Veteran tea planter leads consortium to acquire Sinhaputhra Finance

Veteran tea planter and manufacturer, Harith Ranasinghe, who is also the Immediate Past President of Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association (SLTFOA), has led a consortium of investors to acquire Sinhaputhra Finance PLC (SFL). According to the mandatory offer document submitted to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), Ranasinghe serves as the Chairman of Singhe Capital Investment Limited (SCIL), which acquired the controlling stake of SFL recently.

National Physical Plan for 2017– 2050 to incorporate new government’s development policy

The new government has decided to update the National Physical Planning Policy & the Plan for 2017 – 2050 to integrate the proposed policy elements in the policy declaration ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’. Prime Minister and

Gulf markets plunge on U.S.-Iran tensions, Aramco hits lowest since IPO

(Dubai) REUTERS: Gulf stocks fell sharply in late afternoon trade yesterday, with Kuwaiti and Saudi stocks leading losses. Shares of oil giant Aramco, which listed last month in a record initial public offering (IPO), fell 1.7 percent to hit the lowest level since it started trading on Dec 11. Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Tehran’s overseas military operations was killed on Friday in a U.S. drone strike on his conv

UN initiates biggest global conversation on world’s future

January 1, 2020 saw the launch of the UN75 initiative – the largest, most inclusive conversation on the role of global cooperation in building a better future for all. The initiative will see the UN spark dialogues throughout 2020 in diverse settings across the world. In a ‘global reality check’, four innovative data streams will build the first ever repository of crowd-sourced solutions to major global challenges. The UN75 dialogues together wit

Elephant Festival

Mahouts guide their elephants during an elephant beauty pageant in Sauraha Chitwan, some 150km southwest of Kathmandu. The Chitwan Elephant Festival is celebrated with elephant football games and an elephant beauty pageant, is a major tourist attraction (AFP)

HSBC to stop weekend, overnight services after branches vandalized

HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC will suspend overnight services at 19 ATM clusters in Hong Kong on weekends and public holidays, the bank said yesterday, two days after its branches and ATMs were targeted during anti-government protests. Hong Kong is the bank’s single most important market, accounting for just over half of its US$ 12.5 billion pre-tax profits in the first half of 2019. Until mid-December, HSBC had largely escaped direct involvement

Thai retailers ban single-use plastic bags

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai retailers kicked off 2020 with a ban on single-use plastic bags, joining the battle against throwaway carriers in the Southeast Asian nation where citizens go through an average of eight every day. The move, taken on We

China to keep same inflation target in year 2020 despite food price spike

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has decided to keep its inflation target unchanged this year at around 3 percent, sources say, suggesting policymakers will continue to roll out more economic support measures while avoiding aggressive stimulus. Some analysts have speculated that Beijing will raise the inflation target to 3.5 percent, which would give authorities more room to support the world’s second-largest economy as growth tails off to the slowest i

German jobless count holds steady at turn of year

FRANKFURT AM MAIN (AFP) - The unemployment rate in Europe’s top economy Germany held steady close to historic lows in December, official data showed yesterday, a relief after a second successive year squeaking by recession. While the number of

Barcelona bans older, most polluting cars

MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona this week imposed a ban on older, more polluting vehicles during most of the day in a bid to reduce air pollution in Spain’s second largest city. Gasoline-powered cars registered in Spain before 2000, and diesel-powered cars registered before 2006 are now banned from most city streets on weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and face a fine of at least 100 euros (US$112) if they violate the rule. All banned vehicles wi

Credit Suisse announces US$1 bn 2020 share buyback programme

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse said yesterday it expects to buy back at least 1 billion Swiss francs (US$ 1.03 billion) worth of shares until the end of 2020, subject to market and economic conditions, after completing a similar programme last year. In 2019, Credit Suisse repurchased nearly 80 million shares on a second trading line on SIX Swiss Exchange for a total of just over 1 billion francs at an average purchase price per share of 12.53 f

Taser maker Axon sues U.S. Federal Trade Commission amid antitrust probe

REUTERS - Axon Enterprise Inc yesterday sued the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in a bid to have potential antitrust litigation heard in a federal district court and not in an internal FTC process that it alleges is biased toward regulators. Axon, the manufacturer of Taser stun guns and body camera systems for police departments, has been the target of FTC scrutiny since 2018, when the regulator requested information from the Arizona-based compan

Govt. says ready to service record Rs.2tn debt due this year

The new government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is prepared to meet the record Rs.2 trillion debt service obligations including Rs.1.1 trillion worth of foreign debt service obligation for this year.

