#StrikeSL: A call for rail privatization?

The railway strikes are over – at least for now. On August 8, several railway unions called a sudden strike in the afternoon hours, right before the tired office commuters would flock the Fort railway station to head home after a long day’s work. For the rest of the week, the railway trade unions crippled a key part of the transportation system in the country. The headline ‘Railway strike continues’ overwhelmed the papers,

San Francisco court verdict on glyphosate: Should govt. be swayed by it?

Dewayne Johnson, a groundskeeper who had been spraying glyphosate in some school premises in California and afflicted with a cancer condition called  non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), won a court case a few days ago claiming that the cancer was caused by regular exposure to glyphosate, a product of Monsanto.

Banks urged to relax lending, look at possibility of increasing pawning

In what could be only termed as a ‘desperate’ move, the government is said to have enquired from the country’s banking sector of the possibility of increasing the pawning loans by at least half a trillion rupees, Mirror Business reliably learns.

Drastic decline in coconut farm gate price requires authorities’ immediate action

Commencing from around the third week of July, the farm gate price of coconuts has dropped from a high of around Rs.45 to Rs.28 by August 15.

Hemas subsidiary Morison offers to go private

Hemas PLC’s pharmaceutical manufacturer and importer, Morison PLC, will go private subject to necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals. Morison’s director board has resolved to delist the company’s shares from the official list of the Colombo Stock Exchange, a stock exchange filing by the company said last Friday.

SL to face tighter external refinancing conditions next 5 years: Moody’s

Significantly tighter external borrowing conditions are likely to further squeeze Sri Lanka’s debt affordability as the country grapples to rollover its mammoth US $ 17 billion foreign currency debt in the next five years amid tightening international capital market yields and capital outflows from frontier and emerging markets with rising yields in the United States.     

EPF’s indecision delays Weligama Bay Marriot sale

The delay in taking an investment decision by the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) has delayed the sale of Weligama Bay Marriot Resort & Spa to a Singaporean firm, a stock market filing by East West Properties PLC said.

Softlogic to open first supermarket in 4Q18

Diversified conglomerate Softlogic PLC will open its first supermarket outlet in fourth quarter of 2018, the company’s  annual report released last Friday to the Colombo Stock Exchange said.

Laugfs Gas cuts losses in 1Q after spinning off non-core units

Laugfs Gas PLC, Sri Lanka’s only private sector cooking gas player, narrowed its losses during the quarter ended June 30, 2018 (1Q19) as the group’s energy business made gains despite the administered prices on LP gas getting replaced by a price-reflective formula. Laugfs Gas in March spun off its non-core interests in leisure, power and vehicle emission testing businesses to pitch itself as a pure-energy player as those sectors were

SL-B’desh FTA negotiations likely to begin end of September

Negotiations on the proposed Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement are likely to commence by the end of next month, as the joint feasibility study on the FTA is nearing completion, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Riaz Hamidullah said. Addressing a seminar organis

Japan’s manufacturers most confident in 7 mths despite trade war worries

(Tokyo) REUTERS: Business confidence among Japanese manufacturers was at its highest in seven months in August thanks to a firm global economy, a Reuters poll showed yesterday, but the service sector’s mood hit its lowest since 2016, casting doubt on the robustness of domestic demand. The mixed results of the monthly poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan’s closely watched tankan quarterly survey, underscore the fragility of an economy

Toyota to increase production capacity in China by 20%

(Beijing) REUTERS: Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp will build additional capacity at its auto plant in China’s Guangzhou, a company source said, in addition to beefing up production at a factory in Tia

China, U.S. to hold lower-level trade talks in late August

(Beijing/Washington) REUTERS: China and the United States will hold lower-level trade talks this month, the two governments told on Thursday, offering hope that they might resolve an escalating tariff wa

SLITA will soon expand services to South Asian region: Rishad

Having successfully wrapped a three decades’ run, Sri Lanka’s foremost apparel training body is to expand to the South Asian region next.  Meanwhile, for Sri Lanka to sustain its apparel advantage over the longer term, it needs to think beyond its low cost of labour. “I am pleased to inform that Sri Lanka Institut

Shares hit over 7-week closing low on foreign selling

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares extended losses for a sixth straight session yesterday, marking their lowest close in more than seven weeks, as foreign investors trimmed equity exposure amid fears that the government may introduce new taxes on several sectors. Foreign investors sold s

Sri Lanka to take part in apparel sourcing fair in Paris next month

A total of 6 Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers and 2 designers will participate in the four-day fair in Paris from 17th – 20th September.

Trump says in ‘no rush’ to get NAFTA deal

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Donald Trump said yesterday he was in “no rush” to complete a deal to rewrite the trade pact with Mexico and Canada. As Mexican officials were gathered in Washington for talks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Trump said at a cabinet meeting, “if you can’t make the right deal, don’t make it.”

SriLankan acts swiftly to help passengers stranded in Cochin

SriLankan Airlines has introduced a series of measures to mitigate inconvenience to its valued passengers from the closure of Cochin International Airport due to flooding. 

SLTDA partners UDA to expedite tourism projects

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) this week partnered with the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to expedite the investment approval process by streaming it to cut down the project approval time period by half and reduce costs.  SLTDA Chairman Kavan Ratnayaka and UDA Ch

Colombo Dockyard losses widen in 2Q

Sri Lanka’s largest shipbuilder, Colombo Dockyard PLC (DOCK), which operates in collaboration with Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, saw its net losses widening during the April-June quarter (2Q18) amid rise in costs and slowdown in income from its main business activities—shipbuilding and repairing. The net loss for 2Q18 widened to Rs.142.1 millio

Shares edge down; foreign investors sell John Keells

Colombo (REUTERS): Sri Lankan shares ended marginally weaker yesterday, marking their fifth straight session of losses, as foreign investors sold market heavyweight John Keells Holdings amid global worries.

Manufacturing and service activities expand at slower pace in July

Both the manufacturing and services sector experienced some slowdown in July, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by the Statistics Department of the Central Bank.

Banking sector woes to continue; but credit profiles broadly intact: Fitch

Sri Lanka’s banking sector woes will persist through the remainder of the year and possibly spill over into 2019, if the country’s wobbling economy continues to hurt the investment and consumer sen

HNB 2Q boosted by new loans, operational efficiencies

Backed by the strong growth in loans and operational efficiencies, Sri Lanka’s second largest private sector lender in terms of assets, Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB), reported solid performance for its April-June quarter (2Q18), the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. However, the banking group had to 

Rupee hits record low for second session on importer demand

Colombo (RETUTERS):  The Sri Lankan rupee hit an all-time low for a second straight session yesterday, as importers bought dollars amid fears the local currency could depreciate further tracking weakness in emerging-market currencies, dealers said.

ComBank sees strong growth in new loans; June profits up 10%

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC reported some solid financial performance for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2Q18), as the country’s largest private sector lender saw strong growth in new loans and deposits.

New acquisitions weigh on Hemas 1Q bottom line

The recent new acquisitions weighed on the bottom line of the diversified conglomerate Hemas PLC during the quarter ended June 30, 2018 (1Q19), the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange showed.

FTAs must not endanger Sri Lanka’s vital interests: MR

Following is a speech delivered by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently at the graduation ceremony of Oxford College of Business Colombo.

New-found wealth

A key assistant type to a powerful politician in the current government is showing great promise when it comes to wealth accumulation.

Too many consultants

A chairman of a statutory body that is involved in regulating an emerging industry we hear has hired 21 consultants.