Emirates President outlines possible recovery formula for SriLankan

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark, who spoke passionately about Sri Lanka’s tourism potential, last week, also proposed a model for the country’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, that may help the

Tourism industry visits Jaffna Airport to explore future opportunities

The officials and stakeholders of the tourism industry visited the Jaffna International Airport to explore future tourism opportunities with Tourism Development Minister last week.

Sri Lanka told to think big and bold to drive tourism

Showing his fondness for Sri Lanka in abundance by declaring the island nation his second home, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark this week advised Sri Lankan policy makers to “think big and think bold,” to drive the country’s tourism industry forward. Drawing i

SLTPB plans Rs.100mn TV campaign in Germany this year

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) yesterday announced plans to launch a Rs.100 million promotional campaign on a selected German TV channel within the next two months in an attempt to lure more German tourists to the country.

Low interest rates set to provide flywheel to mutual fund industry

The mutual fund or the unit trust industry, which went on a rollercoaster ride due to the exodus of funds following new tax laws, is expected to make a comeback with fund managers eying a slice of the banking sector savings, offering attractive returns. Several fund managem

Contraband fags destroyed

Illegally imported cigarettes from China, worth Rs.74 million, were destroyed by the officers of Sri Lanka Customs’ Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), yesterday. The stock consisted of over 1.2 million sticks. The picture shows CIB Director General and Ceylon Tobacco CEO/MD Nedal Salem taking part in destroying the illicit cigarettes

Sri Lanka removed from FATF’s ‘Grey List’

Sri Lanka has been removed from Paris-based Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘Grey List’ owing to the progress made by the island nation strengthening its anti-money laundering/combating financing for terrorism regime. The FATF, whose five-day p

Stocks end higher; rupee strengthens

Sri Lankan shares closed slightly higher yesterday, buoyed by telecom and diversified stocks. The rupee ended firmer. The benchmark stock index closed 0.06 percent higher at 5,863.48. The index gained 0.49 percent for the week, but has fallen 3.12 percent so far this year. Meanwhi

Jaffna Int’l Airport opens

The first Alliance Air flight from Chennai, India, landed at the Jaffna International Airport (JIA), which was declared open yesterday. The picture shows the aircraft receiving cannon salute. Alliance Air is expected to operate three flights a week from Chennai to JIA from November.

Jaffna Int’l Airport opens today

The upgraded airport in Palali will be declared open as Jaffna International Airport (JIA) today, under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga and Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The inaugural flight today by Alliance Air, a unit of Air India, will carry 30 passengers and the airline is set to operate three flights a

Hans calls on pvt. sector to ignite nation’s mojo

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) chief this week called the private sector to take the lead in breaking out of the middle income trap with positivity and greater focus on inclusivity, instead of waiting for the economic growth to return.

August trade deficit narrows with continued decline in imports

Sri Lanka’s imports, supported by lower vehicle and gold imports, continued to decline while exports largely recovered from its recent decline to see the island nation’s trade deficit narrowing in August, the trade data released by the Central Bank showed yesterday.

Banking sector NPLs likely to hit 5% this year

Sri Lanka banking sector’s gross non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio is forecast to reach five percent at the end of this year, the highest level since 2014 amid increased market lending rates and sluggish economy, Central Bank (CB) said. According to CB statistics, the gross NPLs ratio had risen to 4.9 percent by August from 4.8 percent in the second quarter of this year. As of second qu

CB keeps rates steady to stabilize inflation

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank (CB) yesterday decided to maintain policy interest rates at their current levels, awaiting for materialisation of various measures aimed at accelerating subpar economic growth in the country, while being cautious on the implications of the public sector salary hike scheduled for next year.

Demand for carbon emission cut

Police officers arrest an activist at London City Airport during the fourth day of demonstrations by the climate change action group Extinction Rebellion, in London yesterday. Demonstrations occurred in 60 cities around the world this week, with thousands taking to the streets of New Delhi, Cape Town, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. Extinction Rebellion is demanding that governments drastically cut carbon emissions. / AFP

WB urges banks to adopt a multifaceted approach to be development enablers

With nearly one-third of Sri Lanka’s adult banked population considered to be inactive account holders and many facing significant constraints in accessing finance, the World Bank (WB) urges the country’s banks to position themselves as development enablers by adopting a multifaceted approach to further promote financial inclusiveness in the country.

