what can we achieve?

The government of Sri Lanka has embraced Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a key focus of the national trade and development strategy. The rationale of this policy choice has been intenselydebated in the Sri Lankan policy circles. The debate has reached a new height following the release of the report of the Committee of Experts (CoE) appointed by the President to evaluate the Sri Lanka–Singapore free trade agreement. The purpose of this article i

Ratan Tata transformed his 19th century businesses to fit-in the digital age

Ratan Naval Tata, (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist, investor, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1991 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts.

SAPPTA hails reduction of Economic Service Charge

The Spices and Allied Products Producers’ and Traders’ Association (SAPPTA) yesterday expressed satisfaction at the reduction of the Economic Service Charge (ESC) for those corporates paying concessionary taxes to 0.25 percent, as against 0.5 percent charged hitherto.

Asian markets rally as Trump signals trade talks optimism

(Hong Kong) AFP: Asian markets rose yesterday as Donald Trump struck an upbeat note on trade talks with China, while the pound held steady after British MPs voted to delay Brexit.