New coin series presented to MR

Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy officially presented a new series of circulation coins with face value of Rs.10, Rs.5, Rs.2 and Rs.1 to Prime Minister and Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, this week. 

Super luxury MV Mein Schiff 3 makes call at Colombo port

The super luxury passenger vessel MV Mein Schif 3 of TUI Cruises, with 2,430 passengers and 995 crew members on board, made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo, on Monday.   

NDB says strategic investor likely to invest in unsubscribed rights

National Development Bank PLC (NDB) yesterday said a strategic investor is currently carrying out a detailed evaluation of the bank as well as the current market conditions with a view to investing in the unsubscribed shares arising from the rights issue that was closed in October.  

China’s UnionPay to issue credit and debit cards for first time in Sri Lanka

Announcing its expansion plans, China’s UnionPay International (UPI) said it would be issuing UnionPay debt and credit cards in Sri Lanka for the first time in the near future.  

Rupee hits fresh low against dollar for 6th day running

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee hit yet another record low against the dollar yesterday on continuing concerns about political uncertainty dragging down the island-nation’s economy, after a credit rating downgrade by Moody’s and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) halting a loan discussion last week.   

Quality assurance and traceability at the heart of Fonterra’s transformation

New Zealand’s Fonterra Co-operative Group — for us Sri Lankans, the Anchor company — has gone through a remarkable transformational change in the face of certain issues they faced in some of the markets they operated several years ago. At the heart of this transformation is the Kiwi dairy giant’s unwavering focus to ensure quality and safety of its products and their traceability. Mirror Business met with the key man headi

InterContinental to return to Colombo with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel

The Pearl Grand Tower Hotel, which is to be managed by InterContinental Group of Hotels (IHG), recently saw the completion of the concrete structure work carried out by China State Construction Engi

Recovery in demand for eggs, chicken propels Ceylon Grain Elevators 3Q

The increased demand for animal feed, chicken and eggs during 2018 has propelled the revenues and profits of Ceylon Grain Elevators PLC, but the country’s largest poultry operator expects some challenging times with the weakening of the rupee and declining consumer  purchasing power. 

Rupee hits record low on political uncertainty, economic woes

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee hit a record low for a fifth straight session yesterday, as investors dumped currency-denominated assets following a credit rating downgrade and a delay in an IMF loan discussion in the wake of a political crisis.  The rupee hit a fresh low of 180.50 

Ensuring rule of law critical for Sri Lanka to reach full economic potential: Speaker

Speaker of Parliament, Karu Jayasuriya asserted that leaders who ensure the rule of law coupled with the right vision, dedication, commitment, discipline is critical for Sri Lanka to reach its full economic potential.  “What the country needs now is the right vision, dedication, commitment, discipline, ensuring rule of law coupled with right people at the right place,” he stressed. Jayasuriya was the chief guest at ‘Best Co

CB says won’t stand in way of financial innovation

The Central Bank yesterday assured the country’s financial services sector that it would not stand in the way of progress with its controls, but asserted it will closely monitor the proces

Hela Clothing secures Rs.1.2bn capital infusion

Sri Lankan apparel manufacturer Hela Clothing Group yesterday announced that it had secured a capital infusion of Rs.1.2 billion, by way of a mix of shareholder and new private equity investment funds from a private consortium, whose lead investor has a wide portfolio, including private equity investments in the fashion and retail space.   

Netherlands’ Rabobank loans euro 52.1mn for construction of steel bridges

The Rabobank of Netherlands has agreed to provide euro 52.1 million financial assistance to construct approximately 250 steel bridges islandwide, especially in the rural areas.   

Call for political stability and sanity gets louder

More industry bodies are joining the chorus to urge the country’s political leadership to ensure stability and a swift solution to the current political stalemate situation to avert dire consequences to the country’s economy and its people.  

CIC Holdings crop solutions biz performs better with revival in agri activities

The turnaround at CIC Holdings PLC appears to be facing some tough challenges as the agricultural and industrial giant is still striving to plough ahead beating the headwinds faced by its multiple businesses, though its crop solutions business fared well during the September quarter. 