Over 50,000 businesses VAT-freed from January 1

Marking probably the biggest tax overhaul in the history, nearly 54,000 businesses have been freed from the Value Added Tax (VAT) payment requirement with effect from January 01, 2020 as the concessions announced in late November are slowly taking root.

Singapore economy grew just 0.7% in 2019

(Singapore) AFP: Singapore’s economy, a closely watched barometer for the rest of Asia’s export-driven countries, grew just 0.7 percent last year as the US-China trade war hammered global markets.

New EDB Chairman meets leading exporters

Export Development Board Chairman/Chief Executive, Prabhash Subasinghe met with the country’s leading exporters yesterday at the EDB premises.

CB to present financial and monetary sector road map for 2020 on Monday

The Central Bank will announce ‘The Road Map: Monetary and Financial Sector Policies for 2020’ and Beyond’ on January 6.

The Finance floats EOI seeking Rs.25bn capital injection

Troubled The Finance Company PLC (TFC) in a newspaper advertisement yesterday had indicated that it requires a minimum equity investment of Rs.25 billion to stay afloat amid moves by the Central Bank to liquidate the firm.

Dialog’s Nushad Perera appointed Lanka Sathosa Chairman

Top marketing professional Nushad Perera has been appointed as the Chairman of Lanka Sathosa, the country’s largest State-run retail chain.

Jayantha Dharmadasa to assume duties as Film Corp. Chairman

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa will assume duties as the Chairman of National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka today.

Stocks down on first trading day in 2020

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) closed the first day of trading in 2020 on a negative note with both indices losing ground.

Survey reveals 57% of Lankans unwilling to pay higher food bill to protect local industry

A survey commissioned by the Advocata Institute in April 2019 had revealed that 57 percent of Sri Lankans were unwilling to pay extra for food, even if it meant to protect the local agricultural industry.

Asian markets lifted by China support and trade optimism

(Hong Kong) AFP: Asian markets started the new decade on the front foot, with most rallying out of the blocks yesterday on lingering trade optimism, while China’s central bank announced fresh stimulus for the country’s stuttering economy.

Is non-state, not-for-profit universities solution to SL’s shortage of IT professionals?

Sri Lanka is well known for its tea, gems and spices and over the years, the island nation has undergone a shift, making it popular for its services, where the local expertise in the IT space is much sought after.

Vignarajah writes to President on uplifting motherland

Following is an open letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by minority shareholder activist K.C. Vignarajah.

A new direction for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s much anticipated presidential election in November 2019 was won convincingly by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Apparel industry eyes 6% export growth in 2020

Sri Lanka’s apparel industry targets a 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in exports for this year, moving ahead with plans to set up a 200-acre fabric park with foreign investments in collaboration with the Board of Investment (BOI) in the Eastern province, eyeing to attract large-scale orders by reducing lead times with locally-sourced fabrics.

Laugfs Rubber unveils largest tyre manufactured in Sri Lanka

Laugfs Corporation (Rubber) Ltd (Laugfs Rubber) recently unveiled the latest addition to its product portfolio with its Super Solid Loader Grip Tyre, the largest tyre to be manufactured in Sri Lanka.

Keshala Jayawardana appointed as new NSB Chairperson

Keshala Jayawardana will assume duties as the new Chairperson of National Savings Bank (NSB) today.

Treasury Secretary advises officials to go beyond traditions to serve public

Sri Lanka’s taxpayer-funded state sector employees must go beyond traditional norms to serve the public, instead of idling and procrastinating to implement the government policies, Treasury and Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle stressed.