Port tariff hike put on hold following ministry secy.’s meeting with industry

The controversial tariff revision by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), which rattled exporters and importers alike, has been suspended after the industry lobbied against the move, Mirror Business learns. The decision to suspend the higher tarif

Central Bank ceiling rate on finance company FDs revised up

The Central Bank has sharply raised the upper limit of interest rates that could be offered by non-bank lenders on deposits, Mirror Business learns. The increase in ceiling deposit rates at non-bank finance companies comes as part of the twice a year revision set by the Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions Department of the Central Bank.  

Unemployment in 3Q drops to 4.1%

Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate for the third quarter (3Q18) edged down to 4.1 percent, from 4.2 percent a year earlier, although the participation of females in the labour force continues to remain low, according to the data released by the Census and  Statistics Department.   

CSE amends Listing Rules to facilitate secondary listing of foreign firms

The Colombo Stock Exchange has amended the Listing Rules to facilitate the secondary listings of foreign firms through the Multi Currency Board (MCB).

Hunas Falls up for sale; prospective buyer to carry out due diligence

Hunas Falls Hotels PLC yesterday said a prospective buyer had approached the two major shareholders of the hotel owning company to purchase their collective shareholding of 66.2 percent, subject to a due diligence.  

Rupee ends firmer on mild dollar inflows; stocks down

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee recovered further yesterday, after hitting a record low in the previous week, helped by mild dollar inflows.

Cigarette smuggling costs Sri Lanka Rs.18bn in tax revenue in 2017

The government may have lost Rs.18 billion in cigarette tax revenue as a record 583 million illicit cigarettes were estimated to have smuggled into Sri Lanka in 2017, driven by the high taxes on legal cigarettes and the absence of a proper mechanism in place to combat the illicit cigarette inflows, according to a latest research report on Sri Lanka’s illicit cigarette market.   

Sri Lanka: How to avoid hybrid governments

Sri Lanka’s experiment with hybrid governments failed miserably. By hybrid government, I mean a government that entails the President from one party and the administration or the Cabinet of ministers from another party (or a coalition).  

Appointing of chairman and directors to public institutions

To improve SOEs’ performance and following many controversial appointments to State-owned enterprises in the past, President Maithripala Sirisena has issued fresh instructions on selection criteria in a bid to eliminate controversial and poorly qualified candidates.   

sl eyes GSP concessions on sourcing fabrics

Meanwhile, Cooray and Fernando revealed that in order to enhance the benefits of GSP Plus, the industry stakeholders had submitted reports to the government requesting to source fabrics from Indonesia and South Korea, last year.  The Department of Commerce (DOC) has already commenced negotiations with relevant authorities in Indonesia and South Korea to enter into joint agreements with the EU to obtain GSP Plus for sourcing fabri

Apparel exports poised to top US $ 5bn mark for first time

As the apparel export growth picked up pace in November last year, the apparel industry expects to surpass the US $5 billion mark in 2018 for the first time, recording the best growth in apparel exports since 

ICC embarks on Rs.4bn apartment complex in Galle

One of Sri Lanka’s frontline construction firms, International Construction Consortium (Pvt) Ltd., has embarked on an ambitious Rs.4 billion apartment complex in Galle. The oceanfront serviced ap

Iran’s CB proposes slashing four zeros from falling currency

(Dubai) REUTERS: Iran’s central bank has proposed slashing four zeros from the rial, State news agency IRNA reported yesterday, after the currency plunged in a year marked by an economic crisis fuelled by  U.S. sanctions.

