Banks permitted to sell up to 20% stake to multilateral financiers

The licensed commercial banks can now invite multilateral financial organisations to purchase up to 20 percent of shares, as the Monetary Board has decided to relax certain rules pertaining to the maximum share ownership—a move that could enhance the capital profile of banks and thus benefit the entire banking system.

Fly Lankan applies for licence to operate domestic and int’l flights

Colombo-based Fly Lankan Asia (Pvt.) Ltd has requested permission from authorities to operate domestic and international flights carrying passengers as well as cargo and mail services.

July private credit reflects faster new loan disbursements by banks

The decline in private sector credit narrowed in July, signalling that the new loans by the banking sector to private individuals and businesses were just about to surpass the loan settlements by the borrowers, which could set stage for a net growth in credit since the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Govt. to introduce new instruments to attract FDI: Cabraal

Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament yesterday that the government would introduce new instruments to attract foreign investments to re-energise the country’s economy.

NDB to raise Rs.6.5bn via Basel III debt issue

National Development Bank PLC (NDB) yesterday revealed the plans to raise up to Rs.6.5 billion via a Basel III-compliant debenture issue.

SL’s sovereign bonds seen regaining lost value

Sri Lanka’s international sovereign bonds (ISBs) are gaining after they lost value during April and May, as the yields have declined sharply from their highs reached during the worst of the pandemic, in a sign that the investor confidence is rebuilding, as market volatility triggered by the pandemic dissipates.

Govt. to hand over lands of loss-making tea plantation companies to smallholders

The government is planning to hand over the lands belonging to the loss-making plantation companies to tea smallholders, as a pilot project, a statement by the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

SL records highest cryptocurrency mining encounters in Asia

Sri Lanka experienced the highest cryptocurrency mining encounters across the region last year, according to the Asia Pacific finding from the latest edition of Microsoft’s Security Endpoint Threat Report 2019.

Gem and jewellery industry welcomes removal of import duty on gold imports, income tax on profits

Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery industry yesterday welcomed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to remove 15 percent import duty on gold and 14 percent income tax on the profits of gem and jewellery manufacturers, enabling the industry to become globally competitive yet again.

Stockbrokers told to proactively engage local investors before going after foreigners

Instead of passively waiting for foreign investors to come, the stockbrokers at the Colombo bourse have been asked to proactively engage local investors, as there is a huge potential for share valuations to increase in the near future.

India’s Ajay Piramal Group to exit glass business

India’s Ajay Piramal Group has begun making offers to sell its glass business, which will include the Sri Lankan operations under Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC, according to multiple Indian news reports.

HCL Technologies inaugurates first Global Development Centre in Colombo

HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, yesterday announced the official opening of its Global Development Centre in Colombo.

Lanka Ashok Leyland says has adequate vehicle stocks to plough ahead despite import controls

Lanka Ashok Leyland PLC said it has adequate vehicle stocks to continue to serve the market and also to meet any sudden uptick in demand in the near term, as the government keeps a lid on vehicle imports to preserve foreign exchange and also to buy space to develop a robust public transport system in the country.

Finance company earnings plunge into negative territory

Cumulative earnings of Sri Lanka’s non-bank finance sector have turned sour during the second quarter of this year, plunging sector earnings into negative territory, and the data available since 2013 does not indicate such trying conditions ever faced by the sector.

CB mulls new methodology to capture work-from-home and other digital economic activities

The Central Bank is looking at employing new methodologies or updating the existing ones, which will contain the ability to capture economic activities that shifted online including working-from-home, as concerns were raised over how the economy recorded a contraction in the first quarter.

Franklyn Amerasinghe launches latest contribution to management literature

Sri Lanka’s Human Resource (HR) fraternity saw the addition of a localised publication with eminent lawyer and author Franklyn Amerasinghe having launched last week his latest book, ‘Business Oriented People Management’.

BPPL quits Indonesian market due to losses from heavy competition

BPPL Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest brush-ware maker and exporter, has decided to pull out from the highly competitive Indonesian market after about four years since it entered the burgeoning Southeast Asian country with its own brand as the company had sustained losses.

CEAT ramps up 2-wheeler tyre production by 85% in 3 months

CEAT Kelani Holdings has announced an 85 percent increase in the production of tyres for the ‘two-wheeler’ segment over just three months, as a full-bodied response to the needs of the local market consequent to the temporary import restrictions introduced by the government.

Eden Hotel Lanka to raise Rs.4.2bn via rights

Eden Hotel Lanka PLC, a unit of LOLC Group, is to raise Rs.4.2 billion fresh equity through a rights issue to rectify a serious capital loss, as the equity of the hotel company has eroded to less than 50 percent of its stated capital.

Banks show increased willingness to lend first time in two years

Sri Lanka’s willingness to lend, which recorded a continuous decline in every quarter since fourth quarter of 2018 has staged a substantial rebound in the second quarter this year with expectations for further desire to lend in the third quarter—a sign that credit is flowing unabated to the real economy after the Monetary Board cut interest rates multiple times.

Oil industry placing risky bet on plastics: report

Big oil producers are pinning their future growth on the world’s insatiable appetite for plastic, researchers said yesterday, in a “bet” on society’s failure to tackle disposable consumption that risks stranding billions of dollars in petrochemical investments.

Citrus Leisure PLC’s hotel portfolio bags trifecta of accolades

In an unprecedented feat among the titans of the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka, all three properties owned and operated by Citrus Leisure PLC secured three international travel accolades. Citrus Waskaduwa, Citrus Hikkaduwa, The Steuart by Citrus and the &Co Pub and Kitchen were recognised by Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards, Agoda’s Customer Review Awards and Booking.com’s Traveller Review Awards. These achievements resonate strongly w

Malaysia drops 1MDB charges against Goldman Sachs

Malaysia has dropped criminal charges against Goldman Sachs over its role in the 1MDB scandal, a lawyer for the bank said yesterday.

President ensures clean drinking water for every household before 2025

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently reviewed future stages of the programme to provide clean drinking water to all households for all 24-hours of the day, before the end of 2025.

COVID-19 will widen gender poverty gap: UN Women, UNDP data

The COVID-19 crisis will dramatically increase the poverty rate for women and widen the gap between men and women who live in poverty, according to new data released by UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Amazon creates 7,000 UK jobs as virus fuels online demand

Amazon will create 7,000 permanent jobs in the UK by the end of the year, the US e-commerce giant announced Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic fuels online shopping while hurting bricks-and- mortar businesses.

Asian stocks plunge with Wall Street as tech sector surge halted

Asian markets fell deep into negative territory yesterday following painfully deep losses on Wall Street, where the tech sector finally succumbed to profit-taking after months of mind-boggling gains.

First half public debt soars

Sri Lanka’s total outstanding public debt has risen by little over a trillion rupees during the first six months of 2020 as the government ramped up borrowing to fend off the effects of coronavirus on the economy.

Government to ramp up local maize cultivation to make up for imports

The government has decided to increase the cultivation of maize to make up for the imports, as feed millers and poultry producers remain hamstrung by the import ban in place on the key poultry feed since the beginning of this year. To this effect, the government has decided to allocate an additional 30,000 hectares of arable lands to cultivate maize, increasing the total extent of the lands used for maize cultivation to 110,000 hectares.

Heritance Aarah becomes first Maldivian resort to be listed as BBC Travel Partner

Aitken Spence Hotels’ premier all-inclusive resort in the Maldives, Heritance Aarah, received the rare honour of being listed a BBC Travel Partner; the first resort in the Maldives to receive the recognition.