CB sees private credit improving to 5-6% by end of the year

The Central Bank (CB) expects private sector credit growth to pick up by end of this year amid anticipated low interest rates through lending rate caps slapped on banks and enhanced business confidence. Speaking t

Fitch says lending rate caps may not support loan growth in short term

The lending rate caps on banks may not yield the desired effect of stimulating credit demand in the short term, as the root cause of the problem lies not with the rates but with the borrower sentiments and subdued economic activity, said Fitch Ratings.

Cinnamon’s 15th property opens doors in Maldives

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, the leisure arm of John Keells Holdings continues expansion with the opening of its newest hotel, Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives. The opening of the new r

Ceylon Tea global promotion campaign kicks off in Moscow

The maiden launch of the Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Campaign took-off ceremonially with pomp and pageant in the capital city of the Russia Federation last week. Moscow was the center of attraction where 150 guests from the tea fraternity were mesmerized by the cultural troop of Chandana Wickramasinghe consisting of ten male and female dancers.

Growth to pick up with easing of political uncertainty

First Capital Research (FCR), a Colombo-based equities research house, expects Sri Lanka’s economic growth to pick up to 4.1 percent next year with possible easing of political uncertainty following the Presidential Election scheduled for next month. However,

Harsha slams rent-seeking public sector for scuttling e-govt. projects

The rent-seeking nature of Sri Lanka’s public sector is blamed for the failure to fully implement the key e-government initiatives, including the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System aimed at enhancing the efficiency and cutting wastage in the public sector. “I am still unable to buy a pack of A4 paper via the so-called Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System. People have been working on it for years.

Need for overarching digital policy framework urged to avoid confusion

Sri Lanka’s IT industry experts recently emphasised on the adoption of an overarching digital policy framework to avert confusion and potential policy contradictions as a number of digital related draft polici

Gota faces court test over nationality

(Colombo) REUTERS: A court in Sri Lanka set up a three-judge panel yesterday to hear a petition challenging the citizenship of presidential nominee Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which could disqualify the hardline former defence chief from the November 16 vote if it succeeds.

“Plan to fail” perfectly sums up Sri Lanka’s power sector crisis

As the authorities continue to practice the “plan to fail” approach based on outdated planning models incentivised by emergency power purchases, experts and academics warn another power crisis could materialise in 2023, unless Sri Lanka’s energy sector shifts to modern-day implementable planning models. “Planning to fa

Sri Lanka needs to invest in people to unlock productive potential:WB

The World Bank unveiled yesterday a new report to guide policymakers and development practitioners across Sri Lanka in better investing in the health and education of all Sri Lankans. The report titled ‘Sri Lanka Human Capital Development : Realizing the Promise and Potential Of Human Capital’ is part of the Human Capital Project, a global effort led by the World Bank since 2018 that recognizes the vital importance of human capital for a country

SAES XII renews call for South Asian integration

South Asian academics and think tanks yesterday expressed hope for a shift in political structure and thinking to move forward with regional integration, which has come to a grinding halt due to region

Treasury fears Rs.300bn revenue loss to govt. coffers

The Treasury fears revenue loss in excess of Rs.300 billion by the end of this year as the economy struggles to recover from the adverse impacts of the Easter Sunday attacks. “So far, we have seen a Rs.215 billion loss in state revenue. If the revenue doesn’t improve during the next three months and the current trend continues, it will be in excess of Rs.300 billion,” T

Dhammika unveils action plan to make SL a developed nation

Business tycoon and Vallibel One PLC Chairman Dhammika Perera yesterday laid out a brand-new tax structure with tax cuts and incentives to guide Sri Lanka to the developed nation territory by 2030, as the current tax regime has failed to attract the required investments during the past five years for the economy to take off and avoid the so-called middle-income trap. Perera y

Absence of effective comms skills cited as key barrier to SOE reforms

The present regime’s absence of effective communication skills to engage all relevant stakeholders was pointed out as the main impediment for state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms in Sri Lanka, by an opposition lawmaker, at a recent forum, although a government minister rejected the claim and stressed that the support extended by the Opposition is key to successful SOE reforms.