SLPA port tariff revision takes everybody by surprise

he Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has substantially raised its port charges and other related tariffs effective from January 1, 2019, a move that has taken importers, exporters and other key stakeholders by surprise, as it will drive up costs for manufacturers and consumers alike. SLPA has more than doubled 

Budget 2019 aims to reduce fiscal deficit to 3.5% of GDP

The budget 2019, which is to be presented to Parliament on February 05, will be prepared with a focus to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and mainta

Hayleys Advantis wins bid to manage container depot in Abu Dhabi

Hayleys Advantis Ltd (Advantis), the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC, announced that it has entered into a landmark deal with Dubai-based Trustworthy.ae Group to manage the container depot in Abu Dhabi.  Advantis is to operate and manage a state-of-the-art inland container depot (ICD) and third-party container freight station (CFS) being developed by Trustworthy.ae Group in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu D

Bingumal becomes first local CEO to head Standard Chartered Sri Lanka

Standard Chartered last Friday announced the appointment of its first Sri Lankan Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bingumal Thewarathanthri with effect from January 1, 2019.

Sri Lanka to borrow US$ 1.85 bn from Japan for light rail project

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to lend US $ 1.85 billion to Sri Lanka to build a light rail transit (LRT) service between Colombo Fort and Malambe to ease the cong

Financial sector regulators sign MoU for consolidated risk-based supervision

The Central Bank entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL) on 31 December 2018, to conduct effective consolidated risk-based supervision and for the Central Bank to be the lead supervisor in this regard. 

Ghosn set for court hearing in Japan over detention

(Tokyo) AFP: Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is likely to appear in a Japanese court next Tuesday to hear the reasons for his detention, after his lawyers deployed a little-used article of the Constitution. The shock move was the latest in a series of unexpected twists in a case that has gripped Japan and the business world since the once-revered auto tycoon was arrested on his 

German politicians’ data hacked, govt. cyber team in crisis meeting

(Berlin) REUTERS: Hackers have posted personal data from hundreds of German politicians from major parties including credit card details and mobile phone numbers, with Chancellor Angela Merkel among those affected, local media reported yesterday. Germany’s BSI nation

Oil rises towards US$ 57 on China-US trade talks, OPEC cuts

(London) REUTERS: Oil rose towards US$ 57 a barrel yesterday after China said it would hold talks with the United States to look for solutions to a trade dispute, while signs of lower crude supply also supported prices. The Organization of the Petroleum 

Suspension on Perpetual Treasuries extended by 6 months

The Central Bank has extended the suspension on controversial primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries Limited by six months. “The Monetary Boar

Nestle welcomes Indian court ruling in Maggi case

(Zurich) REUTERS: Food group Nestle said on Thursday a ruling by India’s Supreme Court marked a partial victory in its row with the government over Maggi noodles. Maggi, Nestle India’s single-la

Google moved almost 20 bn euros to Bermuda in 2017

(The Hauge) AFP: US internet giant Google used a legal mechanism to transfer almost 20 billion euros from the Netherlands to Bermuda in 2017 for tax purposes, a Dutch newspaper report said yesterday.

Rupee ends steady near record low

REUTERS - The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady near a record low yesterday, as foreign fund outflows mainly, from government bonds, continued amid dented investor sentiment after a recent political crisis.

SL to sign loan agreement with JICA for light rail

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to hold negotiations and enter into an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to fund a light rail system. The 17km-long light rail transit system is to be built between Colombo Multimodal Transport Hub and Malabe with a 246, 641 million Japanese yen investment. The proposal in this re

SLTDA and SLTPB get new acting chairmen

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) have got new acting chairmen as the appointment of permanent chairmen is further delayed as the President has got tough on qualification criteria of new appointments.  As per the instructions of President Maithripala S

CB to get tougher on finance firms

The Central Bank is likely to tighten the regulations on Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs) and Specialised Leasing Companies (SLCs) to ensure higher capital adequacy and loan loss provisioning, im

Three-year comprehensive plan helped Colombo port to make history in 2018: Samarasinghe

Former Port and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe says the implementation of the 3-year comprehensive plan during his tenure helped the Port of Colombo achieve a historic handling of seven million containers in 2018. Issuing a statement yesterday Samarasinghe