Pulmoddai mineral sand deposits will not be transferred: Rishad

Minister of Industry & Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said recently that neither the government nor this Ministry has approved the transfer of the profitable Pulmoddai mineral sand deposits. “As we celebrate the 61 year anniversary of Lanka

China’s EXIM Bank approves US $ 1bn loan for highway project

China’s Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) has approved US $ 989 million concessional loan for the Central Expressway Section 1 from Kadawatha to Meerigama. The Finance Ministry said t

Tesla chief Musk calls on workers to help deliver cars

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Tesla chief Elon Musk on Thursday urged workers to make helping with the “biggest wave” of deliveries in the electric car maker’s history their top priority, Business Insider reported. The news website posted a copy of an internal email from Musk rallying Tesla troops to pitch in with “a massive wave of deliveries” throughout Europe, China and North America. “This is the biggest wave in Tesla’s history

DMK leader Jagathrakshakan’s family linked to record FDI in Sri Lanka

The Hindu:A Singapore-based company in which stakes are held by the family members of former Union Minister of State S. Jagathrakshakan of the DMK has been linked to a record foreign direct investment of US$3.85 billion in an oil refin

Shares fall for 5th session; rupee slightly weaker

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares fell for the fifth straight session yesterday and posted their lowest close in more than six years, dragged by telecom stocks, but foreign investors’ buying capped the decline. The market now awaits cues from the third and f

Indonesia’s Garuda says to cancel 49-jet Boeing 737 deal after crashes

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda has told Boeing it will cancel a multi-billion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after the model was involved in two fatal crashes. The move could spark more cancellations from other major carriers, an aviation analyst said, as Boeing and US federal regulators get set to face their first public grilling by Congress since the deadly incidents.

China protests US sanctions on shipping firms

BEIJING (AFP) - China has lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States after Washington sanctioned two Chinese shipping companies for doing business with North Korea, the foreign ministry said yesterday.

National inflation up to 2.4% in February

Headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2013=100) increased to 2.4 percent in February 2019 from 1.2 percent in January 2019 mainly due to the base effect, Central Bank’s Statistic

SL gets US-funded online portal to improve local youth employability

Sri Lanka’s guidance space yesterday witnessed much required impetus with the launch of an online employment and entrepreneurship platform for the country’s youth. YouLead, a programme that kicked off 19 mo

BOI affirms Oman State-run firm keen on taking equity position in refinery project

In light of Oman Oil and Gas Ministry denying being part of a US $ 3.85 billion refinery project in Hambantota, Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday said that they were aware Oman Oil Company has ‘firm intention’ in taking

Glyphosate under fire from San Francisco to Sri Lanka

(Paris) AFP: Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as “proba

Shares fall for fourth session; rupee ends firmer

Sri Lanka’s share index fell for a fourth straight session yesterday to a more than 6-year closing low as investors exited the island nation’s risky assets, while they awaited cues from the third and final vote on the 2019 budget,

Asia’s top ethnic fashion brand to enter Sri Lanka

Khaadi, an iconic fast fashion retail force, has appointed MTI Consulting for its Sri Lanka market entry. Having carried out an initial market feasibility study, Khaadi has identified the high potential to establish the premium ethnic fashion brand in Sri Lanka. “Khaadi is present in over 65 locations across t

Weak economic growth, slowing vehicle sales pinch non-bank lenders most: Fitch

The sluggish economy and deceleration of vehicle sales are hurting Sri Lanka’s non-bank lenders, as the sector is facing risks raging from weaker asset quality, muted growth, underwhelming profitability and need for higher regulatory capital. According to a status re

Mangala meets Ronnie

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera called on former Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel, yesterday. The meeting took place at the Colombo residence of de Mel. Former Southern Province Chief Minister H.G. Sirisena was also present at the meeting.

Ceylon Steel Corp.-UAE’s Onyx in US $ 100mn cement JV

In a joint venture, Ceylon Steel Corporation and UAE-based Onyx Group of Companies are investing US $ 100.08 million to set up a cement blending and grinding plant in the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone, in Hambantota. Development Strategies and International Trade De

Economic growth plunges to 1.8% in 4Q

In the final quarter of 2018, Sri Lanka’s economic growth plunged to the lowest since 2014, reflecting the disastrous impact the 51-day political crisis had on the country’s economy, the data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) showed. During the fourth quarte

S’pore rejects President’s allegations on Mahendran

(Singapore) AFP: Singapore rejected yesterday Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s allegation it was sheltering a former Central Bank chief wanted for fraud, saying Colombo failed to provide documen

Shares end little changed; rupee rises

(Colombo) Reuters: Sri Lanka’s share index ended little changed yesterday, hovering near its 5-1/2-year low, as investors awaited direction from the third and final vote on the 2019 budget, market sources said.

FITIS writes to Mangala over 3.5% NBT on overseas card payments

The Federation of Information Technology in Sri Lanka (FITIS) has written to Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to reconsider the imposition of the 3.5 percent Nation Building Tax (NBT) on all foreign payments using credit and debit cards.

Sri Lanka will see more mid-cap M&A deals: MTI

According to MTI’s Corporate Finance and Investment Banking practice, over the next two years, Sri Lanka is likely to witness a strong pipeline of mid-cap merger and acquisition (M&A) deals.

Huawei eyes top role in developing SL’s future smart cities

Huawei expects to play a major role in developing Sri Lanka’s smart city ecosystem to further enhance the growth in Huawei’s Enterprise Business segment and to support the country’s vision to become an ICT hub in the region.

CSE renews call for return of state-controlled captive funds to revive market

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has renewed the call for the return of captive funds such as the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) to reinvigorate the ailing market.

Govt. moves forward with digitalisation of economy

The government will begin the implementation of key programmes and formulating the required legislative reforms within the next three months to support the digitalisation of the Sri Lankan economy. Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology Non-Cabinet Minister Ajith P. Perera said drafting the Data Protection Bill and Cybersecurity Bill has reached the final stages and expressed confidence that they would be passed in

East Container Terminal delayed by Prez-PM cold war

The cold war between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is delaying the development of Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal (ECT), slimming the country’s chances of becoming a maritime hub in the region, a senior Cabinet minister admitted.

Dhammika wants private sector to take lead role in AI adoption

Billionaire businessman and corporate leader Dhammika Perera says Sri Lanka’s private sector must take the lead in adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive future economic growth as AI enables logical decision making.

Fed to hold fire on interest rates as world economy slows

(Washington) AFP: There is virtually no chance the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the coming week, since policymakers have all but promised to hold their fire as the global economy slows.

Huawei’s South East Asia procurement tops US$ 600mn

Huawei, a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, recently announced its procurement results for 2018 in the South East Asia (SEA) region, which amounted to US$ 608 million.

Textile and garment exports up 5.7% to US $ 5.3bn in 2018

Sri Lanka’s textile and garment exports rose 5.7 percent year-on-year (YoY) to little over US $ 5.3 billion, the external sector data released by the Central Bank showed.

Services sector employment generation slows as industries adopt automation, Artificial Intelligence

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) decelerated in February from a month ago in both manufacturing and services sectors as automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) were seen fast changing the dynamics of the latter.