MS, RW and MR must put country first

The events that unfolded on October 26 have led the country towards an unprecedented chaos. Almost a month later, we are still awaiting a firm interpretation of the decisions and the credibility of actions while pondering if all the sudden changes have been made in the best interest of the country and people. 

Is BIMSTEC remodelling for a bigger role?

The BIMSTEC, officially known as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, held its first-ever military exercise in September 2018, in Pune, India. The transnational exercise aimed to boost inter-operability among forces and exchange best practices in counter-terrorism.

De-growth in basket value hits Cargills Sept. top line

Cargills Ceylon PLC’s revenues languished and profits shrank mostly on the decline in basket values of its namesake supermarket chain, while the margins also narrowed as the group was seen striving to contain the costs to maintain profits.    

Rupee hits record low on political uncertainty, economic woes

(Colombo) REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee hit a record low for a fourth straight session yesterday, as investors dumped currency-denominated assets following a credit rating downgrade and a delay in an International Monetary Fund loan discussion in the wake of a political crisis.  

Six ways developing Asia can meet its clean energy goals

As countries in developing Asia work to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, governments must figure out how to come up with the money to fund their commitments.   

MTD Walkers suffers Rs.1bn loss

The financial woes at MTD Walkers PLC further deepened as the construction giant suffered a heavy blow to its bottom line during the three months ended September 30 (2Q19) as the company lo

SLT September profits surge on higher revenue, efficiency

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT), the leader in fixed line services and number two in mobile services, reported higher revenues and contained costs to post strong profits for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 (3Q18), but a sizeable slice of earnings had been wiped off by a hefty foreign exchange loss.  SLT reported revenues of Rs.20.6 billion for the three months under review, up 8.4 percent year-on-year (YoY). The operating profit before depr

SLASSCOM urges swift, constitutional settlement to current political crisis

Sri Lanka’s IT sector main industry body, Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) in s brief statement expressed its disappointment over the current political situation in the country and called for a swift and constitutional settlement. “As an industry body, we are disappointed to see the current state of indecision and the inability to arrive at a swift settlement by the parties concerned.  “W

Russian airline Rossiya to fly 7 days a week to Colombo

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia recently announced the planned expansion of the regular flight programme between Moscow and Colombo. According to the agreement between the Russian and Sri Lankan governments dated March 26, 2012 and the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries on December 05, 2017, the Russian air carrier Rossiya Airlines Company (JSC) has been appointed for performing regular passenger, baggage, cargo and m

THASL calls for speedy solution to political stalemate

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) has highlighted the need for a speedy solution to the political stalemate, which will have detrimental effects on the tourism industry and the main tourist season.  At a recent meeting convened by the newly ap

Tea industry wage negotiations deadlocked amid political crisis

The Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) have asserted that the Rs.1000 daily wage increase for tea estate workers demanded by trade unions is impossible amidst declining tea prices and rising cost of production, which has been further heightened by the loss considerable market share in the Japanese tea market. Spea

State banks to borrow up to US$1 bn abroad before end of 2018

Sri Lanka’s three State banks will borrow up to US$1 billion from foreign sources before the end of 2018 and use the money to pay off maturing foreign loans, Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle said on Thursday. The move comes as Sri Lanka faces a worsening political crisis with a newly appointed government refusing to resign despite losing two confidence votes in parliament.

May defends draft Brexit deal agreed by EU, Britain

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday fended off heavy opposition in parliament after Britain and the EU agreed on the outlines of post-Brexit ties as part of a draft deal due to be signed off by EU leaders. After briefing her cabinet in a hastily-arranged teleconference call, May addressed the House of Commons, saying the agreement was the “best possible deal”. EU Council President Donald Tusk

Dolce & Gabbana founders seek ‘forgiveness’ in China with video apology

(Shanghai) REUTERS: Dolce & Gabbana’s co-founders asked for China’s ‘forgiveness’ yesterday, trying to salvage a crucial market for the luxury brand after a backlash against its latest advertising campaign.

Chinese tourists skip Thailand after Phuket boat disaster

BANGKOK (AFP) - A ferry disaster that killed dozens of Chinese tourists in Thailand earlier this year has sent visitor numbers plunging from the kingdom’s single largest market.